Best Crowdfunding Sites

GoFundMe, based in San Diego, launched in May 2010. Its users collectively raise about $4 million every day in varied categories such as education, medical, volunteer and emergencies. To date it has raised in excess of $2 billion. Some say it is the third most successful crowdfunding platform after Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

Indiegogo, which started in 2008, was the first crowdfunding platform to hit the Internet. It has had a global reach from its onset, with people in at least 224 countries and territories now creating campaigns. Potential donors choose from categories that include writing, politics, small business, comic and animals, as well as an extensive list of subcategories.

Since its inception in Brooklyn in 2009, Kickstarter has helped campaign owners raise nearly $2 billion to fund over 92,000 projects. It's a haven for creative projects across diverse categories such as dance, food, music and games, as well as a variety of subcategories, and has quality name recognition. Originally only for those living in the USA, Kickstarter continues to expand globally. In 2015 Kickstarter became a Public Benefit Corporation, which means that they are obligated to consider the impact of their decisions on society, not shareholders.

Fundable, launched in May 2012, has offices in Columbus, Ohio, and Santa Monica, California. Their business model, which is friendly both to those seeking rewards and equity campaigns, allows campaign creators to raise money from investors, customers, and friends. Fundable was launched by entrepreneurs who raised capital through angel investors and venture capitalists, making them uniquely qualified to guide and advise campaign creators looking the fundraising process. Angel investors and venture capitalists are among the prominent business people on its advisory board as well.

CircleUp, founded in 2011 and headquartered in San Francisco, is an equity-based crowdfunding platform. It focuses on early stage consumer product and retail companies. CircleUp offers two types of funds, Circles and Mixed Funds. It uses a data-driven approach to selecting companies, and sophisticated tools for entrepreneurs to manage their capital raise and support the most innovative emerging consumer brands.

MicroVentures, based in both San Francisco and Austin, was founded in 2009. The company connects both accredited and nonaccredited investors to startup companies for equity-based crowdfunding, and they offer both primary and secondary investment opportunities. They were one of the financial industry's first organizations that merged crowdfunding with the venture capital industry. Facebook used MicroVentures to raise money.​

• Quality checks: MicroVentures conducts detailed analyses of the startups that apply to be on its platform. Criteria include the odds of profitability and the amount of risk involved. Any startup that meets these standards is eligible to receive help in raising capital from angel investors, making it well-positioned to be funded.
• Reputation: As a broker-dealer platform, the company is registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Its brokers work closely with investors to connect them to the right startups. High standards means that it accepts less than 0.5% of companies who apply for listing on the platform. Personal relationships and attention are two hallmarks of investor customer service.
• Fees: MicroVentures takes a 10% fee (5% from the issuer and 5% from investors) from each successful raise. If the full amount of an offering is not raised, then all investor money is returned.
• Any stage allowed: MicroVentures takes applications from startups seeking seed money to get going, as well as established companies looking to expand into new markets.
• Streamlined process: A company should expect to receive final approval for funding six weeks after it submits its application. After it is funded, funds are dispersed within two weeks.
• Best for: MicroVentures funds startups, especially those in technology, consumer products and services, healthcare, media and entertainment and telecommunications industries.

YouCaring, headquartered in Redding, California, launched in 2011. It focuses on free fundraising for compassionate causes, and its projects have raised more than 280 million dollars.

Founded in May 2010, Crowdrise allows you to raise money for personal causes as well as established charities. Its fun and light tone inspires creativity in potential fundraisers and puts donors in a giving spirit. Crowdrise was co-founded by actor Edward Norton, which helped to give its message of change at the grassroots level, an immediate appeal.

DonorsChoose is a registered nonprofit organization with offices in New York and San Francisco. It was launched by a Bronx history teacher in 2000 and allows individuals to donate directly to public school classroom projects. DonorsChoose is open to every public school in America. With a team of 80, many of whom are former teachers, the site’s nearly two million supporters have vetted and funded more than 600,000 projects to date.

Kiva, headquartered in San Francisco, is a registered nonprofit, microlending organization, allowing people to lend money via the internet to low-income entrepreneurs and students in over 80 countries.  It was founded in 2005 with the mission to reduce poverty through microfinance loans that create growth opportunities for people who would otherwise have no access to bank loans. Kiva has earned a 4 out of 4 star rating from Charity Navigator.

Plumfund is a crowd-gifting platform. It was created by the founders of Honeyfund, a free honeymoon registry that was named one Time.com’s 50 best websites of 2012.  Plumfund prides itself in its simplicity of use. There is no vetting or tilting and no funding or goal requirements. Plumfund is a modern take on a traditional method of gift-giving, backed by 10 years of gift-giving expertise.

FundRazr is a Canadian donation-based crowdfunding website, headquartered in Vancouver and founded in 2009. The platform started out on Facebook, tallowing users a range of crowdfunding options, from medical expenses to animal care. It was also the first to provide a collaborative community payment model, which allowed monies to be deposited directly to a nonprofit or cause. Since then the company has continued to improve its services by making it faster and more secure for people to donate money to causes that matter to them.

Patreon, headquartered in San Francisco, was launched in 2013 by musician and Patreon CEO Jack Conte after he struggled to turn a profit for his musical content. The platform is a unique crowdfunding model for artists and content creators of all stripes. Rather than a one-time contribution YouTubers, musicians, and all types of artists obtain funding from their fans or patrons, on a recurring basis, or per work of art.

Crowdfunder, headquartered in Los Angeles and launched in 2011, is the equity crowdfunding leader for sourcing and funding high-growth ventures. Described as a “crowdsourced venture capital” site, Crowdfunder provides free access to private early-stage VC-backed startups through its VC Index Fund. As an early participant in steering the JOBS Act legislation, the company has played a vital role in policy-making matters and is active engaged in government activity through the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority).

CrowdMole, conceived in 2015 and headquartered in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, is an instant payment crowdfunding platform that builds social communities for small businesses and entrepreneurs. They limit 20 live projects at a time so they can invest their attention and resources into helping those projects succeed. CrowdMole provides multiple rounds of crowdfunding, which allows businesses to expand previous rounds of crowdfunding to increase brand awareness.

• Core Values: Social good core values defines CrowdMole.  They help build social communities that empower entrepreneurs and small businesses. The SOCIALGOOD REWARDS® trademark is the company commitment to publishing social good projects, which benefits both the project creators and backers.
• Dashboard: CrowdMole’s extensive dashboard gives you access to metrics and backer information. You can build rapport with your backers with an extensive email list. They also provide comprehensive social media marketing tools and is an instant payment platform.
• Fast responses to inquiries: CrowdMole’s website automatically allows you to chat via Facebook messenger or make contact via Twitter both of which makes it easy for you to interact from anywhere in the world. The company generally responds within one hour.
• Global: CrowdMole allows projects from around the world to be crowdfunded. They use Google Translate to translate crowdfunding campaigns into English.
• CrowdMole checklist: A convenient checklist for everything you need to create a successful crowdfunding campaign is provided on CrowdMole’s website. Use the checklist as you complete your profile and set up an account.
• Multiple rounds of crowdfunding: CrowdMole is a pay-as-you-go, no obligations or long-term commitments site. It allows for up to four rounds of crowdfunding so that small businesses and entrepreneurs can build on every round of crowdfunding for optimal results.
• Best for: CrowdMole is best for social good projects, including international small businesses, as well as individual inventors and entrepreneurs.