The US Ski and Snowboard Association has announced a multi-year partnership with online fundraising platform RallyMe.com.
The deal sees the national governing body make RallyMe.com the official crowdfunding platform for its Olympic teams. The two parties will launch an initiative to help athletes raise funds to offset travel and training costs above the $20m (€15.3m) USSA invests annually.
USSA athletes who use the RallyMe.com platform to raise funds will be featured on a dedicated team partner page, allowing supporters to easily access elite team members.
They will also have a customised widget integrated into personal biography pages on their respective national team website, so donors can easily contribute.
According to an annual report by Crowdsourcing.org, the value of the crowdfunding industry is expected to rise to $5bn in 2013.