Crowdfunding Resources

On this page we are compiling a range of resources about crowdfunding, with a special focus on crowdfunding of research projects from the social sciences and humanities (SSH): newspaper articles, scientific studies, how-to manuals and best practice examples.

If you know of any publications that you think are worth listing here, please send an email to: Sona Arasteh at arasteh[at]maxweberstiftung.de. Help us build this resource collection!

Generic articles on crowdfunding

• Brainard, Jeffrey (26 March 2018). Want to crowdfund your science? New study hints at who is successful. Study of 728 Experiment.com campaigns finds women and students tend to do better. In: Science. Online: https://www.science.org/content/article/want-crowdfund-your-science-new-study-hints-who-successful 
• Conroy, Gemma (10 March 2020). Struggling to win grants? Here’s how to crowdfund your research. Making dream projects a reality. In: nature index. Online: https://www.natureindex.com/news-blog/how-to-crowdfund-your-research-science-experiment-grant 
• Else, Holly (2019). Crowdfunding research flips science’s traditional reward model. In: nature news. Online: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00104-1
• Miller, Zack (2019). The Best Platforms for Crowdfunding Science Research. From Researching Physics to Providing Ultrasound. In: The Balance Small Business. Online: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/top-sites-for-crowdfunding-scientific-research-985238 
• UNESCO (2021). UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science. Document code: SC-PCB-SPP/2021/OS/UROS. Online: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379949.locale=en [Crowdfunding is part of the UNESCO recommendations on OpenScience]
• Wemakeit Blog: https://blog.wemakeit.com/

Scientific publications on crowdfunding

• English, Rebecca (2014). Rent-a-crowd? Crowdfunding academic research. In: First Monday, 19(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v19i1.4818 
• Forbes, Paula, Barbot, Laure, Papaki, Eliza, Schramm, Maxi, Kraker, Peter, & De Paoli, Stefano (2021). TRIPLE Deliverable: D3.2 Report on Co-Design of the Innovative and New Services (DRAFT). Zenodo. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5660961 [including results from the TRIPLE crowdfunding survey]
• Sauermann, Henry, Franzoni, Chiara, Shafi, Kourosh (2018). Crowdfunding Scientific Research (Working Paper). National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series 24402. DOI: 10.3386/w24402, https://www.nber.org/papers/w24402 
• Sauermann, Henry, Franzoni, Chiara, Shafi, Kourosh (2019). Crowdfunding Scientific Research. Descriptive insights and correlates of funding success. In: PLoS ONE 14(1): e0208384. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208384 

Resources from the 1st TRIPLE International Conference (Nov. 2021)

• Aversano, Alizé (2021). What is crowdfunding? Presentation at the 1st TRIPLE International Conference “Empowering Discovery in Open Social Sciences and Humanities” (TRIPLE Conference), virtual event, 22-24 November 2021 (Session 2 (Day 2): Panel — Is crowdfunding a solution to the lack of research funding for social sciences and humanities?, Part 1). Zenodo. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5776320
• De Paoli, Stefano, Forbes, Paula, Oniga, Andreea (2021). TRIPLE Crowdfunding User Research. Presentation at the 1st TRIPLE International Conference “Empowering Discovery in Open Social Sciences and Humanities” (TRIPLE Conference), virtual event, 22-24 November 2021. (Session 2 (Day 2): Panel — Is crowdfunding a solution to the lack of research funding for social sciences and humanities?, Part 1). Zenodo. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5776411
• Di Pace, Luigi (2021). #BiUniCrowd – Bicocca Università del Crowdfunding. Presentation at the 1st TRIPLE International Conference “Empowering Discovery in Open Social Sciences and Humanities” (TRIPLE Conference), virtual event, 22-24 November 2021 (Session 2 (Day 2): Panel — Is crowdfunding a solution to the lack of research funding for social sciences and humanities?, Part 3). Zenodo. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5776360
• Le Béchec, Mariannig (2021, December 13). Crowdfunding for Cultural and SSH Project. Presentation at the 1st TRIPLE International Conference “Empowering Discovery in Open Social Sciences and Humanities” (TRIPLE Conference), virtual event, 22-24 November 2021. (Session 2 (Day 2): Panel — Is crowdfunding a solution to the lack of research funding for social sciences and humanities?, Part 1). Zenodo. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5776335

Publications on ‘how to crowdfund’

• Aversano, Alizé (30 Sept. 2021). Symbolische Belohnungen für dein Projekt – unsere besten Tipps. In: wemakeit Blog. https://blog.wemakeit.com/symbolische-belohnungen/ [blog post in German about different types of rewards]
• König, Lorenz (8 Oct. 2018). So machst du deine wemakeit-Kampagne fit für Social Media. In: wemakeit Blog. https://blog.wemakeit.com/so-machst-du-deine-wemakeit-kampagne-fit-fuer-social-media/ [blog post in German about social media strategies for crowdfunding projects]
• Leow, Johnathan (2014). Crowdfunding Checklist. The 90-Plan For Turning an Idea into a Best-Selling Kickstarter Launch. Online: https://de.slideshare.net/LeowJohnathan/crowdfunding-launch-checklistthe-90plan-for-turning-an-idea-into-a-bestselling-kickstarter-launch
• Mathys-Parnreiter, Simone (21 Aug. 2019). Das Herz jeder Kampagne: Unsere Tipps für attraktive Belohnungen. In: wemakeit Blog. https://blog.wemakeit.com/das-herz-jeder-kampagne-unsere-tipps-fur-attraktive-belohnungen/
• Schiffmann, Jana (17 Nov. 2014). What Makes a Good Project Video? In: wemakeit Blog. https://blog.wemakeit.com/what-makes-a-good-project-video/
• wemakeit (13 Jan. 2022). Scientific Crowdfunding Workshop (OPERAS Crowdfunding Initiative). Online: https://wemakeit.com/pages/operas (recording) and slides.

Best practice examples

• Help us save coral reefs (project on the wemakeit platform): https://wemakeit.com/projects/help-us-save-coral-reefs
• Humus sapiens (project on the wemakeit platform): https://wemakeit.com/projects/humus-sapiens