Even though I previously knew about crowdfunding, and had already participated in collaborative charitable fundraising, I didn’t get my first personal requests until recently. That’s when I began exploring it further. And, you know what? It is growing quickly!
So, what is crowdfunding?
The phenomenon called crowdfunding is defined by Wikipedia as, “the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their money, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations.” It is an empowering way to market your projects and financial needs.
How is crowdfunding used?
People and organizations use crowdfunding to finance a host of things such as creative projects, political campaigns, start-up businesses, charitable causes, inventions, civic projects, publishing, and personal financing needs. Some are fun; some are serious; and unfortunately, some are heartbreaking.
The crowdfunding industry is growing exponentially. According to the 2013 Crowdfunding Industry Report by Massolution, the industry has raised $2.7 billion in 2012, across more than 1 million individual campaigns globally. In 2013, the industry is projected to grow to $5.1 billion! Woah!
If your small business or nonprofit needs some extra funds for a specific purpose, I’d be curious to learn how crowdfunding helped. Try it and let me know.
For a list of popular crowdfunding sites, read Chance Barnett’s article in Forbes: Top 10 Crowdfunding Sites For Fundraising.
In the meantime, I want to share a moving video of a crowdfunding project that exceeded its fundraising goal. Check it out and you’ll see why.