When you hear the word crowdfunding, what comes to mind? You may conjure up the image of a young designer, a business school student or a hipster kid merchandising the very latest handcrafted fill-in-the-blank. But crowdfunding has become both a engine for growth and in some cases survival. Last week a Minneapolis bookstore, Once Upon A Crime, turned to crowdfunding just to stay in business. Onehundred a company that produces all of their products within a 100 mile radius of Boston runs one to five crowdfunding campaigns per year with 21 total campaigns and a cumulative raise of over 2 million dollars. For years, teachers have been leveraging crowdfunding sites like DonorsChoose to make up for budget shortfalls.
