Crowd funding has been a buzzword in the start-up world for years. For most entrepreneurs, though, it was virtually mythological: While it was certainly possible to fund an idea through donations by potential customers, there was no real way to reach out to a broad audience.

Then came Kickstarter.

Over the past three years, the funding platform has raised more than $323 million for over 10,000 projects. In most cases, the funding is a fairly low number – less than $10,000. And more projects fail to meet their funding goals than those who succeed.

But every now and then, a product or project will tap into some cultural zeitgeist and explode out of the gate. The site's top 10 projects, in fact, have pocketed more than $32 million. And there's no sign of an impending slowdown: The second biggest project just wrapped up less than two weeks ago.

Here then, is a look at the 10 most lucrative funding efforts in Kickstarter's history.

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