Let your community invest | Wefunder, Home of the Community Round (2024)

FAQs

Has anyone made money from Wefunder? ›

As of July 2022, Wefunder has helped 2000+ founders raise over $500 million. Over 500,000 people have invested on Wefunder, with a median investment of $250.

Workplaces and communities that invest in the people around them can strengthen social bonds and build trust. One way to strengthen social bonds is to find a need in your community and fill it. A great idea to start is to organize a nature cleanup so you can enjoy the landscape.

Community investing is closely tied to socially responsible investing and focuses on economically improving disadvantaged communities by offering banking services and small loans to fund businesses, non-profit groups and affordable housing initiatives.

Wefunder has an A+ rating on the Bettery Business Bureau and 3.6/5 starts on TrustPilot. However, as with any investment platform, there are some negative reviews as well.

While there is no public market for your investment, you may sell your stake to another investor if they are a family member or an accredited investor during the first year of your investment. After the first year, you may sell your stake to any interested buyer. In either case, you'll need to find a buyer first.

Other Options for Community Investment

Buy real estate in communities of poverty to provide affordable housing for low-income tenants and to revitalize neglected neighborhoods. Invest directly in community development loan funds or pools. Invest in socially responsible mutual funds with a community investment focus.

Investing is an effective way to put your money to work and potentially build wealth. Smart investing may allow your money to outpace inflation and increase in value. The greater growth potential of investing is primarily due to the power of compounding and the risk-return tradeoff.

Invest in their professional development.

Perhaps you can provide training or mentoring to a coworker or someone who reports to you. A simple way to develop people is to let them in on your decision-making by taking time to explain a direction or project in terms of intent and purpose.

How do I invest in my own happiness? ›

Establishing work-life balance, investing in your financial success, challenging your brain and body, and finding a mentor are all easy things to do to set yourself up for happiness and success in the long run. Pick one or all of these to try out in the new year so that you can start building a brighter future.

It's a good way to establish a regular rental income and can have a big payoff down the road when you decide to sell. An affordable housing investment is a way to get into real estate and provide housing opportunities for your community.

A community round is a type of investment raise where startups raise funds from their community allowing anyone to invest for a relatively small amount. In a community round, investors exchange their cash for a security interest in the startup they are investing in.

The principles of community investing typically involve investing in local communities, promoting economic development, and prioritizing social and environmental impact alongside financial return.

We define local investing as putting one's money to work for the mutual benefit of the investor, local small businesses, and the community as a whole. These benefits can be financial, in-kind (products & services), cultural, and more.

Republic and Wefunder were nearly tied with success rates of 86.8% and 86.5% respectively. SeedInvest came in at the end of the spectrum with less than 75% of its raises closing successfully.

Wefunder is not for the risk-averse. The website is full of disclaimers explicitly stating that investing in early-stage startups is riskier than the stock market, and there is a very real potential of losing all of your investment.

We've funded 14 companies worth over $1 billion. In total, over $10 billion of venture capital has been invested in companies funded on Wefunder. Wefunder was the first startup to raise funding on Wefunder, raising over $20 million from about 8,500 investors.

Depending on the type of crowdfunding, you could potentially earn returns on your investment via equity (growth in share value) or interest (if using P2P lending), or you might simply receive other perks or benefits.