The Senate voted 73 to 26 to pass the JOBS Act — an acronym for “Jumpstart Our Business Startups” — which, among other things, would make it easier for startups to raise small amounts of money from large pools of investors. The technique, called “crowdfunding,” has become more mainstream with the advent of sites like Kiva, Kickstarter and IndieGogo.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/223207