When it comes to urgent, emergency fundraising, crowdfunding websites have become the hottest thing on the market today. Individuals and agencies are sometimes able to earn significant (sometimes enormous) amounts of money for pressing issues or tragic circumstances. Of course, crowdfunding campaigns can request money for almost any reason, from making a movie to moving cross country. We’ve compiled a list of the top 5 crowdfunding sites currently in use today.
GoFundMe
This site was one of the first big names in crowdfunding, and it has shown great staying power so far – those other sites are inching away bits of market share as they go along. The terms, conditions and fees are laid out so you know exactly what you will be paying out of the money raised, and there are no upfront costs. GoFundMe charges a total of 7.9%, plus $.30 for each payment made to your account.
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is best known for its business launching campaigns, where people from all over the world help launch ideas for music, movies and video games they want to see on the market. Kickstarter is a site used strictly for funding creative projects. This site has had some pretty phenomenal successes, and many businesses have gotten their start through Kickstarter. If a project is funded successfully, Kickstarter takes a 5% cut. The payment processing company takes another 3-5%, but there’s no “per payment” fee.
YouCaring
This site is dedicated to helping people with personal expense issues such as medical expenses, situations created by job loss, weddings, adoption expenses, et cetera. It seems to have been created as a direct competitor to GoFundMe – but what’s the difference? Well, YouCaring claims to be completely free for fundraisers to use. While donors are charged a 2.9% plus $.30 per transaction processing fee, those raising the funds pay out none of that money. In other words, the 5% fee that GoFundMe charges is not charged by YouCaring. Before starting a campaign on either, we encourage you to study both sites and read all of the fine print.
Fundable
What is Fundable? This one is relatively new on the crowdfunding scene, and is for entrepreneurs with big ideas! Campaigns on this site seek to connect entrepreneurs with interested investors. How much does it cost? Well, there’s no messing around with percentages on money earned here – using a platform on Fundable will cost you $179 per month. For “rewards-based raises” a 3.5% plus $.30 per payment fee is charged.
Indiegogo
Indiegogo is a crowdfunding platform for the arts and humanitarian efforts, with its primary competitor being Kickstarter. This site lets you customize your funding details, such as whether you want your campaign to be all or nothing in relation to the goal, or if you want more flexibility. So what’s the cost? It’s pretty standard, actually, at 5% of the amount raised, plus 3% for processing plus $.30 per payment.
Although these are some of the best known and most commonly used, there are countless crowdfunding options emerging on the market today. If you choose to use one, be sure to do your homework and read and read all of the terms and conditions, and remember that planning ahead and long-term fundraising campaigns are almost always a safer and more stable way to further your endeavor.
