Social media and digital platforms are transforming lives like never before and crowdfunding is increasingly emerging as the new way to use these tools to survive and thrive in challenging times. From calling for help to survive a life-threatening condition, to executing a business idea with funds from strangers, or funding higher studies abroad, to raising funds for the less fortunate during the prolonged pandemic, the power of people has never been so well-defined as it is now via crowdfunding platforms. These digital platforms are making lives easier for those in need and in numerous ways possible.

 Crowdfunding: A New Way to Give
Donation-Based Crowdfunding new ways of giving have evolved too. These include crowdfunding, birthday and anniversary fundraisers, community events for raising funds for social causes, etc. However, the usage of digital technology and increased internet penetration has made crowdfunding one of the most preferred or ‘go-to’ alternatives—be it for raising funds for a start-up idea or fundraising for a personal cause such as meeting education costs, medical emergencies, social causes, etc.
 A report[4] by Statista points out that China tops the list of countries that achieved the maximum transaction value for crowdfunding projects in the world in 2020, followed by the USA and the UK. India ranks sixth after Canada at US$ 1.8 million. As per the same report, in 2019, the global crowdfunding market was valued at US$ 13.9 billion and was forecasted to increase threefold by 2026.
Rise of Digital Platforms Supporting the Act of Giving
India witnessed the birth of a new breed of digital platforms to support giving in the early years of the last decade, with the emergence of Milaap in 2010, followed by Ketto and Wishberry in 2012. Since then, there has been a steady increase in the number of these donating platforms. ImpactGuru, which was incubated in Harvard Innovation Labs' Venture Initiation Program in the USA, started its journey in India in 2014.
However, it was only in 2020 that a majority of these platforms saw a huge spurt in their activities during the COVID-19 crisis. agiveme.com, gofundme, GlobalGiving, and ginengain saw a significant surge in online donations since the second wave of the pandemic intensified in the country.