Community venture capital, online

Traditional forms of community fundraising like the humble shopping centre raffle could be about to be overtaken by the internet, according to Springwise.

A US-based site called CrowdFunder helps people collectively raise funds for community projects. It’s simply a matter of writing a post on your project, what you need and when you need it, and then local well wishers can make a donation through the CrowdFunder site.

Current examples on CrowdFunder include establishing a scholarship for a local school, helping an artist finish recording her CD, installing bus-stop benches and supporting a seven-year-old local gymnast. Any community project is eligible to use CrowdFunder – only investment and business uses are prohibited.

For the moment, the entire process is free, but eventually CrowdFunder will charge a transaction fee of 7.5% of the funds raised for each project that succeeds in meeting its funding goal.