COMMUNITY FUNDING

Community funding is the umbrella for alternative finance methods that are used to facilitate investment by the community directly into projects or companies. This means members of the community choose which project, or project category they want to invest, and their repayment and return are usually connected to the success of the specific project or project category. The process of community funding can be realized via a platform, like a crowdfunding platform or a direct lending platform, or directly into bons issued by a project or company itself.

Community funding in general is focused more on impact and social context than just on financial reward. This makes it a suitable form of (co)finance for geothermal projects where it is important to involve the community and other stakeholders. Community funding comes in different shapes and sizes. It uses new finance schemes and old traditional ways. New fintech development can help to realize funding where the bank would not fund. It can also increase the outreach to all possible members which makes the community project more effective. Geothermal projects could possibly benefit from using these new financing schemes.