crowdfundung 

The process of soliciting funds whereby the project or start up gets as many people as it can to throw enough shit at their wall that the venture just might pan out.

"Hey honey, I think we should donate some money to my brother's Kickstarter project so he can finish his indie movie."

"To hell with that. I am not going to support any more crowdfundung projects. People should have to make it on their own in this world!"

crowdfunding kickstarter crowdfund crowdsourcing

crowdfundung by stoneydoggie September 5, 2014

crowdfunding 

Hipster/tech speak translated to "begging for money over the internet."

I really have this great idea for an app that has the potential to make millions, but I don't want to give up any ownership of my company, don't want to hassle with securities laws, or simply can't get capital investors interested. So, I'll just "solicit donations" over the internet by crowdfunding that way I appear legitimate instead of a beggar.

crowdfunding by whoxisxjohnxgalt January 24, 2013

crowdfunding 

When groups of people who share common interests pool small contributions of money to achieve their common financial goals.

Heather is crowdfunding her first CD by asking her fan base, and the people in her community, to contribute 10 dollars each to the project.

My family crowdfunded our parent's 25th wedding anniversary trip to Germany.

crowdfunding by Nichole Nurenberg-Miller November 4, 2007

Crowdfunding 

Crowdfunding is raising money from friends and family to fund an idea, cause or business. Donation based is the most common and Kickstarter and Indiegogo are two popular sites. Money given to campaigns on these sites is considered a donation and often there is a perk like a t shirt or your name in the credits of a movie. The most successful campaigns (millions of dollars) have typically been for companies who are offering a product (think presale) in exchange for a donation.

As a result of the 2012 JOBS Act, companies will soon be able to offer equity or debt in their company in exchange for investment money. The SEC hasn't completed the rules for this yet, so companies have to wait until they are done. This could significantly expand the capital available to entrepreneurs and will allow unaccredited investors (that's nearly all of us who are not wealthy) to invest in people and ideas that we believe in. This type of investment is very risky because of the high failure rate, thus people will be limited on the amount of money they can invest based on their net worth. Today, the biggest investment gains come from these type of early-stage investments. Once the rules are complete and start up companies can offer securities, the everyday Joe and Jane can possibly fund the next big idea like Google or AirBnB or Amazon.

To learn more about equity crowdfunding, CareerFuel has a comprehensive site created to educate entrepreneurs and would-be investors.

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Crowdfunding by Prosperity for all August 20, 2013

Round-up crowdfunding

Round-up crowdfunding is when people round up their everyday transactions to the nearest dollar and use the extra change to collectively fund something.

“I didn’t even notice I was contributing, but my spare change from round-up crowdfunding helped fund the project.”

Round-up crowdfunding by A guy who invents words March 18, 2026