crowdfunding

Crowdfunding: obtaining funding for a project, in many cases humanitarian one, by soliciting contribution from a large group of people, especially from an online community or social networking sites. The crowd can already exist as a community but they can also suddenly form from disparate groups around the world who all happen to share an interest in funding a person, project, event, campaign etcetera. The Internet allows for information to flow around the world, increasing awareness. A Crowdfunded network can assemble and disassemble at any time. This is the primary difference to traditional co-ops. In other words, it’s a form of donation, but mostly online.

Read this to understand how the word is used:

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/crowdfunding-sites/

http://radar.oreilly.com/2013/02/crowdfunding-science.html