The first online directory of all crowdfunding platforms operating in the UK has gone live today (21 May). The free website - CrowdingIn - has been developed by Nesta, the UK's innovation foundation, to assist those looking to raise money via crowdfunding, which could provide as much as £15bn of finance per annum in the coming years1.

Crowdingin.com allows its users - who could either be looking to raise finance or provide finance - to filter by the type of funding being sought and the sectors that platforms specialise in.  Crowdfunding is currently being used by many different industries in both business and voluntary sectors. The filter criteria on the website are:

Sector and area of interest:

  • Business finance: Access to finance for startups or established businesses
  • Social Good: Finance for projects that deliver a significant benefit to society
  • Arts-Creative: Finance for projects that have creativity at their core

Crowdfunding model:

  • Donation: Fund projects by getting small donations from a large number of people
  • Reward: Source small amounts from individuals in exchange for rewards
  • Lending: Borrow from the crowd with individuals contributing small parts of the overall loan amount
  • Equity: Seek investment from the crowd in exchange for a share in your business or project

For each of the 31 platforms currently2 listed on the website, a summary of services they provide and their conditions of use are listed to help users make choices about the platforms which meet their needs.

Alongside Crowdingin.com Nesta has also published a how-to guide to crowdfunding, Working The Crowd, available to download free of charge. From explaining  the 'nuts and bolts' of crowdfunding to tips on how to seek or give funding through platforms, Working the Crowd provides crowdfunding advice and background at a glance.

A combination of modern technology and the financial crisis has made the crowdfunding market ripe. Liam Collins, Nesta policy advisor and crowdfunding researcher explains, "Uses of crowdfunding vary from funding videogames to organic bakeries. It has been growing quickly worldwide in recent years and has the potential to revolutionise the world of finance, creating new opportunities to fund everything from new products and businesses to community projects.

"As the crowdfunding market grows, so too does the number of platforms that facilitate the exchange between the crowd of funders and those seeking finance. Crowdingin.com will help users navigate the options open to them."

Crowdingin.com and Working the Crowd are the latest in Nesta's crowdfunding series. More from the series is available at www.nesta.org.uk/crowdfunding, including Banking on Each Other, research published in April looking at the business finance model of crowdfunding.

Notes to editor:

For media enquiries please contact Sarah Reardon on 020 7438 2606 or email [email protected]

  • 1CrowdingIn report, Nesta 2012
  • 2Nesta will update Crowdingin.com with new market entrants that meet the website's criteria
  • Crowdfunding is a method of getting finance by sourcing small amounts from a relatively large number of people rather than getting large amounts from one or a few. While this is something that has a long history it has become increasingly popular recently in its modern form of online crowdfunding. This allows individuals or organisations to source funds from anyone via a website or crowdfunding 'platform'. The platform hosts the fundraisers pitch for funding and facilitates the transfer of money from the funders.