On October 9, a Taliban-affiliated terrorist boarded a school bus in rural Pakistan and gunned down three schoolgirls, including 15 year-old women’s activist Malala Yousufzai. Miraculously, all three girls survived, but Malala sustained grave injuries and remains in critical condition. The incident provoked international outrage, but it also engendered global compassion: a few days after the shooting, a group with personal and public ties to Malala started the Malala Yousufzai Family Fund, a crowdfunding campaign to cover her medical bills and support girls’ education in Pakistan. More than 650 people have jointly donated $49,700 to the campaign, with more pouring in each day.
Despite crowdfunding’s democratic appeal — anyone can try to raise money for any idea — not everyone is on board. Gawker implored the masses to “End Online Panhandling Forever!” calling Kickstarter “begging by and for the privileged” (it’s not). Gizmodo proclaimed “We’re Done With Kickstarter,” arguing that turning an idea into reality should be more difficult than convincing “a mob of drooling, optimistic simpletons” to fund an online campaign (it is). Entrepreneur attempted to explain “Why Crowdfunding is Bad for Business” — apparently, it’s because the crowd lacks the business acumen of high-net-worth investors (irrelevant).
To read the full, original article click on this link: Screw the Critics: Five Reasons Crowdfunding Works
