These are 8 important points on how you can create a successful fundraising project, or ...Read More
While there are many ways for sourcing funds to carry out projects being it personal ...Read More
There are a lot of steps to take before or while raising funds online, but ...Read More
There are various challenges that those who engage crowdfunding especially online are almost sure ...Read More
To build and maintain a large network of donors and fundraisers, there are a few ...Read More
There are a lot of crowdfunding websites without a proper guide on how to ...Read More
There is no doubt that Nigeria is Africa's most populous country, and to ...Read More
Crowdfunding has since become an important tool for raising funds for virtually anything, from paying fees to new product launches to medical debt to scientific research and the list goes on endless. You might be wondering which platforms will best fit your fundraising needs considering that there are so many types of crowdfunding websites out there at the moment and more are still emerging by the day.
Before diving into the answer, there are a few things to understand when selecting a crowdfunding website, including the site’s features, community/network, and fee requirements. Enumerated below are the five key considerations to keep in mind as you compare popular fundraising platforms before we plunge into the top 22 crowdfunding platforms.
Crowdfunding sites comparisons: Five key features to look out for in a crowdfunding platform
1. Accessibility / Flexibility: How is the fundraising site easily accessible?
Nothing beats a website that is flexible and easy to use or access across devices. Before you start a fundraising project, navigate through the website thoroughly. The best crowdfunding sites keep you attracted and make you want to spend more time discovering their content, trying things, learning more, and getting involved. If you have difficulties using a crowdfunding site you should consider choosing a different one.
2. Customer Support
How does the crowdfunding website support its customers? Does the site offer email support, live chat, or phone helplines? Have it in mind that your family members, relatives, colleagues, and friends will be donating money, and they might need help in the process. Hence, it is important for the admin behind the website to be prompt, responsible, and always available.
3. Awareness Tools: Sharing and publicizing of your project or campaign
You should also consider carefully, the social media networking tools for awareness creation that the crowdfunding site offers. The best site should have easy-to-use tools that make it very easy to share your fundraiser page on Facebook, Twitter, email, and many other social media channels. Because your social network is a crucial piece of your crowdfunding effort, therefore, features like these are overtly important.
4. Fees comparison
The percentage a crowdfunding site takes of all the money you raise through your fundraiser is known as the platform fee. Ordinarily, crowdfunding platform fees range from 4% to 12%. Be on the lookout for penal or exorbitant fee structures as some platforms increase fees if you don’t meet your goal whereas others have an all-or-nothing model, meaning you only receive the money you raised if you meet or exceed your goal.
5. Security
Always check out the security architecture of the website. Things such as SSL, clean URLs, data collection, terms of use, payment systems are critical. A good crowdfunding platform should give an absolute priority to these security features. Since people will be using their credit cards, personal accounts, and other payment means, it is good to look out for how the site handles these issues, and what they say about them. If possible follow other recommended resources on the site to read more so that you are your support network feel safer donating to you on the site.
Keep these five key factors in mind as you review the top 22 crowdfunding sites in each category below.
The DonorsChose is a nonprofit crowdfunding platform that makes it easy to raise money for any classroom in need of funds. Public school teachers across the US use the site to create classroom project requests.
Fees: Third-party payment processing charges of 1.5% represent the weighted average of fees across all payment methods used by donors. Credit card or PayPal donations include a fee of about 2.5%. The site charges no platform fee, as operating expenses are covered by voluntary donations to the nonprofit.
GiveCampus collaborates with colleges to help students, alumni, parents, and faculty launch fundraisers for school-related projects. Funds raised go directly to the school itself. They also offer a volunteer management system.
Fees: Schools can opt-in for a monthly subscription to use GiveCampus. Schools can contact GiveCampus for a quote.
Piggybackr provides a school fundraising platform where parents and students can raise money (as a team or individually) for school projects. Piggybackr gives students points and badges for their fundraising efforts.
Fees: Platform fee of 4%, along with 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for payment processing.
AmtelWebFunding is the world’s most trusted and largest social/business fundraising platform for individuals, organizations, teams, and nonprofits organizations. AmtelWebFunding has been described by many as an emerging force in the fundraising industry, with exceptional capabilities and strong support. AmtelWebFunding is a fundraising platform for everyone, anywhere, and in any society.
Fee: AmtelWebfunding charges 0% platform fees and 4% per donations received. The gateway fee is 1.5% for Naira users and 3.6% for USD users.
GoFundMe is one of the top social fundraising platforms for individuals, teams, and nonprofits with a giving community of more than 50 million worldwide. More than $5 billion has been raised, and it’s the first and only platform with a donor protection guarantee. GoFundMe has Customer Happiness agents available 24/7.
Fees: Powered by donors, GoFundMe offers free fundraising. There is a 0% platform fee plus standard payment processing fees of 2.9% plus $0.30 per donation.
This platform helps individuals, nonprofits, and companies to crowdfund for causes they care about. They offer both keep-it-all fundraisers or as all-or-nothing fundraisers, meaning you don’t get access to your funds until you’ve reached your goal.
Fees: Individuals can choose a free fundraising model with no platform fee (supporters are asked for optional tips) and organizations can choose a “professional” model with a 5% platform fee.
With Fundly, either individuals or nonprofits can create digital fundraisers for a wide range of causes, including fraternities and sororities, military, and politics.
Fees: It’s free to start a fundraiser on Fundly, but every donation will have a 4.9% platform fee deducted, as well as a payment processing fee of 2.9% plus 30 cents.
GoFundMe Charity helps nonprofits use social fundraising and other features to make a difference. They can help with ticketing and registration, offer you donor data, and team fundraising.
Fees: Platform fee: 3% to 5% of funds raised, plus a payment processing fee of 2.4% to 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction. Premium and enterprise models with advanced features and service available
Classy is designed for nonprofits and social enterprises, and the site comes with a fundraiser reporting tool to help track fundraising progress. Another site feature helps teams organize volunteer events, including ticketing and event registration.
Fees: The platform doesn’t disclose pricing for premium offerings (contact the site for a quote), but services start at $499 per month.
Creators seeking funding for particular projects can use the site to bring the project to life. Creators (ranging from individual designers and inventors to large corporations that want to test new product ideas) offer backers rewards, such as a small piece of the project, the first available prototypes, or the products that they are raising money to manufacture. You must raise all the funds you need, or get nothing.
Fees: A service fee of 5%, along with 3% + $0.20 per transaction for payment processing. All or nothing.
If you want help at every stage of your creative or entrepreneurial project, this site offers tools to help you get the job done, from pre-launch to crowdfunding and distribution. You can choose either an all-or-nothing fundraising experience or flexible funding.
Fees: Platform fee of 5%, along with 3% + $0.30 per transaction for payment processing. They have an international transfer fee of $25 when sending funds to banks outside of the US.
This platform allows you to build a fundraiser to gather recurring patronage for your art or other creative projects in the form of monthly subscriptions from fans. Patreon encourages users to offer rewards to fans as a way to repay them for their support.
Fees: They have a Patreon fee of 5%, along with 3% to 5% plus $0.25 to $0.35 for payment processing. They also have “payout fees” of either $0.25 to $0.35 or 1% per payout (capped at $20 for PayPal disbursements). Additional fees apply to payments made by international donors. In other words, you may find the fee structure a bit confusing.
Fundable focuses on helping entrepreneurs, startups, and companies raise capital from the public through business crowdfunding. The site allows users to offer either rewards or equity in return for financial support.
Fees: $179 a month, along with 3.5% + $0.30 per transaction for payment processing.
If you want to grow your existing business, WeFunder can help you get funded. Your investors receive a small stake in your company, and the platform aims to increase their emotional investment in your success.
Fees: It’s free to start a company profile but they charge a service fee ranging from $7 to $75 depending on the investment size and 7% of total funding volume for Regulation Crowdfunding
For Regulation D they charge up to 20% Carried Interest and for Regulation A+ Wefunder does not charge any fees.
This equity crowdfunding platform allows businesses to sell shares to accredited investors. Crowdfunder has a network of 15,000 venture capitalists and angel investors.
Fees: Subscription models range from $299 per month to $999 per month.
As an equity crowdfunding platform, SeedInvest allows startups to raise funds from individual investors and venture capital firms. Entrepreneurs must meet their minimum funding goals before investments are made final.
Fees: They have a 7.5% placement fee with a 5% warrant coverage or equity, plus a $0 to $10,000 fee for escrow, marketing, and legal expense reimbursements.
This funding website offers private real estate loans from accredited investors. As a testament to its transparency, the site also opens up past investments to review and scrutiny. Loan duration is between six and 24 months, with a loan-to-value ratio usually under 75%.
Fees: 0.25% to 1% service fee on the total loan amount.
A crowdfunding site for commercial real estate equity investments, RealCrowd aims to take the middleman out of real estate investing. Accredited investors can browse, compare, and invest.
Fees: They have a base listing fee of $15,000. Fees charged to those who list investments, not investors.
This site brings its users together to invest in residential and commercial real estate. Both accredited and non-accredited investors can use the platform. Each investment has a fee that varies depending on whether the investment is a loan or an equity purchase.
Fees: Minimum investment of $1,000.
For engaged couples or newlyweds, this crowdfunding site helps raise funds for a wedding, honeymoon, or even the down payment on a new home.
Fees: It’s free to register for gift cards and HoneyFund balance but bank deposits cost 2.8% + $0.30. They offer Honeyfund Elite which offers more in-depth fundraising services for $39.99.
Slated is an equity crowdfunding site for movies. This start-to-finish platform helps with funding film projects, finding talent, and distributing the final project. It also provides the option of extended services such as script and financial analysis for an additional cost.
Fees: Their Executive Producer Services fee is 2% to 10% of the project’s budget and 5% to 10% of the back-end after recoupment plus 20%.
A crowdfunding site dedicated to scientific research, Experiment helps researchers raise the funds they need to pursue new discoveries and technology. Backers can review their impact through open access to data and the resulting journal publications.
Fees: Platform fee of 8% with 2.9% + $0.30 payment processing fee. They only offer an all-or-nothing fundraising model.
Choose the crowdfunding platform that best suits your needs
Use this list of the top crowdfunding websites to find the platform that works best for your project or cause. For more information on crowdfunding updates, check out these fundraising tips and ideas. Start your free fundraiser today.