Deep and intertwined in our humanity, is a need to support and feel involvement in the kinds of projects and companies which we care about. Until the recent crowdfunding phenomena emerged, our more centralized and intermediated capital formation and funding mechanisms scarcely recognized the social power of crowds which form affinities around any kind of mission. Crowdfunding is a natural systemic response to fill this gap, and an expression of our collective human will. It is perhaps, one of the most powerful developments in our modern-day socio-economics, and promises both to transform the capital formation landscape and to offer an avenue for a creative and intellectual re-birth.” – Kevin Lawton, The Crowdfunding Revolution.

There are nearly 7 billion people in the world, and over 2 billion of them have Internet access. As momentum grows for social finance, social impact bonds, and social venture exchanges, perhaps a third way to view social finance would be in opportunities for you and I to make a difference within 5 minutes. I’m talking about a platform of mass collaboration, one where social networking meets venture financing and microfinance on a larger scale. I’m talking about Crowdfunding.

Crowdfunding is causing a shift in the way businesses and organizations operate by engaging the public with causes that resonate with us. There is a larger social and technological trend towards more collaboration and as the crowdfunding model takes on a social cause, it is a sneak peek into what the future of capitalism could potentially be. It is changing the way we fight poverty, rally behind causes and most of all, bring together a global community that has never before been possible. So when we are talking about the accessibility of social finance, crowdfunding is the key. The landscape has seen an increasing amount of players in the last few years. Some of the more intriguing models include 33needs, which highlights a future revenue sharing model, Crowdcube, an equity-based crowdfunding platform, and StartSomeGood, which offers a blended tipping point financing model.

However in the crowdfunding world, StartSomeGood is truly blazing ahead and bringing the ‘social’ back into the equation. They are the first to offer full-circle support for social
innovation ideas: from funding to service-needed impact. Furthermore, their innovative tipping point model directly addresses a social entrepreneur’s need to truly start some good and get the project off the ground. Tom Dawkins, one of the co-founders, said that they hope to be “a platform for better-world idea ignition. We want to help social entrepreneurs address problems and realize opportunities in their communities by allowing anyone to support them in turning their ideas into action and impact." So in a world of rapid change, crowdfunding is quickly establishing itself in every corner of the globe – a decentralized and emergent force that if properly financed, could possibly and truly create a better world.

So what are you waiting for? Tick tock.

Note: If you’re interested, here’s a wiki on crowdfunding that features an excellent list of crowdfunded organizations. On Twitter, @crowdfunding is a great source of relevant news.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jacreative/148129344/

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