Last week a Dutch news program (EditieNL, RTL4) had an item about crowd funding. In relation to the topic of next week which is crowdsourcing and crowd funding, I will give you a quick look into the world of crowd funding.
What is the best thing you could do in times of crisis? Saving money on a bank is not attractive because of the low interest rates. The fastest way to earn money is probably crowd funding.
Crowd funding is investing your money in (small) businesses. It is usually done on the internet and you don’t even need a bank. The biggest crowd funding platform in the Netherlands is Geldvoorelkaar.nl. This platform is a market for people that want to borrow and who want to lend money. The money borrowers can be consumers and companies.
Should you do it or not?
The Geldvoorelkaar.nl website shows us a lot of investments. You can even start with a small amount of money for a 7 to 8 percent interest. So you can ‘donate’ to someone who likes to start a gym but has not enough money him/herself.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of crowd funding?
Advantages:
- You can invest also a small amount of money;
- Interest rates are higher than saving money on a bank;
- Risks are low, but you must know how you get your money;
- You can choose which consumer of business you like to help to reach their goals yourself.
Disadvantages:
- The company you invest in can go bankrupt;
- You can’t determine the credibility of the one who needs the money;
- Risks are higher than saving money, there is no profit guarantee.
I was just about to post an article on crowd-funding too, but I think its better I reply here rather 🙂 I recently read an article about crowd-funded travels and found it very interesting and similar to what you have posted!
Trevolta.com is a crowd-funded travels website which enables travellers to submit their extraordinary ideas for expeditions in order to raise funds for it. Projects can be backed up by inspired people or sponsors looking for marketing opportunities and brand awareness. All trips are thoroughly covered in Trevolta blogs, where the travelling team posts photos, notes and videos on their travels, preserving the attention of the crowd and allowing sponsors to leverage from that attention (Trevolta.com, 2013).
As you have already spoken about the advantages and disadvantages, we have to look at why a person would be willing to sponsor a strangers trip-just like another strangers adventures/travels.
According to the Trevolta.com website, sponsors are looking for:
(1) The extraordinary, over the top and adventurous trips.
(2) Projects that inspire and give meaning to other people’s lives.
(3) Travelling for the purpose of doing research for publications, science, education, etc.
***Users of the site will back projects up financially in exchange for specific tasks to be performed along the trip. Whether you accept or decline these tasks – is entirely up to you. 🙂
I can understand why people would want to raise money for their exciting trips, but what I dont understand is why sponsors would sponsor a stranger to go on holiday. In the case of (2) and (3), research and giving meaning to peoples lives creates a sense of comfort and a rewarding feeling from the sponsors.
however, funding a persons travels just because they want to go on holiday baffles me.
what is your take on crowd funding for a good cause, as well as crowd funding for a persons leisure time?