Heterogeneous in their motivations, funders engage in crowdfunding for at least five distinct incentives. These incentives include:

Support for a product, service, or idea: Philanthropy plays a surprisingly signif- icant role on the major crowdfunding platforms (e.g., Kickstarter, Indiegogo). Some funders support projects, including for-profit projects, without receiving a tangible re- ward and also do not participate in the associated online community. It is an open question whether this behavior will persist in the equity crowdfunding setting, but given the focus on new ventures with new products, it may