Crowdfunding is still in its heady early days. A lot of people think of it as a quirky way to fund weird hobbies, pipedream proposals, parodies or bacon fantasies.
Crystal bacon, the world’s largest jockstrap, a Chipotle burrito for lunch later today and a bacon-wrapped alligator stuffed with a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken are some of the weirdest things people have tried to get crowdfunded.
But the nature of crowdfunding platforms is changing.
As big bucks pour into projects and campaigns from more formidable players, various platforms are growing and taking on a more progressive role. As of October 2014, crowdfunding raised $2 million USD every single day. That number is no doubt bigger today.
Governments, nonprofits, activists and entrepreneurs looking to address vexing social issues are dodging the constraints of bureaucracy and rushing headlong into projects thanks to crowdfunding. Ordinary people, too, are gaining the ability to spend their money on specific issues and ideas that they care about. For instance, if someone wants to fund the construction of a gender-equal school in Nepal, there’s now ways to do that!
Here are 7 examples of crowdfunding doing good:
1) A company in Ghana called Flamestower raised $23,000 USD from crowdfunding after asking for $15,000. The company converts fire into electricity for portable phone-charging devices. In areas where mobile phones are used for everything from everyday communication to banking to education, this is a big deal.
FlameStower
2)Gravity Light in India raised $400,000 USD after requesting $55,000. The company creates lamps that generate light from gravity. Sounds futuristic, but it’s surprisingly simple. A person lifts weights attached to the lamp, drapes it over a tall stand with zip ties and then enjoys 20 or so minutes of light as the weights descend. 
Gravity Light
3)WakaWaka Power hails from Haiti and raised nearly $420,000 USD after an initial request for $50,000. The company creates compact solar stations that can be used to charge a range of devices. In a country that is still recovering from a devastating earthquake, the stations “power” community resilience. 
WakaWaka Power
4)Kite Patch in Kenya originally asked for $75,000 USD and ended its funding phase with more than $550,000. The company creates small patches that allow people to go undetected by mosquitos for up to 48 hours. In countries where mosquito-borne diseases are prevalent and debilitating, this patch is a game-changer.
Kite Patch
5) Another Ghanaian effort called Energy for Old Fadama sought to empower a slum with electricity that had a menacing relationship with the resource in the past, with power shortages and electrical fires happening all the time. The group raised $17,000 USD on the social good crowdfunding platform StartSomeGood and has begun distributing solar panels and employing women.
6) In Cambodia, a social enterprise called Kinyei raised $28,000 USD to create a collaborative project space and coffee shop that trains locals for employment.
Kinyei
7) My favorite example took place through Humans of New York on Indiegogo last month. When traveling in Pakistan, Brandon Stanton met a woman named Syeda Ghulam Fatima who puts her life in danger on a regular basis to free people trapped in crushing slavery. The campaign raised $2.3 million.
Humans of New York
For socially-conscious entrepreneurs, crowdfunding is an accelerator. It can help people court investors without groveling or compromising, build a passionate community of brand advocates and, most importantly, get projects off the ground fast.
In developing countries where corruption may be rife and resources rare, these traits are especially attractive and will cause crowdfunding to assume a prominent role in the execution of the Global Goals.
Now, I’m not saying crowdfunding is at all the key to ending extreme poverty but it will be a great tool in the effort. The World Bank’s InfoDev estimates that over the next 20 years, developing countries have the potential to raise $93 billion through crowdfunding platforms.
That’s a lot, but it’s still less than a quarter of what was sent to home countries by diaspora communities in 2012 alone.
Plus, with record inequality around the world, I don’t think the world should be looking to ordinary people with ordinary incomes as the central source of financing to solve poverty. There are plenty of billionaires or national governments in a better position to help.
What I am saying, though, is that crowdfunding provides an alternate path to traditional models of investment. And it can be more fun.
But in the meantime, you can call on world leaders in TAKE ACTION NOW to ensure that the Global Goals are achieved.