Crowdfunded Campaigns for Nepal Are Huge—Is That a Good Way to Give?

Crowdfunding was widely popular in 2012 after Hurricane Sandy. But the magnitude of mini-campaigns for the Nepal disaster is unprecedented, says Amy Sample Ward, CEO of a nonprofit technology organization called NTEN.

GoFundMe alone has more than 700 individual campaigns and 45,000 donors who've collectively raised $3.5 million for Nepal. And Todi's campaign on Indiegogo Life is one of more than 100. Some of Ward's own friends on Facebook are simply asking for people to send donations to their bank accounts.

Ward has some theories about the surge of crowdfunders.