2015-10-13
Crowdfunding Your Wedding: It's Not As Crazy As It Sounds
Thanks to the blossoming world of alternative financing, people and businesses have ways of funding ideas and other investments that have never been available before. Crowdfunding has been used to fund the development of the FORM1 3D computer, the construction of the Nikola Tesla Wardenclyffe Science Center, the production of the Veronica Mars movie, and countless other projects. But could crowdfunding provide the money you need for your dream wedding? The possibility might not be as far-fetched as you think.
The Numbers
Crowdfunding site GoFundMe has an entire category on its site dedicated to weddings. According to public relations manager Kelsea Little, the site has hosted more than 13,500 crowdfunded wedding campaigns. But are the campaigns working? Little says that about $1.3 million was raised for weddings on GoFundMe in 2014 alone.
Practical Application
The site The Crowded Wedding is a relatively new crowdfunding site dedicated entirely to wedding-related campaigns. The idea for the site came when founder Ashley Klebusch was talking to her fiancé about a more personal application for crowdfunding than business ventures or idealistic causes. “I think it was the experience of seeing people crowdfund random things that made us think, ‘Why aren’t they doing things that are actually practical, like weddings,’” Klebusch explains.
The Right Approach
If crowdfunding your wedding seems like the right idea for you, there are some important things to consider before launching your campaign. Below are some tips to keep in mind:
1. Maintain a frugal budget The average wedding now costs about $30,000, but don’t expect $30,000 in unjustifiable charity from family, friends and strangers. Guests will be much more likely to donate money to a small, modest wedding than they will be to donate to a lavish over-the-top affair. “Your Champagne wishes and caviar dreams should not weigh heavy on the shoulders of your loved ones,” The Daily Dot’s Jaya Saxena writes.
2. Ask only for what you need
It may sound good to have others pick up the tab for a dream wedding, but donors are more compelled to give when they feel that those asking for donations have no other choice. For example, Jeremy Stamper recently raised nearly $10,000 for a second wedding when his wife suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car crash only 19 days after their first wedding, erasing all memory of the event. Having already spent his savings on the first wedding, Stamper turned to GoFundMe to raise money for the second wedding he promised his wife when she was recovering from her injuries.
3. Think honeymoon, not wedding
While many wedding attendees might be offended or think it tacky to be sent a crowdfunding link along with a wedding invitation, a growing number of happy couples have been turning to crowdfunding to help pay for their honeymoons or serve as an alternative to traditional gifts such as toasters or coffee machines. Klebusch says that couples have had a lot of success funding honeymoons on The Crowded Wedding, and it simplifies the gift-giving process for attendees.
4. Get the most bang for your buck Regardless of the crowdfunding site you choose, if you decide to ask others to pay for your wedding, the least you can do is get the most out of their money. Crowdfunding sites are not operating charities, and each site has its own way of taking its cut. GoFundMe takes 7.9 percent plus 30 cents per donation, and The Crowded Wedding keeps 3.0 percent of the total funding raised.
Takeaway
As the popularity of crowdfunding continues to rise, it will likely be used for many more practical applications. With the right approach, crowdfunding can now be a useful tool to take some of the stress and financial hardship out of your special day.
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MoneyLion
MoneyLion Wins “Best Financial Literacy Tool” and “Best API” at Benzinga’s 2022 Global Fintech Awards
MoneyLion’s consumer and enterprise businesses were recognized as winners of Benzinga’s 2022 Global Fintech Awards at this year’s Fintech Deal Day
New York, December 14, 2022-- MoneyLion Inc. (“MoneyLion”) (NYSE: ML), the go-to destination for personalized financial content, products and advice, is proud to announce that it has been named “Best Financial Literacy Tool” at Benzinga’s 2022 Global Fintech Awards. MoneyLion’s enterprise business, Even Financial, was also named as the winner for “Best API.”
MoneyLion and Even Financial were honored alongside other top Fintechs, banks, research companies and more. MoneyLion’s consumer business continues to push financial literacy through innovative and personalized content. With the MoneyLion app, users can view personalized financial content in short-form video format and receive personalized financial product recommendations such as loans, insurance and investing. As MoneyLion’s enterprise offering, Even Financial digitally connects and matches consumers with real-time personalized product recommendations from banks, insurance carriers, and Fintech companies on mobile apps, websites and other digital touchpoints through its financial product search engine and Embedded Finance Marketplace technology. This technology powers both the MoneyLion Marketplace, in the MoneyLion app, as well as more than 1,000 enterprise partners.
“We’re thrilled MoneyLion’s consumer and enterprise businesses were recognized by Benzinga,” said Dee Choubey, Co-Founder and CEO of MoneyLion. “Both awards showcase MoneyLion’s every time you money approach to helping our customers. The financial literacy gap is a huge problem for millions of Americans and we remain committed to reducing its effects through engaging, informative content and key partnerships designed to bring an elevated educational experience to all.”
These awards follow the October announcement of MoneyLion University, where MoneyLion launched its latest initiative aimed at closing the gap in money and financial education across the United States.
“We could not be more pleased with Benzinga’s recognition of our company’s API technology,” stated Phill Rosen, CEO and Founder of Even Financial. “Our technology natively integrates real-time credit decisions and product recommendations from the industry’s largest network of connected financial services providers, offering access and choice to consumers searching for financial products. Our elegant Embedded Finance Marketplace, API and search engine enable any company to add trusted, personalized financial products and services to their business, reaching people when and where they need it.”
Even Financial has been named a listmaker for the Benzinga Global Fintech Awards for the last two years and was a previous award winner. In 2021, Even was selected as a listmaker for Best API and, in 2020, selected as a listmaker for both Best API and Best API Platform. In 2019, Even was awarded the Benzinga Rocky Award.
The annual Benzinga Global Fintech Awards take pride in recognizing and honoring the companies and individuals who are propelling the Fintech and financial services industry forward with the most impressive technology advancements and innovations. A panel of industry experts from a wide range of companies reviewed and judged the nominations. Winners were announced at Benzinga’s Fintech Deal Day on December 8, 2022, where MoneyLion’s Chief Customer Officer Cynthia Kleinbaum spoke on the panel, Expert Growth Hacks For Reaching Underserved Markets.
About MoneyLion MoneyLion is the go-to destination for personalized financial content, products and advice. MoneyLion’s mission is to rewire the financial system to positively change the path of every hard-working American. MoneyLion uses its proprietary data advantage and technology to empower its customers. MoneyLion engages and educates its customers with daily, hyper-personalized money-related and money-adjacent content that is delivered through each customer’s own content feed. MoneyLion provides its customers a full suite of financial and non-financial solutions, bundling its proprietary, low-cost financial products with products that are offered through its marketplace technology and network affiliate partners. MoneyLion also leverages its distinct data, technology, and network advantages to deliver leading embedded finance and marketplace solutions for enterprise customers. Since its founding in 2013, MoneyLion has empowered millions of Americans to take control of their finances and live their best financial life, every day.
For more information about the company, visit https://www.moneylion.com/ and https://www.evenfinancial.com. For investor information and updates, visit investors.moneylion.com and follow @MoneyLionIR on Twitter.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221214006032/en/
MoneyLion Communications pr@moneylion.com
Caliber Corporate Advisers moneylion@calibercorporateadvisers.com
Even Financial media@evenfinancial.com
Built In
Even Named A Built In “2023 Best Places to Work”
New York, Jan. 11, 2023 -- Even Financial ("Even"), an independent subsidiary of MoneyLion Inc. (NYSE: ML), and a leading embedded finance marketplace platform, is proud to announce that it was honored in Built In’s “2023 Best Places To Work” Awards. Specifically, Even earned a place on the Hybrid Best Places to Work in New York.
The Best Places to Work Awards, now in its fifth year, honors companies across numerous categories, sizes, remote-first employers as well as in person and hybrid working companies across the U.S.
Built In determines the winners of Best Places to Work based on an algorithm, using company data about compensation and benefits, and also weighs criteria like remote and flexible work opportunities, as well as other people-first cultural offerings.
This announcement follows Even’s recent win at the Benzinga Global Fintech Awards for “Best API.”
About Even Financial
Even is the industry-leading embedded financial marketplace and independent subsidiary of MoneyLion Inc. (“MoneyLion”) (NYSE: ML). MoneyLion is a leading digital financial services and lifestyle content platform serving both consumer and enterprise customers. As part of MoneyLion’s enterprise offering, Even digitally connects and matches consumers with real-time, personalized financial product recommendations from banks, insurance carriers, and fintech companies on mobile apps, websites, and other digital touchpoints through its marketplace technology. Even's infrastructure leverages machine learning and advanced data science to solve a significant pain point in financial services customer acquisition, seamlessly bridging financial services providers (such as SoFi) and channel partners (such as TransUnion) via its industry-leading API and embedded finance marketplaces. Even enables any company to add financial products to its business, with full compliance and security at scale. Even was named one of "America's Best Startup Employers'' by Forbes for 2022 and was named to the 2021 Deloitte Technology Fast 500, which recognizes the fastest growing tech companies in the world. Learn more at www.evenfinancial.com and investors.moneylion.com.