ROME - According to the 2015 Report: statistics, platforms and trends, since the start of the year, crowdfunding in Italy increased by 85% compared to the whole of last year, the media reported on Thursday. All the initiatives in the country generated 56,8 milion euros, however Italy is still far from the leaders of crowdfunding in the world, Ivana Pais professor of economic sociology at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart who coordinated the research, said on Wednesday.

  Crowdfunding initiatives consist in collecting even a small contribution from many donors, who by acting together are able to to finance social or cultural projects.

  Different digital platforms in Italy offer various forms of donation such as the pre-sale of products and services, a rewards system, equity crowdfunding, debt-based or peer-to-peer crowdfunding. 45% of the 69 active platforms is based on rewards, 19% of donations, another 19% are equity platforms and 4% is founded on debt. 

  Crowdfunding in Italy covers a large range of initiatives such as the succesful production of the documentary film 'Io sto con la sposa' by Antonio Augugliaro, Gabriele Del Grande and Khaled Soliman Al Nassir, or much bigger projects like raising money for victims of flooding in Sardinia, where they collected 139,000 euros, or 115,000 euros for a journalism festival in Perugia.