Every social media user has witnessed the rise of a new form of funding methods on social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., and standard website advertisements. All these forms are overlapping, but these alternative fundings suit different individuals as per the requirements. While traditional financing still holds an upper hand over fencing processes, crowdfunding and scholarships have increasingly gained popularity for the cause. If you’re still unclear about the best for you, here’s a brief to waive off your confusion.
Popularly known as crowdfunding, this process of funding your project by accumulating money from different individuals for various causes or charities. Unlike traditional fundraising, crowdfunding comes from multiple individuals who believe in your cause and not from a bank or a corporation. Crowdfunding does not have any boundaries and takes place online in just one click. It is because of the ease and simplicity of launching a fundraising campaign that many people consider crowdfunding. With step-by-step procedures, all major platforms will guide and prepare your “pitch.” With this method, you can reach hundreds and thousands of individuals by working with an online service like GoFundMe, Kickstarter, or Indiegogo that places your funding requests in front of millions of potential investors or contributors. As one of the most inexpensive and less time-consuming methods to evaluate your idea, it provides a real possibility for increasing the brand’s outreach.
However, despite the numerous advantages of crowdfunding, it cannot guarantee the generation of necessary funds. Since individuals prefer to contribute to “all or nothing” campaigns, funds are backed by the CrowdFunding Platforms until a target is reached, failing which the funds are returned to the contributors. Traditional fundraising can prove helpful for a long-term goal and are applicable for all reasons regardless of the brand’s attractiveness, innovation, technologies, and business models. The lenders often have a longer application process involving multiple documents on approvals, collateral, personal details, etc., which reassures legitimacy.
Yet another option has opened up for students that institutions and governments especially grant. Scholarships are a way of financial assistance to the individual but not referred to as funding. Instead, they are called scholarships because they come from a Scholarship fund or endowment created by the organization. However, you might have to deal with limited availability and biasedness between two or more candidates, which makes it off the limits of many students in need but fall out of the eligibility criteria. Generally available as tuition waivers, it is a method of financing education through merit or meeting other specific requirements set by the particular scholarship committee.