Collaboration or Community? The Impact of the Institutional Forces in Promoting Social Crowdfunding

Our paper explores whether social crowdfunding triggers the success of social projects by focusing on the role of the Italian platform Meridonare. By examining 140 projects between 2016 and 2018, our study analyzes how the platform acts in facilitating the interaction between non-profit organizations and private investors willing to participate in the financing of social projects. Our results support the relevant role a social crowdfunding platform has on the success of a campaign. The involvement of the population through actions that leverage the human-touch relationship, and the social nature of the project increases the propensity to achieve the funding objectives.