This paper examines the role of distance in crowdfunding, focusing on how local and distant funders differ in their investment patterns. The study uses data from Sellaband, a crowdfunding platform that enabled artists to raise capital for recording and producing an album. The findings suggest that although the platform reduces many distance-related costs, it does not eliminate all of them. Local funders appear less responsive to information about the cumulative funds raised by an artist, but this distance effect is largely explained by funders who likely have an offline social relationship with the artist ("friends and family"). However, this social effect does not persist past the first investment, suggesting that it may be driven by an activity like search but not monitoring. The study also finds that the difference between local and distant funders is largely explained by the disproportionately local nature of social relationships. The results suggest that crowdfunding platforms can reduce economic frictions associated with long-distance investments, but they do not eliminate frictions related to preexisting social networks. The study highlights the importance of social relationships in early-stage financing and suggests that online mechanisms may not fully resolve all distance-related frictions. The findings also suggest that later funders may discount the information in funds from "friends and family" as less informative about quality than other investments. Overall, the study provides a deeper understanding of the abilities and limitations of online markets to facilitate transactions and convey information between buyers and sellers with varying degrees of social connectedness.This paper examines the role of distance in crowdfunding, focusing on how local and distant funders differ in their investment patterns. The study uses data from Sellaband, a crowdfunding platform that enabled artists to raise capital for recording and producing an album. The findings suggest that although the platform reduces many distance-related costs, it does not eliminate all of them. Local funders appear less responsive to information about the cumulative funds raised by an artist, but this distance effect is largely explained by funders who likely have an offline social relationship with the artist ("friends and family"). However, this social effect does not persist past the first investment, suggesting that it may be driven by an activity like search but not monitoring. The study also finds that the difference between local and distant funders is largely explained by the disproportionately local nature of social relationships. The results suggest that crowdfunding platforms can reduce economic frictions associated with long-distance investments, but they do not eliminate frictions related to preexisting social networks. The study highlights the importance of social relationships in early-stage financing and suggests that online mechanisms may not fully resolve all distance-related frictions. The findings also suggest that later funders may discount the information in funds from "friends and family" as less informative about quality than other investments. Overall, the study provides a deeper understanding of the abilities and limitations of online markets to facilitate transactions and convey information between buyers and sellers with varying degrees of social connectedness.