TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 History Global Fund-raising 4 CHAPTER 2 Geography Donations Near and Far 10 CHAPTER 3 Civics The Legal Issue 16 CHAPTER 4 Economics New Jobs and Companies 22 THINK ABOUT IT 30 FOR MORE INFORMATION 31 GLOSSARY 32 INDEX 32
CHAPTER 1 History Global Fund-raising Think about something you really want that you don’t have the money for It happens to everyone That something might be a new bike or a new guitar It might be tickets to a concert or to Comic-Con It might even be something that someone you care about needs such as a better wheelchair for a family member or help with medical costs for a friend Your allowance helps That babysitting or lawn-care money you earned helps too but it might not be enough What do you do You could ask your family and friends if they would be willing to donate a few dollars to your cause Or thanks to crowdfunding and social media you could ask the whole world 4 21st century skills library
Alexander Pope gave a shout-out in his book to the 750 people who helped fund his project in 1713 Back in Time In the late 1990s and early 2000s during the rise of the internet crowdfunding became the quickest way to raise money But that’s not when it got its start Crowdfunding has been around since at least the 18th century well before the internet The term crowdfunding however wasn’t coined until 2006 by Michael Sullivan Alexander Pope a famous poet during the time asked people to 5 CROWDFUNDING
