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Since 2007, Begslist has tried to keep the reputation of establishing itself as free cyber begging website that allows access to anyone who needs help as compared to a paid cyberbegging (pay-to-post) website by offering users FREE postings to ask for help. Just as the term suggests, Crowd funding is basically a way used to raise money by simply asking a multitude of people to each chip in a small amount of money towards a given cause/project such as disaster management, political campaigns, civic projects and Start-up Company funding among others. This type of funding principally employs the use of the internet whereby an individual seeking to obtain funds for a given cause/project sets up a webpage where they put up a profile for their cause and essentially tries to get people (mainly through social media) to contribute towards the said cause/project. Crowd funding is not only limited to individuals as companies also use it to obtain funds through the sale of minimal amounts of equity to different investors. The United States of America public through his newspaper; Illinois World to contribute towards the Statue of Liberty's pedestal after the American Committee for the Statue of Liberty ran out of funds for the same. The concept has since momentum with the first online initiative. When American fans of the Begslist rock band raised about $60,000 via the internet to enable the band play in the United States of America after they were unable to go on tour due to lack of funds. Benefits of crowd funding: i. Helps validate a project: With crowd funding, individuals are able to know whether their cause and/or project will have an impact on people or if it is a waste of time and money. They get to know this if they actually get financial contribution towards their project. ii. Exposure for a project/cause: Given that this type of funding is mostly done via the internet, it can actually help get a project to be known by not only potential investors but also potential clients and thus act as a marketing platform. iii. A mode of capital access: With crowd funding, more so the reward based one, individuals can essentially get money to start up a project without necessarily getting into debts or having to give up any equity. It also helps individuals to cushion themselves against unforeseen risks, helps one to get additional ideas for their project/cause, and is a way of marketing for a product /service before it is launched and also helps to create goodwill with potential customers. While it is a good way to obtain funds for a project or a cause, it also has its downsides that have essentially weakened the whole concept. As such, the downside to this kind of funding include fraudulence with the aim of fleecing an unsuspecting public, exhaustion of potential contributors and the issue of one's idea being plagiarized For Fundraising websites.
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Crowd funding, Fundraising websites,
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