The Top Crowdfunding Sites and How to Use Them by Jack Halfon

T H E T O P C R O W D F U N D I N G S I T E S A N D H O W T O U S E T H E M

B Y J A C K H A L F O N

One of the biggest hurdles many people find themselves in when starting a project or an idea is funding.

With the new millennial age of advanced technology, many organizations, startup companies, products, and classrooms have benefited from the concept of crowdfunding.

C R O W D F U N D I N G I S T H E P R A C T I C E O F F I N A N C I A L LY F U N D A N D E S TA B L I S H I N G A P R O J E C T O R V E N T U R E B Y R A I S I N G VA R I O U S S M A L L A M O U N T S O F M O N E Y F R O M A L A R G E N U M B E R O F P E O P L E , T Y P I C A L LY T H R O U G H T H E I N T E R N E T.

• Many crowdfunding industries have grown exponentially over the past few years helping many people raise billions to fund their projects.

• These campaigns are usually broken up to specific niches such as: unique experiences, charity, social impact, consumer packaged goods, innovative inventions, gaming, startups, and much more.

So how does this work? There are two basic crowdfunding models.

• 1. Reward-Based Crowdfunding

• 2. Equity-Based Crowdfunding

The first model is the one people are usually aware of which is the rewards-based crowdfunding model.

Rewards-based crowdfunding is where people can pre-purchase a product, buy various rewards, or simply donate to the company.

These donations do NOT allow the funders an investment or shareholder with the company.

T H E S E C O N D M O D E L I S T H E E Q U I T Y C R O W D F U N D I N G . Y O U M AY H AV E H E A R D O F T H I S I N VA R I O U S S H O W S L I K E S H A R K TA N K .

I N E Q U I T Y C R O W D F U N D I N G , C O M PA N I E S W I L L O F T E N S E L L O W N E R S H I P S TA K E S O N L I N E T O R E Q U I R E T H E N E C E S S A R Y F U N D S T O M A K E T H E M O P E R AT I O N A L A N D P R O F I TA B L E .

Below, you will find four of the best crowdfunding websites to help start you off on your journey.

• Remember to be clear and precise about what you are planning on using the funding for. Donors want to know what they are investing in.

• Furthermore, make sure your message is strong and appeal.

• The best way to succeed at these sites is if your message truly impacts the public.

• Kickstarter helps a variety of people is a range of interest.

• On this crowdfunding site, you can find artist, musicians, filmmakers, designers, charities, and consumer packaged goods that are trying to establish themselves in their congested markets.

• To date, Kickstarter has helped tens of thousands of create projects allowing them to come to life and impact the community for the better.

• Indiegogo is one of the first and largest global fundraising sites that help individuals, businesses, and nonprofits raise money online.

• It allows people to activate their global community with their user-friendly dashboard.

• The site’s market is open to anyone who has an idea and wants to raise funds to financially start them to reach their goal.

• It has been estimated that over nine million people from all around the world visit this site on a monthly basis.

• With this type of traffic and strong reputation, you are looking at an incredible untouched resource to get you started on your journey.

• DonorsChoose is a nonprofit organization that allows individuals to directly donate to the education sector.

• This is specifically designed to help teachers, educators, and administration raise funding for various classroom projects.

• This site is one of the first civic crowdfunding platforms of its kind.

• It gives many people the opportunity to truly create an impact especially on the future leaders for tomorrow.

• Similar to Kickstarter and Indiegogo, Rockethub is another large online crowdfunding platform.

• It users usually include a variety of people from music, business, science, arts, fashion, startups, and nonprofits.

• Rockethub operates in a way to help raise awareness for your project and future endeavors.