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Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance…
Studies have shown that racial bias exists on crowdfunding sites. For instance, a study published in 2017 found that "African American men are significantly less likely than similar white founders to reach their fundraising goals and that prospective supporters rate identical projects as lower in quality when they see the founder is an African American male." Source
Equity crowdfunding: This research found that black founders were less likely to succeed because they received fewer and smaller contributions on donation crowdfunding sites. Only 18 percent of all projects on Indiegogo, one of the earliest donation crowdfunding platforms, are created by ethnic minorities. Source
A study finds that customers on crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo and GoFundMe are less likely to pay top dollar for products by black entrepreneurs. Source
Racial Inequality in Medical Crowdsourced Funding: White crowdfunding beneficiaries receiving higher levels of support than non-White beneficiaries. Researchers fear that racialized impressions of deservingness may be a driver of unequal returns in crowdfunding. However, rather than being a direct effect of interpersonal racism, differences in returns may be an indirect effect of the systemic racism that causes the social networks of Black and Hispanic Americans to have lower access to financial capital. Source
Medical Crowd Funding MCF: The results show systemic disparities in MCF use and outcomes: people of color (and black women in particular) are under-represented; there is significant evidence of an additional digital care labor burden on women organizers of campaigns; and marginalized race and gender groups are associated with poorer fundraising outcomes. Source
Hate groups: TIME article says that an analysis of 324 fundraising campaigns found that white supremacists, neo-Nazis, militias, QAnon conspiracists, and far-right groups like the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys were able to raise millions of dollars across 10 fundraising websites. Source
BLM: It is also important to report that - In a study published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management, the researchers found in the decade before Black Lives Matter rose to prominence, Black restaurateurs were 76% less likely to be successful in the use of crowdfunding sources, such as Kickstarter, than non-Black restaurateurs. From 2010—2015, funding was 72% lower for Black-owned businesses and from 2016-2020 it was 79% lower.
But that all changed when the Black Lives Matter movement, and Kickstarter's endorsement of it in 2020, increased public support and facilitated a sharp increase in funding success for Black-owned restaurants. Source
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