Functionally Useful but Strategically Unreliable: Exploring Crowdfunding Adoption and Campaign Development by Institutions

ABSTRACT This paper explores how professional fundraisers in cultural and charitable institutions adopt and experience crowdfunding as a new digital fundraising tool. While crowdfunding has existed for over two decades, institutional uptake in Europe remains limited compared to individual use. Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Technology–Organisation–Environment (TOE) framework, this study examines fundraisers' perceptions of crowdfunding's usefulness, ease of use and organisational support. Based on 38 semi‐structured interviews with Dutch fundraisers and crowdfunding experts, the findings reveal that crowdfunding is valued for its capacity to attract new audiences, enhance visibility and test innovative ideas. Yet, there is a clear tension in institutional crowdfunding: although crowdfunding is authorised at the organisational level, limited organisational support and shared responsibility leave its implementation dependent on the effort, visibility, networks and skills of individual fundraisers, preventing it from becoming fully embedded in organisational routines. Crowdfunding relies heavily on informal practices, which some fundraisers perceive as unprofessional and/or uncomfortable. The study contributes to the literature on philanthropic marketing by demonstrating that the implementation of crowdfunding depends not only on its technological affordances but also on the organisational and environmental conditions that shape fundraisers' engagement. Implications are offered for practitioners seeking to integrate crowdfunding into broader fundraising strategies.