This post was originally produced for Forbes.
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Crowdfunding is no longer a novelty. It is part of the fabric of the global economy. Within that fabric, one of the brightly colored threads is Indiegogo, having helped entrepreneurs to raise over $1.5 billion.
As I’ve followed the company and its work over the years, I’ve had some favorite social impact projects. One stands out: Solar Roadways. Scott and Julie Brusaw of Sandpoint, Idaho—as small and remote a town as you might imagine—came up with the idea to make solar panels rugged enough to drive on, while incorporating a variety of features like snow melting and LED lighting that would allow an operator to change traffic patterns. The idea was too novel (read, crazy) for any traditional investor, the sort of person the Brusaws had likely never met, anyway. So, in 2014, they launched a campaign on Indiegogo and raised $2,284,774. Today, the solar panels are in p…