Canadian crowdfunding association launched

A new association has been launched to ensure that Canada doesn't miss out on the explosion in crowdfunding — a new Internet-based fundraising channel for small businesses and creative or social projects. Craig Asano is the founder and executive director of the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada), which will initially focus on education, networking and advocacy for an industry that facilitated $1.5 billion in offerings in 2012 — an amount slated to nearly double next year. There are approximately 500 crowdfunding portals worldwide and several forms of crowdfunding are now legal in the UK, Europe, Australia and the US, under the Jump Start on Business Start-Ups Act. www.ncfacanada.org....