Kickstarter - Projects are funded on a donation based model for a variety of types of projects. The project doesn't get any money unless the project funding goal is reached. Projects with thorough plans for interesting ideas are more likely to get funding donations. The donations are typically rewarded with the first parts off the production line at a high discount (in the case of a new product idea) with higher donation amounts getting larger rewards like multiple units and/or even higher discounts. The site is for creative ideas or projects, not for businesses, charities, or personal financing. Kickstarter is probably the most well known crowd funding website in operation.
Indiegogo - Very similar to Kickstarter in that it is a donation based model except just about anything is allowed; projects, charities, personal financing, businesses, etc. An entrepreneur could go to either Kickstarter or Indiegogo for a product idea, but only Indiegogo for funding the actual business behind it. Investment, that is offering actual ownership in the business being funded, is the only thing not allowed on this site.
Crowdfunder - Crowd funding for businesses by both donation based or investment based (offering actual ownership of the company being funded). The site has a large network of individuals and angel investors and their CROWDFUNDx program can connect local investors with local entrepreneurs.
RocketHub - Crowd funding on a donation based model for creative projects. RocketHub has also partnered with the cable TV channel A&E to produce Project Startup, a program to help new start-up projects.
Venture Capital:
TheFunded - "TheFunded.com is an online community of over 18,000 CEOs, Founders and entrepreneurs to discuss fundraising, rate and review investors, and discuss strategies to grow a start-up business."
StartUps.co - "Startups.co helps entrepreneurs through the entire fundraising process from creating a capital raising strategy to preparing their information to identifying the right capital sources."
Angel Capital Association - "The Angel Capital Association is the leading professional and trade association supporting the success of angel investors in high-growth, early-stage ventures. ACA provides professional development, industry voice, public policy advocacy and an array of benefits and resources to its membership of more than 200 angel groups and more than 10,000 individual accredited investors. ACA's mission is to fuel the success of angel groups and private investors that invest in high growth, early-stage ventures."
Gust - "Gust provides the global platform for the sourcing and management of early-stage investments. Gust enables skilled entrepreneurs to collaborate with the smartest investors by virtually supporting all aspects of the investment relationship, from initial pitch to successful exit."
Government Funding:
SBIR Grants - "The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is a highly competitive program that encourages domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) that has the potential for commercialization. Through a competitive awards-based program, SBIR enables small businesses to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization."
Grants.gov - "Grants.gov was chartered to deliver a system that provides a centralized location for grant seekers to find and apply for federal funding opportunities.Today, the Grants.gov system houses information on over 1,000 grant programs and vets grant applications for 26 federal grant-making agencies."
