Independent guide · donation based crowdfundingPersonal projects · Collective causes
Guides

Types of Donation Crowdfunding: Personal and Collective

Explore donation crowdfunding for personal needs, education, businesses, community facilities and charitable causes, with a guide to choosing the right structure.
Two adults use their phones outside a reading room; the foreground phone displays a fictional Reading Room Fund, a $25 contribution and a Donate button.
AI-generated illustration · fictional campaign and amounts

Organise the collection around the need it will finance

Donation campaigns can address a single person’s expense or pool support for work that benefits a wider community. A tuition appeal needs a different budget from a shelter’s veterinary fund, and a business recovery campaign must explain why supporters are being asked for gifts. Use the subject guides below to examine the recipient, evidence and spending decisions appropriate to each purpose. The categories are a way to compare practical arrangements; they do not imply that every platform accepts every type of appeal.[1][2][3]

Decide what contributors are being promised

The contribution model should be clear before an appeal is published. A donor may receive an acknowledgement and progress information, but a promise to supply a product, repay money or distribute profits changes the arrangement. Check the platform’s rules when combining donations with tickets, rewards or commercial activity. For collective projects, agree who controls the funds and how the group will explain shortfalls, surplus money and changes to the original plan. These decisions make the chosen fundraising type understandable to both organisers and supporters.[1][2][3]

English · Donations & other finance

English · Businesses & recovery

English · Collective causes

English · Faith & giving

English · Personal goals

Services illustrating different donation purposes

FundRazr personal fundraising

Explore personal and community campaign tools, while keeping a donation-only appeal distinct from any optional reward features the service also offers.
fundrazr.com

JustGiving community crowdfunding

Review individual, club and community fundraising examples and check the personal crowdfunding product’s geographical and payment requirements.
justgiving.com

GlobalGiving nonprofit projects

Use the nonprofit model as a comparison when a collective project is run by an eligible organisation rather than an informal individual organiser.
support.globalgiving.org
Choose the model before publishing
  • Define the expense or programme to be funded.
  • State clearly whether any reward or repayment is offered.
  • Agree who can change the project’s spending plan.