Fair Rewards in Crowdfunding: Balancing Contribution and Timing

The authors look at how to fairly reward people who contribute to a crowdfunded project. They create a model that isn’t based on strategy and introduce a new rule for rewards: a person’s reward depends on both how much money they give and when they give it. Using a method often used in sharing resources, they define this reward rule based on two simple fairness principles. The final rewards match a well-known idea from game theory called the Shapley value, which helps divide rewards fairly. Their rule also sends a clear message: if two people give the same amount, the one who donates earlier gets a bigger reward.


Early contributors and fair rewards in crowdfunding

Béal, S., Deschamps, M., Refait-Alexandre, C. et al. Early contributors and fair rewards in crowdfunding. Theory Decis 98, 33–59 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11238-024-09996-6