LaunchGood is a
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, alternative finance. In 2015, over was rais ...
platform focused on the
Muslim community worldwide. LaunchGood went live in October 2013 and it raised more than $510.1 million from 1.6 million donors across 153 countries.
LaunchGood is one of a number of
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, alternative finance. In 2015, over was rais ...
platforms for gathering money from the public, which circumvents traditional avenues of investment. Project creators choose a deadline and a minimum funding goal, and usually provide rewards or "perks" for contributors at various levels.
The founders of LaunchGood are Chris Blauvelt, Amany Killawi and Omar Hamid. They are based out of
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
, Michigan and
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...
, Georgia.
Projects
LaunchGood has been used to fundraise for several nationally recognized projects, including a campaign to help rebuild African-American churches destroyed by arson in the summer of 2015, and a campaign to fund the legal team of
Adnan Syed (widely known from the podcast
Serial) through a special appeal of his conviction. Each of these campaigns raised more than $100,000 through the platform. An October 2018 campaign to help pay for Jewish burials for the 11 victims of the
Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
The Pittsburgh synagogue shooting was an antisemitic terrorist attack which took place at the Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The congregation, ...
, and the medical bills of survivors, raised its goal of $25,000 in six hours and went on to raise more than $200,000.
Awards
LaunchGood has received multiple awards, including:
* Islamic Economy Award, Small & Medium Enterprises (SME)
See also
*
Civic crowdfunding
*
Comparison of crowd funding services
Crowdfunding is a process in which individuals or groups pool money and other resources to fund projects initiated by other people or organizations "without standard financial intermediaries." Mollick, E. (2014). ''The dynamics of crowdfunding: A ...
*
Global Giving
References
External links
*
{{Crowdfunding platforms
Companies based in Detroit
Internet properties established in 2013
Crowdfunding platforms of the United States