A way of raising money for a project — a film, an album, a new gadget, sometimes a medical bill — by asking a large number of people to each give a small part of what is needed, usually on a website. If enough people join in, the project can go ahead; if not, the money is often returned. It is newer than a bank loan or one rich backer, and it became ordinary only once the internet made it easy to ask thousands of strangers at once. People still argue about it: it can help small makers, but it can also leave backers with a product that never arrives.