You probably know what crowdfunding means and perhaps you’ve even spent your hard-earned dollars to help a project hit an important milestone or a product raise the necessary funds to go into production.
Crowdfunding isn’t new and it’s even worked for financing the clinical translation of stem cell therapies, as Nick Dragojlovic shared in a blog on Signals back in 2014. He’s been endorsing the concept since at least 2013.
But did you know there is a site that only crowdfunds Canadian science? It’s called Labfundr and it aims to support Canadian science and to engage the public at the same time. Yes, you really can send a trainee to ISSCR and, in return, that trainee may share videos and social media posts of what he or she learned and gained from the experience, and how the event will further his or her career or research. If it’s a piece of equipment that you want to fund to enable a project to succeed, you can do that too.
Labfundr campaigns have to be endorsed by a research organization. If you’re a researcher looking for funding to advance your work, why not draft a campaign and apply? Labfundr tells you how, and also provides assistance. If you want to fund science, just find a project you like and open your wallet.
Canada has its own national crowdfunding association that tracks industry trends. According to the NCFA, North America and Europe are the two most active markets for crowdfunding, with North America raising a total of US$837 million in 2011. By contrast, of the world’s 1,187,000 total successful crowdfunding campaigns, the majority originated from Europe (654,000), exceeding the number originating in North America (532,000). (Sorry, no Canadian stats were provided.)
Watch this video to learn more about Labfundr and how you can get involved.
Our regular feature, Right Turn, appears every Friday and we invite you to submit your own blog to info(at)ccrm.ca. We encourage you to be creative and use the right (!) side of your brain. We dare you to make us laugh! Right Turn features cartoons, photos, videos and other content to amuse, educate and encourage discussion.
As always, we welcome your feedback in the comment section.
Stacey Johnson
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