Corporate social responsibility more important than profit for crowdfunding investors

Not profit but corporate social responsibility is at the top of crowdfunding investors’ wish list. So says research by CrowdAboutNow, the crowdfunding platform that brings entrepreneurs and investors together. The platform researched what today’s investor thinks is important about the entrepreneur of the future. The research shows that investors find the social drivers of a company more compelling than the potential financial benefits it brings them.

Whether companies successfully raise an investment does not depend on the potential return. Research by CrowdAboutNow shows that the social contribution of a company is the most important reason for investors to invest or not. Mark Laagewaard, founder of CrowdAboutNow: “In recent years we have seen that entrepreneurs with an outspoken social and sustainable mission attract many committed investors, which leads to successful campaigns. When social interest prevails, the ‘crowd’ is only too happy to be part of it.”

Circularity and local involvement priority
CrowdAboutNow has investigated which forms of corporate social responsibility investors find most important. It shows that investors prefer to invest in a project or company that takes steps in the field of circularity and is locally involved by giving something back to the neighborhood. Organizational transparency and the use of green energy are also considered important by investors.

“Since the founding of CrowdAboutNow, we see that crowdfunding campaigns of local entrepreneurs, such as the baker on the corner and the neighborhood cafe, are very successful. People like to be involved in a business that contributes to the neighborhood. We also notice that sustainability is becoming an increasingly important theme. Both for investors and entrepreneurs. For example, the entrepreneurs of Pieter Pot, who deliver packaging-free groceries, and the sustainable menswear of LABFRESH have reached their target amount with hundreds of people within a short period of time,” said Laagewaard.

10 years of crowdfunding: more craft and attention to people, environment and society
Platform CrowdAboutNow has now been in existence for ten years. Almost a thousand entrepreneurs have raised funding through the platform in recent years. A total of 57 million euros has been financed by 80 thousand investors. Laagewaard: “More and more companies see the need and benefits of corporate social responsibility. Terms such as circularity were barely mentioned ten years ago, while today waste-free production can be a condition for investing in the company. We also see that in recent years there is an increasing appreciation for entrepreneurs who practice a traditional craft, such as beer brewers and cheese makers. We are turning away from the mass production and ready-made world and more often opting for small-scale and quality.”