In 2011, crowdfunding initiatives raised 2.5 million euros in the Netherlands. The two largest platforms voordekunst.nl and TenPages.com together account for more than a third of this. An important trend in 2011 was the rise of large individual crowdfunding projects and the start of equity-based crowdfunding, investing small amounts in (starting) companies.
Crowdfunding revenues up 500%
In 2010, barely 500,000 euros were raised. In the first 6 months of 2011, this had already risen to 750,000 euros . In the last 6 months, the amount raised doubled again to 1.5 to 2 million euros, according to figures from consultancy Douw & Koren .
In total, the Dutch platforms successfully helped finance approximately 250 projects in 2011. From my own figures, I know that the success rate on the large platforms is often above 75%. The big question is whether the platforms can continue to provide this much support to the project owners in 2012 and whether this percentage will remain just as high.
If we look across the border, we see that at the largest crowdfunding platform in the world ( Kickstarter ) this percentage was 46% in 2011. Tom Vroemen, the founder of CrowdAboutNow , says about this: “For most crowdfunding platforms, an average of around 50% of projects succeed in raising the required amount. Up until now, capital has mainly been raised within the existing network of an entrepreneur or project owner. In 2012, crowdfunding will increasingly be seen by the general public as an investment opportunity.”
Since the majority of crowdfunding platforms only started in 2011 and some platforms are still in beta and will only start in 2012, this growth is expected to continue.
There are currently 20 crowdfunding platforms active in the Netherl benin phone number list ands and new ones are added every month. The largest platforms in the Netherlands (based on donations/investments from the public in 2011) that have raised more than 100,000 euros are currently:
Voordekunst.nl – €501,162 euros ( more details )
TenPages.com – Approx. €400,000
Symbid – Approx. €250,000
1%CLUB – €228,967 euros ( more details )
CrowdAboutNow – Approx. €190,000
Cinecrowd – Approx. €140,000
Wekomenerwel.nl – Approx. €100,000
In addition to these crowdfunding initiatives, the P2P lending site Geldvoorelkaar.nl (which also profiles itself as a crowdfunding initiative) raised €300,000 to €350,000 in 2011.
Crowdfunding of individual projects
In 2011, there was also a clear strong growth visible in individual crowdfunding projects. For example, the Amsterdam Museum raised over 51,000 euros for the restoration of a painting , the Rijksmuseum Twente raised almost 60,000 euros for the purchase of a painting , supporters' association D'ran van de Graafschap realised enough money to become the shirt sponsor for de Graafschap for this season and an organic farmer has already raised almost 40,000 euros for his Buitengewone Varkens . Finally, Petra de Boevere wants to raise 100,000 euros for a business plan for her liquor store: