The rise of crowdfunding

Crowdfunding has become an extremely lucrative and profitable mode of raising funds in the 21^st century. Advertising the funding requirements of an innovative-sounding project, in order to raise funding from a number of different people on an effective platform has worked excellently for numerous enterprises. Bitgiving is an Indian crowdfunding platform which emphasizes on the raising of funds for causes with a humane face.

About Bitgiving

The platform is headed by the 26-year old Ishita Anand. Bitgiving has partnered with numerous NGOs, such as CRY (Child Rights and You) and Amnesty International as part of its fundraising campaigns. The site itself highlights the numerous campaigns very beautifully-a number of “featured campaigns” are displayed at the very top, while “trending campaigns” also find a spot. Each campaign is accompanied by a video containing relevant details, and the various contributions and updates which the campaign generates are also highlighted. At the heart of crowdfunding lies the aim of awakening the desire among prospective funders of feeling happy by contributing monetarily to humanitarian campaigns. Thus, Bitgiving takes every effort to ensure that funders are kept aware of the campaign’s progress.
One of its flagship campaigns was the raising of funds for the Indian Ice Hockey Team, which sorely lacked the means to participate in the World Cup in Kuwait. The campaign not only succeeded in raising the requisite amount of funding(Rs. 5,69,312), but also in ensuring brand support for the team.

Current status, and future prospects

The currently bootstrapped startup comprises of a six member team. According to Ishita, Bitgiving’s monetary requirements are not astronomical. Thus, the startup is confident of expanding to form a 20-25-member strong core team, and in bringing about key technological improvements to their platform. Bitgiving, and crowdfunding in general, looks set to have an extremely bright future in India. Its implications on the implementation of  humanitarian campaigns is likely to be extremely positive in the long run.

To participate in various campaigns, visit the startup’s website.