Crowdfunding for climate change: Exploring the use of climate frames by environmental entrepreneurs

Abstract

This study investigates which climate change frames environmental entrepreneurs can employ in their project descriptions while seeking crowdfunding on online platforms. An explorative analysis of 58 climate change mitigation projects was conducted in four countries with different degrees of maturity of crowdfunding market. The following climate change frames prevail, and appear particularly in the descriptions of the projects with successful campaigns: promotion goal frame, humans-related impact frame, positive valence frame, and near future and now time frame. Many projects with successful crowdfunding campaigns also mention their location. This study contributes to the sustainable crowdfunding literature by addressing an underexplored topic of framing and following a qualitative in-depth approach. Moreover, it can help environmental entrepreneurs understand the landscape of framing opportunities and therefore make a more informed choice of what kind of frames to employ in their project descriptions.