Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
CCA Policy Proposal to Expand Investment Crowdfunding
Investment Crowdfunding | Oct 17, 2024
How Expanding Investment Crowdfunding Can Drive Economic Growth
Kudus to Crowdfund Capital Advisors (CCA) for their policy proposal to expand investment crowdfunding and boost economic growth in the U.S.. Their approach is built on years of experience and provides a practical way to create jobs and support small businesses across the United States. This proposal comes during the final stages of the 2024 election where the economy is a hot topic in political debates. One important piece that is often overlooked is the fact that small businesses and startups are the real drivers of job growth and innovation in the U.S.. A special shoutout to Sherwood Neiss, an advisor at the National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA), whose guidance is helping make investment crowdfunding more accessible and beneficial for entrepreneurs everywhere.
Investment crowdfunding makes it easier for everyday Americans to invest in startups and small businesses through online platforms. Created under the JOBS Act of 2012, it helps removes obstacles that keeps small investors locked out from investing directly in private companies by letting businesses raise money directly from their community. So far, it has helped raise over $2.5 billion, providing startup and growth capital to support to a wide variety of businesses across the country.
Why Expand Investment Crowdfunding Now?
Expanding investment crowdfunding is a great way to boost the U.S. economy right away, offering several important benefits:
1. Improves Access to Capital
Many small businesses especially in rural areas or owned by women and minorities have a hard time getting traditional funding like bank loans or venture capital. Investment crowdfunding offers a simple and flexible way for these businesses to raise money directly from the public when they need it.
See: The Real Story of Access to Capital
This helps close the funding gap that often holds back promising startups from innovating, creating value, and propelling an economy forward with jobs and economic impact.
2. Aligns with Economic Priorities of All Campaigns
Vice President Harris has worked on promoting innovation and creating more opportunities for underrepresented entrepreneurs. Investment crowdfunding fits well with her goals because it provides a practical way to boost funding to women and minority-led startups who find it difficult to secure funding from the banks or traditional venture capital. Over 40% of capital raised on crowdfunding platforms to date has gone to underserved businesses, confirming that it’s a great way to support those who are often left out by traditional financing options. Compare this percentage with the statistic that with venture capital only 2% of funds go to underserved groups.
Investment crowdfunding also supports Trump’s focus on strengthening U.S. manufacturing, cutting taxes, and creating jobs. It can help direct money to manufacturing startups to help them grow faster and create more jobs.
3. Job Creation and Economic Strength
Small businesses make up 55% of all new jobs in the U.S. since 2013. Expanding investment crowdfunding can help these businesses keep growing and creating new jobs, especially in areas that often get overlooked, and strengthening local economies.
4. Building a Community of ‘Investomers™'
Investment crowdfunding creates a special situation where investors are also customers (or investomers™). These people have a strong interest in seeing the businesses they support succeed.
See: Fintech Fridays EP62: The Future of Investment Crowdfunding: Innovations, Data, and Opportunities
They provide more than just money. They also promote the business and stay loyal which is incredibly valuable for any startup looking to grow.
The Proposal
Investment crowdfunding has already made a big difference to local communities contributing over $19.7 billion (this figure represents the total impact). With more support from government, the impact of investment crowdfunding could more than double helping small businesses in both urban and rural areas to launch and thrive.
- CCA suggests creating two funds for the government to co-invest. $1 billion fund for equity and another $1 billion for loans. The government would use these funds to invest alongside entrepreneurs in businesses raising money through crowdfunding.
- The proposal also suggests giving tax breaks to people who invest in crowdfunding campaigns where they could write off 100% of their investment in the year they made it. This would encourage more people to invest, making it easier for small businesses to get the money they need.
See: Innovating Crowdfunding with Bitcoin’s Network
- Partner with venture funds using artificial intelligence to identify promising startups to ensure investment dollars go to businesses with the greatest chance of success to reduce the risk for both investors and the government.
Outlook
Investment crowdfunding is a great way to tackle the country’s economic challenges in a way that strikes a chord on both sides of the political aisle. It can create jobs, support diverse entrepreneurs, and give small businesses better access to the funding they need to succeed.
Download the 6 page PDF Crowdfunding Policy Proposal --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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