Abstract

In the Italian museum sector crowdfunding has begun to bring to light interesting opportunities, linked not only to the economic-financial lever but, above all, to more intangible but equally ‘valuable’ impacts such as: identifying new ways of engaging, developing an active community, acquiring new skills, stimulating innovation within the organisation, verifying the sustainability and feasibility of new projects and supporting the process of redefining one’s strategies. These are some of the positive aspects that were detected through the analysis of some case studies, relating to the campaigns of museums or similar Italian cultural institutions of various legal status. In addition to a snapshot of the state of the art regarding the use of crowdfunding in the Italian museum sector, some considerations and indications are shared to guide the possible development of this tool for the world of cultural institutions and places, applicable in a complementary manner to other more traditional forms of funding, such as Art Bonus and sponsorship.