Whip-round for a skyscraper

The secret is 'crowdfunding'. How does it work? Crowdfunding is a means of raising finance for projects by a community. It has been gaining in popularity ever since the internet first took off. Kickstarter is the most popular portal that has been set up for raising such funds. The service has been operating since 2008 and its guiding concept is simple: if you have a brilliant idea, share it with other internet users. If you manage to convince them that it is worth investing in, you can count on their money. The proposed schemes vary widely in value: from a single dollar to a few thousand. People who opt for financing a chosen project can receive returns on their investment in a variety of forms, or none at all - small amounts are sometimes paid for with the word ?thank you'. Does crowdfunding actually work? Of course it does. Kickstarter has enabled game and film creators as well as young designers to raise funds for their projects - from several thousand to as much as several million