Independent cultural funding is booming
In 2014, 15.8 million francs were raised through crowdfunding in Switzerland - compared to 11.6 million francs in the previous year. These are the findings of the "Crowdfunding Monitoring 2015" study by Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and Swisscom.
For the second time, the Institute of Financial Services Zug IFZ at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts has taken a close look at the crowdfunding market in Switzerland. The research team analyzed the data of all platforms active in Switzerland last year - 15 in total. However, numerous market participants have been added in recent months. At the end of April 2015, 30 platforms were active with a branch in Switzerland, including the Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank, the first traditional bank since the end of 2014.
15.8 million francs were raised through crowdfunding in Switzerland in 2014 - 36% more than in the previous year and a fivefold increase compared to 2011. The money raised is attributable to 1078 campaigns, as the fundraising phase is known. However, the absolute amounts are still very low in an international comparison. The crowdfunding market in Switzerland is still in its infancy compared to the USA or the UK, explains finance professor Andreas Dietrich, who wrote the study together with Simon Amrein and with the support of Swisscom.
Crowdfunding is increasingly establishing itself as an alternative form of financing, particularly in the cultural sector. Almost 1.5 million francs were raised for 216 music, concert and festival campaigns in 2014, an average of around 6,850 francs.
On www.hslu.ch/crowdfunding the current study can be downloaded free of charge.
