Mo' Money: Crowdfunding in the Black Community

LeVar Burton earns more than $1 million in less than a day.

Your Employer May Match You - This has become less popular as the economy has been slowly recovering, but sometimes your employer may match the money you put into your 401K. If so, invest as much as you can, because this is free money.  (Photo: Don Bayley/Getty Images)
Reading Rainbow - In less than one day, LeVar Burton's Reading Rainbow campaign reached its seven-figure goal after recieving more than $1 million from nearly 23,000 people. The funds will help turn millions of children worldwide into lifelong readers by creating a web version of the cult classic TV show, a classroom version for teachers and offering free access to schools.(Photo: Reading Rainbow)
New Spike Lee Joint - With the help of friends, fans and organizations, filmmaker Spike Lee raised $1.4 million in 30 days with Kickstarter to fund his forthcoming film. While Lee faced criticism for asking fans to contribute to his film budget, he defended his project, saying that donors would get perks based on the amount donated, including dinner and courtside Knicks tickets.(Photo: Spike Lee via KickStarter)Homeless to Howard - James Ward became an Internet sensation for his “Homeless to Howard” Tumblr crowdfunding campaign. He used the site to help fund his college education at Howard University. Ward raised $12,000 from various donors, which is enough to cover his first-year expenses that aren’t covered by loans or grants.(Photo: Homelesstohoward.tumblr.com)

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Black Crowdfunding - Crowdfunding, the collective effort of online fundraising, has grown popular in the last year, especially in the African-American community. College students, filmmakers and non-profit organizations are turning to sites such as Kickstarter, Crowd Tilt, Black Crowdfunding, Black Start-Up and Indiegogo to help raise funds to support their dreams.  Take a look at a few crowdfunding campaigns that sparked interest among African-Americans.(Photo: Don Bayley/Getty Images)

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