A crowd-funding platform pools resources of different actors, utilizing most of the time an internet-based platform. Crowdfunding for sustainable energy and climate projects is the natural extension of the citizen cooperative model to even larger communities. With the help of the internet, crowdfunding can draw support from people across entire countries and increasingly internationally.
One distinction between crowd-funding platforms and citizen cooperatives is the one of structure. Crowdfunding platforms focussing on sustainable energy may have multiple different projects in different countries and may offer various types of participation (loan, donation, etc.) whereas an energy cooperative is a single organisation typically raising money to fund its own projects. Increasingly though, the lines are becoming blurred: cooperatives can make their own investment offers or can even make use of crowdfunding platforms to fund part of their goals.
Crowd-funding platform can potentially finance projects in all SECAP sectors.
Handbook on citizen RES business models
European Crowdfunding Platform (Citizenergy)
European Crowdfunding Network