Book Review: Crowdfunding e Personal Fundraising

Crowdfunding is one of today’s asset for SMEs, with the importance of social media to run a successful campaign.

Italian book by authors Anna Maria Siccardi and Valeria Vitali, Crowdfunding e personal fundraising, by EPC editore, explains what the rules are to reach the funding goal.

According to the authors, one very important part is to take actively part in the campaign. Beneficiaries should give testimony and keep their funders updated constantly.

There are different kinds of crowdfunding, explained in the book: donation based, reward based, social lending and equity. The first kind was studied by the authors in the last six years. Reward based crowdfunding campaigns include, as the name explains, a reward for donors: usually it’s a small token, but it can be a new product sold at a steal price.

Social lending is a form of microcredit funding, as in platforms like Kiva that allow wannabe funders to virtually meet people in need of funds, risking only small sums.

Personal fundraising, explains the book, stems from crowdfunding: it allows people to get funding for a good cause. Facebook’s birthday campaigns are a step in this direction.

The book goes on to explain how to design a campaign, from the money goal to set and how long it should last.