Top image: Rocio Lara.

The fact that Kickstarter recently passed the $1 billion mark for project funding is a crystal clear indication that crowdfunding is a force to be reckoned with. It's worth noting, then, that Kickstarter isn't the only game in town, where that's concerned. All told, crowdfunding platforms raised $5.1 billion… just in 2013.

We all know people and musicians who have raised money for this or that project. But how the crowdfunding movement is playing out in the non-profit sector is yet another nut to crack. Research shows that peer-to-peer fundraising in that world is also exploding. What's, perhaps, most interesting about the findings is that, while individuals raise an average of $534 for a charity, a group effort brings in $9,237, on average. That's power in numbers right there.

For non-profits in search of crowdfunding guidance, the take-aways from the research are pretty compelling, and certainly worth a quick look-see.