Crowdfunding platforms, such as Kickstarter, Pozible and Indiegogo, allow people to promote their idea or service, and others contribute money to get that idea off the ground.

In 2012, crowdfunding platforms raised about $US2.7 billion and there are predictions that by 2025, the global crowdfunding market could reach between $US90 to $US96 billion. It even has its own day - World Crowdfunding Day - on Sunday, April 5.

Social enterprises - organisations with projects that aim to have a long-term, sustainable social impact - are gaining momentum in Australia, and crowdfunding is helping them do it. Platforms such as Start Some Good and Chuffed have specifically been set up to host such ventures. And equity-based crowdfunding – the model where the "crowd" pledging financial support also receives shares in the enterprise – is also helping to boost social projects.

Celia Hodson, the chief executive of School for Social Entrepreneurs Australia (SSE) says that crowdfunding for social enterprises will only truly take off in Australia when the for-profit sector sees crowdfunding as a legitimate source of investment in a company.

"While we're not as progressive as the United States, Australia is certainly demonstrating that we're taking this funding model seriously," she says.

No regulatory system exists in Australia to protect crowdfunding investors, but Minister for Small Business Bruce Billson has indicated his intentions to introduce crowdfunding legislation this year.

Hodson says Australia has a great culture for supporting social entrepreneurs. "There are numerous grants available when you know where to look, people willing to advice and mentor budding entrepreneurs [and] educational programs such as those that we offer at SSE Australia," she says.

Their Partnering for Scale and Impact initiative is one such opportunity, in which $1.5 million will be pledged directly into early social ventures.

Other programs,  such as The Crunch, supported by some of Australia's biggest companies, such as Westpac, Telstra and Australia Post, will deliver targeted business acceleration, making it the best time to start a social cause project.

Three Australians have used the crowdfunding model to benefit the global community, and show just how much impact the "crowd" can make.

Jaclyn and Nicholas Bold, Sydney

"My son Nicholas was repeatedly bullied physically and verbally from Kindergarten to Year 3. I remember that his experience made both of us miserable. He was withdrawing into himself and would hide the fact that he was being bullied. He came home from school one day and said 'I'm going to act dumb and they might leave me alone'.

Moving schools, working with the new teachers and repairing his self-esteem helped us put the experience behind us. Nicholas then wanted to write a book about bullying to help kids right around the world to stop being bullied. He would often say 'If every child in the world reads my book there will be less bullying'.

He started off by creating and selling 12 copies of an e-book. It had five short stories about kids being bullied and the solutions they used to manage the ordeal.

Nicholas then spent 12 months trying to convince me that he wanted to publish a paperback version. He asked me to write a parents section in the book so that parents could help their kids. He used to have Skype calls before school with his illustrator to get the illustrations just right. I don't know too many 11-year-olds who want to find out how to publish books, but together, we learnt how to publish on Amazon and sell a book.

Twelve hours after we launched the book - Bullies Don't Rule! - it became an Amazon No.1 bestseller. It was a surreal feeling.

But Nicholas and I really wanted to help kids who could not afford to purchase the book. We decided to crowdfund to raise money so that we could donate copies of the book to charities and people working directly with children at high risk of being bullied.

We used Indiegogo to launch a campaign. Through the money raised, we donated 50 copies of the book to Barnardos Children's Charity and 10 to an orphanage in Indonesia. There are another 90 copies awaiting distribution to other charities and community organisations working with kids at risk.

Barnardos Children's Charity was very thankful. [The staff] told us that many of the kids in their care don't have access to three meals a day or a safe home to live in. Receiving a free book to help them deal with bullying would be greatly appreciated and cherished by the kids.

Friends, parents and grandparents have also thanked us because the book helped the children they care for. We hope to help many more kids by donating thousands of books to kids at risk of bullying." 

Roslyn Campbell, Melbourne

"While studying industrial design at university, I had developed an interest in feminine hygiene products. My lecturer had caught on to my interest and invited the charity One Girl to speak about the consequences of having a period for girls in developing countries. They discovered that girls in Sierra Leone were missing school for up to a week every month as they didn't have appropriate sanitary protection.

It had never crossed my mind that even though we have this one thing in common, the way we deal with it is so different. The fact that it could affect something as vital as education, really struck with me. I decided to try and do something to help.

I signed up to One Girl's 'Do it in a dress' challenge – where I used newspaper, rags and sponges to manage my period. Along with leaves and bark, these are some of the items the girls resort to during their period ... I realised that if people are in a situation where bark is the their best option, they are not in good place.

I started forming an idea to develop a social enterprise by selling sanitary pads that Australian women could buy. The profits would be donated to charities that work with these women. The idea teamed up with my interest in sustainability from a product design point of view and a business model for Tsuno was born.

To raise funds I chose to crowdfund through Pozible. I needed $40,000 to get Tsuno from design to delivery.

I was blown away by the response to the campaign. I am so excited now to be in a position of donating 50 per cent of Tsuno's profits to charities helping women in need.

I have chosen to work with the International Women's Development Agency as they build women up by providing education and economic empowerment. I felt this would be more beneficial compared to a one-for-one aid I could have provided by directly donating sanitary pads to the disadvantaged women.

Alicia Fox, Port Macquarie 

"As I was travelling around Latin America and working with some indigenous groups there, I started learning about the plight of the tribes in Peru's Amazon region. I heard about how oppressed and vulnerable they were to outside influences that were coming in and taking away their lifestyles and livelihoods.

Because they didn't have too much contact with the outside world, they didn't know how to deal with the companies that were there logging or oil drilling. I kept hearing many stories of people becoming ill due to toxic water waste or losing their villages. Cultures were disappearing at an alarming rate.

So, I thought, 'What can I do to capture that?' There was nothing that I could really do to stop it but I thought if I could take photos of the tribal members in their traditional dress, at least that would be a way I can help preserve memories and raise awareness.

I was quite passionate about doing this project but didn't have the money to fund it. I guess I thought that other people could feel the same way, so I started a campaign on Pozible. Once the amount contributed reached $3000, I started visiting different villages. I visited 10 tribes and photographed babies right through to village chiefs. Most tribes were open to being photographed and were really pleased that people were showing interest in their culture.

My hope is that more foreigners learn about these tribes through the images. There is also some great promotional work done being done by charities like Cool Earth and Amazon Watch Australia. It would be great to use the images in schools so that the younger generations are made aware of the issues. Ultimately, the rate of destruction of the Amazon is linked to consumer demand and I hope these images play a part in encouraging more conscious purchasing decisions." 

Top 5 crowdfunding campaigns

Here are five of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns in the world.

1. Star Citizen, an upcoming science fiction space game, is the most crowdfunded project in history. With more than $US75 million (and counting) raised in funds – the sophisticated multiplayer online game, set in the 30th century is planned for full release in 2016.  You can choose to be a pirate, a miner, a merchant or a fighter pilot (amongst others) in a living, breathing universe.

2. Pebble Time raked in more than $US20 million. A smart watch that works along a timeline, it can access calendars, alarms and apps to notify the wearer of an upcoming appointment or event as the day progresses, without the need to access individual apps.

3. The first time round, Ryan Grepper, the creator of Coolest Cooler, didn't quite manage to join the cool kids on the crowdfunding block.  It was only through a second attempt that the idea of an all-in-one party box that has your drinks, music and electronic-equipment-charging needs sorted really took hold. By the time the campaign finished, the total funds raised reached a totally cool sum of $US13 million dollars.

4. A kitten based reincarnation of Russian Roulette, the Exploding Kittens card game raised in excess of $US8 million dollars. If a player draws an "exploding kitten" card, they lose. Unless you defuse the death sentence by playing the "laser pointer" or "kitten therapy" cards or choose to attack the next player using your "deploy the thousand-year back hair" or "awaken the bear-o-dactyl" cards (yes, really).

4. How does honey on tap sound? Without the need to disturb the beehive, Australian father and son team Stuart and Cedar Anderson created Flow Hive, a system that allows honey to flow straight from the honeycomb, through a pipe and into a jar. The campaign has raised more than $7.7 million and counting; it closes on Sunday April 5.  It's the most successful crowdfunding campaign outside the US.