Crowdfunder
Crowdfunder is a UK-based crowdfunding platform founded in 2011 that enables individuals, charities, community groups, and small businesses to raise funds across twelve verticals including arts, charity, medical, sports, and community projects, operating on a transaction-fee model with zero fees for select categories.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersCornwell, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Crowdfunder does
Crowdfunder (legally Crowdfunder LTD, registered in England and Wales, company number 07831511) is a UK-based crowdfunding platform founded in 2011 that enables individuals, charities, community groups, and small businesses to raise money through donation-based, reward-based, and community share campaigns. The platform spans twelve vertical categories — activism, arts, business, charity, community, education, environment, food & drink, medical, personal causes, sports, and venues — and operates a self-serve model with no platform fees for arts, medical, and charity campaigns while charging transaction fees on other categories.
The platform is built on a cloud-based architecture integrating Stripe for payment processing, Intercom for live chat support, Klaviyo for email marketing automation, and Segment for visitor analytics and behavioural data pipelines. Product modules include a Match Funding engine (with over £10 million available from national and regional grant partners), Prize Draws (raffle-style fundraising), Community Shares (investment-based crowdfunding), and a Knowledge Hub providing free educational content, guides, and expert-led webinars. Acquired subsidiaries extend the platform's reach: CrowdJustice (legal crowdfunding, acquired December 2023) and Rocket Fund (education-focused crowdfunding, acquired October 2020).
The revenue model is predominantly transaction-fee based on successful campaigns in fee-paying categories, supplemented by administrative roles on match funding partnerships with Creative Scotland, Sport England, Sport Wales, and Sport Northern Ireland. Marketing is largely content- and community-led via the Knowledge Hub, organic social media, webinars, and PR-driven case studies. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors beyond early-stage funders (Crowdcube 2014, Creative England 2015, Broody 2017), operating with 11–50 employees and no public revenue disclosure.
Crowdfunder firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Crowdfunder
- Legal name
- Crowdfunder LTD
- Website
- https://crowdfunder.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Crowdfunder is a UK-based crowdfunding platform founded in 2011 that enables individuals, charities, community groups, and small businesses to raise funds across twelve verticals including arts, charity, medical, sports, and community projects, operating on a transaction-fee model with zero fees for select categories.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Crowdfunder industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Crowdfunding Platform
- NAICS
- Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Creator Fundraising & Crowdfunding Platforms (Recurring/Project-Based) (MPACAFAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Creator Tipping, Donations & Micro-Payments (MPACAFAB), Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)
Keywords
Where Crowdfunder is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cornwell
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Crowdfunder business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Platform Transaction Fees: Crowdfunder earns revenue through transaction fees on successful campaigns. However, the platform offers zero platform fees for arts and creative fundraising, medical fundraisers, and charity fundraising categories, suggesting a tiered fee structure where some categories subsidize others.
- Match Funding Administration: The platform administers match funding programs from partners like Creative Scotland (£250,000 Crowdmatch Fund) and sports bodies. While this is primarily value-add for users, it may generate administrative fees or strengthen partner relationships.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Arts and creative fundraising - no platform fees |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Medical fundraising - no platform fees |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Charity fundraising - zero platform fees |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Crowdfunder product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Crowdfunder operates a UK-focused online crowdfunding and fundraising platform that enables individuals, charities, community groups, and small businesses to raise money from the public through donation-based, reward-based, and community share campaigns. The platform provides campaign creation tools, integrated payment processing, match funding access, and educational resources, with zero platform fees offered for arts, medical, and charity categories.
Product overview
Crowdfunder is a UK-based crowdfunding platform offering a unified product portfolio centered on its core crowdfunding platform, enhanced by supplementary modules including Match Funding (providing over £10 million in grant opportunities), Prize Draws (raffle-style fundraising), Community Shares (investment-based crowdfunding), and the Knowledge Hub (educational resources). The platform serves diverse sectors through specialized sub-brands including Creative Funding, Medical Fundraising, Charity Fundraising, and Sports Crowdfunding. The platform operates on a no-platform-fees model for arts and medical categories. In December 2023, Crowdfunder acquired CrowdJustice to expand into legal crowdfunding, combining its broader network with CrowdJustice's legal fundraising expertise.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Crowdfunder Core Crowdfunding Platform UK-based crowdfunding platform enabling individuals and organizations to raise funds through donation-based, reward-based, and community share campaigns across multiple sectors including activism, arts, business, charity, community, education, environment, food and drink, medical, personal causes, and sports.
- Match Funding
Quantifiable outcome
- Hundreds of millions raised for great causes
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Crowdfunder
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments12 records
Ideal customer profiles8 records
Crowdfunder technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature3 records
Crowdfunder partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Creative ScotlandcoreCreative Scotland partnership through the Crowdmatch Fund programme, now in its seventh year. Offers £250,000 available to support creative projects across Scotland with up to 50% match funding capped at £10,000 per project. The initiative has helped projects raise over £1.7 million to date, providing artists, creators, and cultural organisations with flexible access to National Lottery funds.
- CrowdJusticecoreCrowdfunder acquired CrowdJustice, a legal crowdfunding platform, in December 2023. The acquisition combines Crowdfunder's broader crowdfunding network with CrowdJustice's legal fundraising expertise to enhance access to justice and create a more powerful platform for legal fundraising and social impact.
- Sport EnglandcoreSport England Movement Fund providing grant funding to improve physical activity opportunities for communities. Offers up to £15,000 extra for eligible sports clubs through the match funding programme.
- Sport WalescoreSport Wales: A Place for Sport fund supporting sports clubs or community organisations developing for community benefit. Offers up to £15,000 extra for eligible projects through match funding.
- Sport Northern IrelandcoreSNI: Creating Opportunities Fund connecting communities to enable more people to take part in sport and physical activity. Offers up to £5,000 extra for eligible sports clubs through match funding.
Scale indicators8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Crowdfunder competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- JustGiving: UK-focused donation-based crowdfunding platform serving charities and individuals. Closely comparable to Crowdfunder on geography, customer base (charities, personal causes), and campaign categories, though JustGiving was acquired by GoFundMe in 2017.
- Kickstarter: Reward-based crowdfunding platform serving creators including artists, filmmakers, and product designers. Comparable to Crowdfunder's creative and arts categories, though Kickstarter operates globally and is more product/innovation-focused.
- Indiegogo: Global crowdfunding platform with both donation-based and reward-based campaigns. Comparable to Crowdfunder's business and creative fundraising verticals, with broader international reach but smaller UK presence.
- CrowdJustice: Legal crowdfunding platform acquired by Crowdfunder in December 2023. Direct overlap pre-acquisition in UK legal crowdfunding market; now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crowdfunder.
- Rocket Fund: UK school crowdfunding platform acquired by Crowdfunder in October 2020. Directly overlaps with Crowdfunder's education segment pre-acquisition; now operates as a sub-brand.
Broad incumbents
- GoFundMe: Global leader in personal and charitable crowdfunding. Competes with Crowdfunder across personal causes, medical, and charity categories in the UK, but operates at significantly larger scale with broader international reach.
Emerging players
- Patreon: Recurring membership platform for creators. Comparable to Crowdfunder's creator-monetization elements and community-shares offering, though focused on ongoing subscriptions rather than project-based funding.
- Donorbox: Online donation platform for nonprofits and charities. Comparable to Crowdfunder's charity fundraising category, particularly for registered charities seeking recurring donor infrastructure.
- Buy Me a Coffee: Creator tipping and micro-donation platform. Comparable to Crowdfunder's prize-draws and reward-based mechanics, particularly for individual creators and small content communities.
Regional players
- Fundly: US-based crowdfunding platform supporting nonprofits and personal causes. Comparable product offering to Crowdfunder's charity and community categories, but primarily serves the US market rather than competing directly in the UK.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Crowdfunder social profiles
Digital presenceCrowdfunder compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Crowdfunder financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Crowdfunder leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Crowdfunder subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Crowdfunder funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Crowdfunder M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Crowdfunder
What does Crowdfunder do?
Crowdfunder operates a UK-focused online crowdfunding and fundraising platform that enables individuals, charities, community groups, and small businesses to raise money from the public through donation-based, reward-based, and community share campaigns. The platform provides campaign creation tools, integrated payment processing, match funding access, and educational resources, with zero platform fees offered for arts, medical, and charity categories.
Is Crowdfunder a public or private company?
Crowdfunder is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Crowdfunder founded?
Crowdfunder was founded in 2011. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Crowdfunder based?
Crowdfunder is headquartered in Cornwell, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Crowdfunder make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Platform Transaction Fees are the primary driver. The others are match Funding Administration.
Who are Crowdfunder's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are JustGiving, Kickstarter, Indiegogo, CrowdJustice and Rocket Fund. GoFundMe is listed as a broad incumbent. Emerging players are Patreon, Donorbox and Buy Me a Coffee. Fundly is listed as a regional player.
Does Crowdfunder have an API?
No public API is recorded for Crowdfunder.
What industry is Crowdfunder in?
Crowdfunder's product category is Crowdfunding Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACAFAJ, Creator Fundraising & Crowdfunding Platforms (Recurring/Project-Based), with a secondary code of MPACAFAB, Creator Tipping, Donations & Micro-Payments. Its NAICS code is 81321 and its SIC code is 6199.