








































This is an open access article under the terms of a license that permits non-commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited.  
© 2023 The Authors. Société Internationale d'Urologie Journal, published by the Société Internationale d'Urologie, Canada.

Key Words Competing Interests Article Information

Urology, social media, communication, 
crowdfunding, crowdsourcing

None declared. Received on, October 19, 2022 
Accepted on, November 28, 2022 
This article has been peer reviewed.

Soc Int Urol J. 2023;4(2):128–130

DOI: 10.48083/RVJX1845

Crowdsource Funding via Social Media Platforms

Kevin Byrnes,1 Aqua Asif,1 Alex Ng,1 Sinan Khadhouri,1 Nikita Bhatt,1 Veeru Kasivisvanathan1,2

1BURST Research Collaborative 2Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, London, United Kingdom

Abstract

Crowdfunding involves obtaining financial support for a project through public engagement. It is a form of 
crowdsourcing, where monetary and non-monetary contributions from the public are obtained for a common aim. 
Crowdfunding is an increasingly popular way of gaining additional monetary support for medical research projects 
and may act as a supplement to conventional funding. Social media can influence which projects are likely to be 
successful. Engagement on social media can increase the funding obtained. In this brief communication, we introduce 
the concept of crowdfunding, give practical applications, and describe the characteristics of successful campaigns.

The World Health Organization defines crowdfunding as the process of engaging large groups of people who 
make monetary and non-monetary contributions to a project[1]. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing, where 
information, work, or monetary contributions from a group of people are pooled to achieve a goal. Crowdfunding 
raises funds for a specific project, which differs from conventional fundraising directed toward a general cause. 
Crowdfunding often engages a wider community, obtaining smaller individual investments from a larger group of 
investors.

Until recently, crowdsourcing and crowdfunding were limited by the reach of traditional media. In a notable exam-
ple of crowdsourcing, the Philological Society of London began circulating journal articles in 1857 appealing for 
contributions to a dictionary. It took repeated public appeals and 71 years before the first edition of the Oxford English 
Dictionary was published. In comparison, Wikipedia, which uses internet-based crowdsourcing, has generated over 
6 million articles since its foundation 21 years ago. Modern media, and in particular social media, can accelerate both 
crowdsourcing and crowdfunding efforts.

Within urology, one of the earliest uses of crowdfunding was for direct and indirect costs for patients with urolog-
ical disease. Di Carlo et al. found that crowdfunding campaigns by patients are typically directed toward charitable 
organizations, and usually for cancer rather than benign disease[2]. Rajwa and colleagues found that testicular cancer 
campaigns were most likely to be successful, which may reflect the younger age, wider social networks, and greater 
online presence of this patient cohort[3].

The applications of crowdfunding within urology are now expanding, with an emerging focus on crowdfunding 
to supplement funding for research. The World Health Organization provides a practical guide to public engage-
ment and crowdfunding in health research and has profiled successful global health projects[1]. Examples include 
those from low- and middle-income countries, such as a community health intervention to improve awareness 
about Leishmaniasis and enhance adult sand fly vector control (reaching a total funding of US $7244). Other exam-
ples include a cluster-randomized trial of hydroxychloroquine use in patients with COVID-19, obtaining a total of  
€2.3 million through crowdfunding[4].

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Within urological research, Tohi et al. recently used 
crowdsourcing for a new diagnostic tool for chronic 
prostatitis[5]. Their campaign consisted of a dedicated 
website, YouTube content, a social media campaign, 
and regular emails to engage investors. Over a 3-month 
period, they raised over $50 000 from 116 investors. In 
their campaign, they focussed on maximizing engage-
ment at the start and end of the process, a strategy used 
successfully by other researchers[6].

Aleksina et al. have identified common themes to the 
success of crowdfunding campaigns for research proj-
ects[7]. Firstly, disease characteristics define the audi-
ence of a campaign, which ideally should be large and 
readily engageable on social media. Secondly, a unique 
project will catch attention and be shared among users 
online. Thirdly, organizational reputation may convince 
potential investors that the venture will be success-
ful. Lastly, effective communication throughout the 
campaign and innovative use of social media draws in 
further investment. An overview of using social media 
in crowdfunding campaigns is outlined in Figure 1.

Social media has become an important medium for 
interpersonal communication. Social media includes 
any form of electronic communication through which 
users can share information, ideas, and content. 
Within urology, social media has roles in education, 
peer networking, public and patient engagement, and 
more recently, crowdfunding campaigns. Social media 
can improve the geographical reach of crowdfunding 
campaigns, enabling wider participation and promoting 

inclusivity and diversity among stakeholders in a proj-
ect. Interestingly, the success of a crowdfunding proj-
ect has been linked to the size of personal networks on 
social media[8].

Viral fundraising campaigns demonstrate the effec-
tiveness of social media, and similar strategies could be 
applied to crowdfunding. Within urology, Movember 
is the highest profile fundraising campaign, which 
originated in 2003 in Australia when two young men 
persuaded 30 friends to grow a moustache. While not a 
crowdfunding campaign, Movember demonstrates 
that social media can be used to raise large-scale projects  
($500 million to date), and also engage the public by 
encouraging men to talk more openly about their health. 
The Movember campaign has successfully utilized 
Twitter to engage global communities by running 
several regional accounts (eg, Movember UK[8]).

Currently, multiple online crowdsourcing platforms 
exist to run campaigns (eg, Kickstarter, GoFundMe, 
Indiegogo, Patreon). Some platforms use an all-or-noth-
ing model (funds received when a target is reached) or 
a flexible model where all funds are kept, regardless of 
targets. The former may appeal to investors who may 
not want to risk equity toward an underfunded project. 
Platforms have different target audiences and visibility. 
Some may be generalized, such as Kickstarter, while 
others may be specific to an area, such as experiment.
com, which attracts subject-specific investors who can 
bring external expertise to the project.

• Build email list
• Build follower base
• Encourage subscriptions
• Focus groups

• Webinar events
• Expand reach

• Celebrate milestones
• Contributions from ”in�uencers“

• Provide progress updates
• Advertise future projects

• Informs campaign strategy
• Generates new ideas
• Establishes new community

• Maintains donation ”momentum“
• Maximizes reach of campaign

Public and patient
engagement

Social media
strategies

Advantages 
of campaign

Before campaign

During campaign

After campaign

• Identify target audience
• Gather personal perspectives
• Identify project priorities
• Recruit patient base

• Funding/project updates
• Events to update

• Maintain community
• Share research �ndings
• Demonstrate use of funds

(encourage sharing of content)

FIGURE 1.

Overview of role of social media in crowdfunding campaigns

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Crowdsource Funding via Social Media Platforms

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Crowdfunding has disadvantages compared to 
traditional funding models. For some organizations, 
all-or-nothing funding is not a sustainable type of 
finance. Additionally, failure to obtain funding in an 
all-or-nothing campaign consumes organizations’ 
resources. Crowdfunding may also raise funds for scien-
tifically unsupported or potentially dangerous treat-
ments. Lastly, crowdfunding may induce inequities to 
the funding process. An unregulated process may favor 
those with larger social networks who may be in an 
already more privileged position. It may also favor more 
sensationalist or sympathetic campaigns rather than the 
most deserving.

The British Urology Researchers in Surgical Training 
(BURST) Research Collaborative[9] do not currently 

use crowdfunding, rather we use social media to maxi-
mize crowdsourcing efforts—to improve site engage-
ment, disseminate research findings, and network with 
collaborators. Recognition, feedback, as well as raising 
the profile of individuals or institutions contributing to 
projects can often incentivize further collaboration.

Clearly, social media is key in inf luencing how, 
why, and which projects receive crowdfunding. Given 
the widespread usage of social media, crowdfunding 
campaigns using social media have a wide reach to 
engage the public. Crowdfunding should not be viewed 
as a competitor for typical funding mechanisms (eg, 
government grants), but rather a complement, especially 
to test new research questions and perform pilot work.

References

1. World Health Organization. Public engagement and crowdfunding in 
health research: a practical guide 2021. Available at: https://apps.who.
int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/349220/9789240039087-eng.pdf. 
Accessed January 30, 2023.

2. Di Carlo A, Leveridge M, McGregor TB. Crowdfunding in urology: 
Canadian perspective. Can Urol Assoc J.2021;15(3):E139–E143. doi: 
10.5489/cuaj.6572. PMID: 32807287; PMCID: PMC7943232.

3. Rajwa P, Hopen P, Wojnarowicz J, Kaletka J, Paszkiewicz I, Lach-
Wojnarowicz O, et al. Online crowdfunding for urologic cancer care. 
Cancers (Basel).2022;14(17):4104. doi: 10.3390/cancers14174104. 
PMID: 36077641; PMCID: PMC9454944.

4. Mitjà O, Corbacho-Monné M, Ubals M, Alemany A, Suñer C, Tebé 
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33289973; PMCID: PMC7722693.

5. Tohi Y, Kakehi Y, Sugimoto M; Project to Develop a Novel Diagnostic 
Tool for Chronic Prostatitis. Successful establishment of crowdfunding 
to develop new diagnostic tools for chronic prostatitis. Int J 
Urol.2022;29(6):600–602. doi: 10.1111/iju.14856. PMID: 35229360.

6. Schucht P, Roccaro-Waldmeyer DM, Murek M, Zubak I, Goldberg 
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7. Aleksina A, Akulenka S, Lublóy Á. Success factors of crowdfunding 
campaigns in medical research: perceptions and reality. Drug Discov 
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31132416.

8. Movember - UK Twitter. n.d. Available at: https://twitter.com/
MovemberUK. Accessed November 17, 2022.

9. Kasivisvanathan V, Ahmed H, Cashman S, Challacombe B, Emberton 
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