Until Kickstarter started gaining attention for giving people a place to raise huge amounts of money very quickly, the term crowdfunding didn’t mean much. Now, crowdfunding has become a full-fledged industry, contributing $1.5 billion to new ventures in 2011. That total includes pledges from average people backing quirky projects like the Pebble smartwatch as well as seed funding for startups.
The first ever Crowdfunding Industry Report, from research firm Massolution, reveals that crowdfunding platforms, such as Kickstarter and Crowdfunder, raised $1.5 billion spread out over one million campaigns in 2011. Of that $1.5 billion, $837 million came from North American investors.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Crowdfunding raised $1.5B last year — and is on track to double in 2012 | VentureBeat
