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Except with VC, the money is given with the expectation of an occasional huge return. With a crowd-funded open source project, one there is no possibility of getting anything more than a program you could get for free if others funded its development. This is clearly a very different situation.

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But as a crowdfunder, I know that going in. Donation levels are clearly marked with what returns, if any, I can expect if the project is successful. "Worthwhile" to a VC means "big financial returns"; "worthwhile" to a crowdfunder means "this cool thing gets made". It's exactly the same concept; how it works out in practice is just mechanics.

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