U.N. Dispatch: Crowdfunding the Sustainable Development Goals
Journalist Joanne Lu examines the use of crowdfunding as a potential strategy to finance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Lu writes, “GoFundMe for the Sustainable Development Goals? It’s more feasible than you may think. A new study from the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School says crowdfunding may be a viable strategy for financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). … Some say we should increase trade and aid (official development assistance). Others point to blended finance, using public or philanthropic funding to increase private sector investment in sustainable development, and impact investing in businesses with the expectation of a positive social benefit as well as financial return. But the authors of this study say the U.N. should think like a startup and launch a crowdfunding platform, along the lines of Indiegogo or GoFundMe, specifically to raise money for projects that align with the SDGs…” (2/13).