What is crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people, today often performed via internet-mediated registries, but the concept can also be executed through mail-order subscriptions, benefit events, and other methods. Crowdfunding is a form of alternative finance, which has emerged outside of the traditional financial system.

The crowdfunding model is based on three types of protagonists: the project initiator who proposes the idea and/or project to be funded; individuals or groups who support the idea; and a moderating organisation (the “platform”) that brings the parties together to launch the idea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowdfunding