Crowdfunding, in which donors pledge small amounts of money to fund certain projects, is increasingly being adopted by scientists as is becomes harder to get grants from agencies like the US National Institutes of Health, The Economist reports. And there are a number of websites to connect people seeking funding with potential philanthropists.
The Economist notes that a Princeton University pharmacologist is using RocketHub to try to raise $25,000 for his work and a researcher at the University of West Florida has already raised $12,000 for her project.
"Donors can expect no revenue if a crowdfunded science project is successful, of course," The Economist adds. "But they can expect to be kept up to date with progress."