Knowledge is power. Your time is valuable. It is important for us to provide you with access to relevant and timely answers to your questions, no matter how small they may be.
Knowledge is power. Your time is valuable. It is important for us to provide you with access to relevant and timely answers to your questions, no matter how small they may be.
Crowdfunding is the raising of capital by gathering funds from a large number of investors (the so-called “crowd”) who individually do not contribute a significant amount of funds. In some cases, the contribution can be as little as a dollar. What the investor receives in return depends upon the “model” of crowdfunding. There are, generally speaking, three models:
Generally, a prospective entrepreneur will set up a crowdfunding campaign on a crowdfunding website (for example http://www.kickstarter.com/). This is the standard for donation and rewards-based crowdfunding. The entrepreneur will then provide some information about the business, what the investor is getting for their investment (or not getting if it is pure donation), and how much money the entrepreneur is looking to raise. Many sites impose a rule that if the minimum amount of funds desired by the entrepreneur (set by the entrepreneur at the time of the crowdfunding campaign) is not met within a specific period of time (for example, 6 months), then all funds must be returned to investors.
With equity crowdfunding, the picture gets more complicated. Presently, Saskatchewan is the only jurisdiction which permits equity crowdfunding. The Saskatchewan model of equity crowdfunding is explained at length on the website for Saskatchewan’s securities regulator, the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan (see here: http://www.fcaa.gov.sk.ca/crowdfunding). The present impediment to equity crowdfunding in Saskatchewan is that an equity crowdfunding portal does not yet exist. Until such time as a portal comes into existence, equity crowdfunding will not be available to Saskatchewan entrepreneurs. In the other Provinces across Canada, proposals are presently being put forward to develop equity crowdfunding rules in those Provinces. Some are similar to Saskatchewan’s model while others differ markedly.
Do you want to receive emails from us regarding McKercher LLP newsletters, resources and invitations? Subscribe by sending an email to Subscribe
Don’t want to receive marketing emails from us anymore? Send us a message to Unsubscribe