Yes, it's true, crowdfunding is a NEW way to help pay for personal expenses. These could include medical bills, emergency costs, and memorial funds. Crowdfunding can also be used to help pay for your education expenses or volunteer efforts. But, that's not all. Crowdfunding isn't just for charity or personal cause campaigns. Believe it or not, more and more newlyweds are turning to crowdfunding to pay for their honeymoon! Some are even using it to pay for travel expenses! I've been writing about crowdfunding since 2012 and have seen more campaigns that you can imagine. Last year alone, I helped nearly 400,000 individuals raise money from the crowd through my website, podcast, newsletter, and forum. Even though crowdfunding is an amazing tool, there's a right and a wrong way to raise funds online. That's where I come in. I'm going to guide you through the murky waters and share with you the best techniques, strategies, and give you the inside scoop on some of the crowdfunding platforms or websites out there. I'll also give you a heads up on costly MISTAKES TO AVOID when launching your first campaign. Believe me, you don't want to make a fool of yourself or learn the hard way. I'm going to make it dead simple and give you the step-by-step guide for raising money online. All you'll have to do is copy it!

This book will help to level the playing field, so that you can compete with some of the bigger organizations out there in the nonprofit industry. You'll discover science-backed ways to get more funding for your nonprofit. These are breakthrough marketing strategies that are easy to implement and just plain work. They are psychological tricks that you can use to raise more money from your existing donors (or new ones). I have to be honest with you though. Having been an online marketer for eight years, I've come into contact with these principles many times.In fact, I'd go so far as to say that most successful nonprofits and established companies use these tactics. It's because they're proven to work to raise more funds. However, they aren't introduced to the millions of nonprofits throughout the world. You have to operate in the dark and you're left wondering how to make ends meet at the end of the month. That's not fair! Mark my words, some of them will boggle your mind. When you begin to act on the advice, you'll start to see results that not only affect your bottom line, but also give you the power to help more people.At the end of the day, that's all that matters, isn't it? The people you're helping. The way you're impacting the world for the positive. This fundraising guff isn't all that fun or exciting. What's more, you spend so much of your time doing it. That's why I wanted to put together a paint by numbers formula for handling this area of your operations, once and for all. Once you harness this linchpin skill, you won't ever have to worry about how you'll pay next month's bills.Instead of struggling to stay afloat, you'll have a rock-solid fundraising plan in place, and be able to live an empowered life. If you're fed up with seeing the big-boys cash in on fundraising, and annoyed that there isn't better training out there for nonprofit leaders, like you, then this is the book for you. I want to bring some of these effective for-profit marketing techniques to the nonprofit world so that you can impact more people at a fraction of the cost. As you know, that's the name of the game. The more you know, the easier it will be for you to navigate this changing terrain.

This open access book presents a comprehensive and up-to-date collection of knowledge on the state of crowdfunding research and practice. It considers crowdfunding models and their different manifestations across a variety of geographies and sectors, and explores the perspectives of fundraisers, backers, platforms, and regulators. Gathering insights from a wide range of influential researchers in the field, the book balances concepts, theory, and case studies. Going beyond previous research on crowdfunding, the contributors also investigate issues of community, sustainability, education, and ethics. A vital resource for anyone researching crowdfunding, this book offers readers a deep understanding of the characteristics, business models, user-relations, and behavioural patterns of crowdfunding.

This book aims to take stock and systemize existing knowledge on crowdfunding while providing overview of the industry, its regulatory environment and advancing the insight into the role of crowdfunding in the startup lifecycle. It is adopting an exploratory and phenomenon-based approach which is deemed appropriate when investigating rather new phenomena. Furthermore, the research combines survey and interview methodologies to assess the opinion and real-world behavior of different stakeholders in crowdfunding marketplace and identify gaps requiring further academic consideration. Empirical data was gathered using multiple interactive web-based questionnaires distributed to different stakeholders and “informed general public” mainly through the social networks (Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter) and direct solicitation of entrepreneurial associations, networks and online communities. The study conducted relies on both qualitative and quantitative analysis in attempt to find data patterns useful in future research and establish some managerial and policymaker recommendations based on limited evidence collected. The work adds value to this field through a 3-fold contribution: Taking a look at crowdfunding through the prism of SWOT analysis of the practice itself and Porter’s 5 forces analysis of crowdfunding platforms industry. Providing evidence in favor of implementing various degrees of regulation based on different crowdfunding categories, using the Italian case of equity-based crowdfunding regulation as a model. Finally, it yields some interesting findings on relevance of crowdfunding in the venture startup while pointing out key motivators which make entrepreneurs consider this fundraising option. In addition, related policymaker/managerial implications are exposed and academic literature updated with reference to contemporary developments in this dynamic field.

Right now, we're in the middle of a historic shift in charitable giving behavior. The rules of nonprofit fundraising are being re-written as we speak. With the emergence of social media, smartphones, and the web, opportunities for budding nonprofits are finally opening up. What were once tried and true methods to engage donors are quickly becoming archaic and ineffective. Believe it or not, you are living in the golden age of fundraising. A handful of nonprofits have caught on and are absolutely crushing it online. They've harnessed the power of technology to run massive online giving campaigns and reach thousands of supporters across the web. It's a complete no-brainer, but not everyone realizes that yet. In this step-by-step guide, I'm going to be introducing you to several of these organizations that have caught on to and are riding a soaring trend. I've written about many of these orgs on my popular blog, which has been cited by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and more. I've also spoken with many on my podcast. After talking with these nonprofits, I realized one thing. They're not special. What they're doing isn't all that sophisticated. They're run by ordinary folks, just like you and me. In fact, if you follow the steps that I outline in this book, you'll be able to replicate their results. You'll finally get badly needed funding for your organization. Take a second to imagine just how great it will feel to log on to your computer and find your email inbox overflowing with donation messages. Wouldn't that be awesome? I'm not saying that it's going to be easy. Quite frankly, you're going to be treading into uncharted waters. A lot of the tools, websites, and techniques I'm about to cover might seem unfamiliar and at first, confusing. But, I promise you that I'll hold your hand every step of the way. By the end of this ebook, you'll have a clear step-by-step plan for executing an online crowdfunding campaign and know what to do next. More importantly, you'll be able to stay true your org's mission and serve humanity.

If you have ever asked, “Why do people have to die?” then this book is for you. The answer is that no, death is not necessary, inevitable, or good. In fact, death is wrong. Death is the enemy of us all, to be fought with medicine, science, and technology. This book introduces you to the greatest, most challenging, most revolutionary movement to radically extend human lifespans so that you might not have to die at all. You will learn about some amazingly long-lived plants and animals, recent scientific discoveries that point the way toward lengthening lifespans in humans, and simple, powerful arguments that can overcome the common excuses for death. If you have ever thought that death is unjust and should be defeated, you are not alone. Read this book, and become part of the most important quest in human history. This book was written by the philosopher and futurist Gennady Stolyarov II and illustrated by the artist Wendy Stolyarov. It is here to show you that, no matter who you are and what you can do, there is always a way for you to help in humanity’s struggle against death. "I thought the book was fun to read and important in what it tries to accomplish." - Zoltan Istvan, Psychology Today

In recent years, crowdfunding has become important and it has been enthusiastically used not only by commercial organizations but also by the public sector. This alternative source of financing in times of constrained government budgets enables citizens to vote with their dollars online to bring ideas into reality. This book sheds light on the developing concept of crowdfunding in the public sector, with an overview of current academic discussions and best practices on crowdfunding in the public sector. The volume approaches crowdfunding in the public sector from an integrated perspective, addressing the dearth of publications on the subject. The book gathers a wealth of theoretical information, ideas, best practices and lessons learned in the context of executing concrete crowdfunding projects, and assess methodological approaches to integrating the topic of crowdfunding in public organizations curricula. The book provides definitions, insights and examples of this managerial perspective resulting in a theoretical framework of crowdfunding in the public sector. The contributors also explore different crowdfunding applications in public sectors such as local government, higher education, schools, arts & culture organizations, healthcare, energy sector, and police services, which are presented in several case studies. This is a unique book in the field that points the way forward both for policymakers and for the research community in terms of thinking about crowdfunding in the public sector and the complex issues surrounding its development.

The internationally recognised methodology for collecting and using R&D statistics, the OECD's Frascati Manual is an essential tool for statisticians and science and innovation policy makers worldwide. It includes definitions of basic concepts, data collection guidelines, and classifications ...

More Than Money Jamey Stegmaier knows crowdfunding. He's a veteran of seven successful Kickstarter campaigns (and counting) that have raised over $3.2 million, and he's the proprietor of the widely read Kickstarter Lessons blog. In this book he offers a comprehensive guide to crowdfunding, demonstrating that it can be a powerful way for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses by building community and putting their customers first. This book includes over forty stories of inspiring successes and sobering disasters. Stegmaier uses these examples to demonstrate how to (and how not to) prepare for a campaign, grow a fan base, structure a pitch, find new backers, and execute many other crucially important “nuts and bolts” elements of a successful crowdfunding project. But Stegmaier emphasizes that the benefits of crowdfunding are much more about the “crowd” than the “funding.” He shows that if you treat your backers as people, not pocketbooks—communicate regularly and transparently with them, ask their opinions, attend to their needs—they'll become advocates as well as funders, exponentially increasing your project's chances of succeeding.

After ten years of exile among fairies who teach her to use her magically-enhanced strength and courage, Sleeping Beauty's daughter Aurora enlists the help of Niklaas, eleventh son of King Eldorio, in the fight to reclaim her throne.