Definition of CROWDFUNDING

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Crowdsourcing and crowdfunding are two words that have recently found their way into the crowded pool of English. Crowdsourcing, which typically refers to the practice of soliciting services, ideas, or content from a large group of people online, was coined by Jeff Howe in a 2006 article in Wired, and crowdfunding was created by entrepreneur Michael Sullivan in that same year. Both words conceptualize "the crowd" as a vast online community from which something needed may be obtained. In crowdsourcing, the crowd is called upon for needed assistance or information. A well-known use of crowdsourcing is Wikipedia, whose content is the result of various contributors. Crowdfunding, on the other hand, involves a more specific request: the crowd is solicited for financial contributions to a particular venture or cause, such as a film project or cancer research.

Examples of crowdfunding in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Further Reading Joel Hodgson is attempting a crowdfunded MST3K reboot The most recent revival started with a massively successful crowdfunding campaign before Netflix picked the series up. — Samuel Axon, Ars Technica, "Mystery Science Theater 3000," 27 Nov. 2019 At publication time, the company's crowdfunding campaign had raised over $67,000 from 666 backers, despite a goal of only about $28,000. — Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, "If You've Ever Wanted a Smartphone Microscope, Now's Your Chance," 22 Nov. 2019 So is the Skipper — the first multi-tool ever tailored for boaters, which was just released on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter Nov. 5. — Lily Shaw, Twin Cities, "Startup Showcase: Triink tinkerers think outside of the toolbox," 17 Nov. 2019 Busarov's first business idea was EarlyBird, a crowdfunding platform for startups in China. — Parija Kavilanz, CNN, "Whiskey made them sick. So they created a way to combat counterfeits in China," 11 Oct. 2019 GoFundMe has become the largest crowdfunding platform in the world— 50 million people gave more than $5 billion on the site through 2017, the last year fundraising totals were released. — Rachel Monroe, The Atlantic, "When GoFundMe Gets Ugly," 9 Oct. 2019 The team behind Kentucky Route Zero isn’t the first studio to use the crowdfunding platform, which also supports artists and creators in other industries. — Lewis Gordon, The Verge, "Patreon has become a lifeline for creators of weird, alternative games," 14 Aug. 2019 The city and MassDevelopment joined in the fund drive, which was undertaken through the civic crowdfunding platform Patronicity. — John Laidler, BostonGlobe.com, "New neighborhood park coming to Framingham," 7 Aug. 2019 Eventually, the women launched a crowdfunding page, and within 10 days, had raised enough money to get Schutzman a studio apartment. — Rachel Desantis, PEOPLE.com, "Friends Help Homeless Woman Move Out of Her SUV and Into an Apartment: ‘I Had Nowhere to Turn’," 14 Nov. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'crowdfunding.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

7 Dec 2019

Cite this Entry

“Crowdfunding.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crowdfunding. Accessed 11 December 2019.