Crowdsourcing for a better world

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to better understand the relation between information technology (IT) affordances and donor motivations in charitable crowdfunding. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reports the findings from a comparative case study of two charitable crowdfunding campaigns. Findings – The affordances of crowdfunding platforms support types of donor motivation that are not supported effectively, or at all, in offline charity. Research limitations/implications – For future researchers, the paper provides a theoretical model of the relation between IT affordances and motivations in the context of charitable crowdfunding. Practical/implications – For practitioners in the charity space, the paper suggests why they may wish to consider the use of charitable crowdfunding and how they may go about its implementation. Originality/value – Based on field research at two charitable crowdfunding campaigns, the paper provides a new theoretical model.