ABSTRACT
Small businesses and community organizations are utilizing crowdfunding, an online, crowd-sourced capital raising tool, to launch products, expand services, and extend customer reach as well as bolster resiliency in the wake of economic, health, or other negatively impactful scenarios. The Local Crowd’s (TLC) crowdfunding platform and accompanying educational resources explore the economic and social benefits of Community-Supported Enterprise in working with rural community leadership and entrepreneurs throughout the United States, which continued to offer economic support in reaction to the implications of 2020’s COVID-19. Harnessing the power of the emerging fourth economic sector (for-benefit businesses, social enterprises, and hybrid nonprofits) with tools like crowdfunding not only supports capital and social goals but also establishes resiliency in crisis and creates an ongoing opportunity for community-led impact.
