Promoting Community Resilience During Covid-19 Crises using Donation-Based Crowdfunding: Developing A Conceptual Model

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in several restrictions to tackle the spread of the virus, including a series of nation-wide lockdowns. The pandemic hindered the lives of people across different communities, especially the marginalised and vulnerable groups. This underscored the need for resilience at various levels. For the purpose of building resilience, several donation-based crowdfunding campaigns were launched to provide support and relief to the affected communities. Previous studies have endorsed the idea of resilience based on geographical boundaries of a particular community; however, this study supports the modern-day view of communities based on interests and circumstances. The objective of this study is to explore how donation-based crowdfunding has been used to promote and support the initiative of community resilience during Covid-19 pandemic in India. The findings are based on the thematic analysis of 94 donation-based crowdfunding campaigns from India. The findings reveal that crowdfunding helps create equality of financial and social resources among various communities, especially marginalised groups, which in turn improves the chances of resilience. Further, it presents a conceptual model depicting the different strategies adopted for promoting resilience via crowdfunding. It highlights the rationale of fundraising, resilience planning, and implementation.