User:Erinbarnes/ioby

ioby is a crowd-resourcing platform for civic projects. On ioby, anyone can raise tax-deductible donations, recruit local volunteers, share ideas with a likeminded community, and get access to key decision-makers. The term "crowd-resourcing" was created by ioby combining the concepts of crowd-funding and resource organizing.

Dowser named ioby one of the top ten crowdfunding sites globally in 2011, and named on the Next American City 2012 Disruption Index for Civic Good. In a Next American City Forefront feature, David Lepeska explains that what sets ioby apart from similar platforms is its experience and results in the field and its ability to measure impact of the projects.

ioby's mission is to make urban neighborhoods stronger and more sustainable by delivering resources to the civil society groups that steward urban centers. To post projects on ioby they must be good for the environment and good for the community. ioby reviews and vets each project before it goes live. Examples of ioby projects include citizen science remote sensors in the NYC sewer system like Don't Flush Me, Velo City's Bikesplorations of NYC neighborhoods where high school students learn about urban planning, playstreets , urban farming , community gardening and more.

ioby launched nationally on Earth Day, April 22, 2012. ioby first announced the idea of civic crowd-funding on WNYC's Brian Lehrer show on March 26, 2009. In January, 2013, ioby opened an office in Miami in a partnership with Miami-Dade County Office of Sustainability.

In the days immediately following Hurricane Sandy, ioby asked its supporters and project leaders to report on how the disaster affected their neighborhoods and communities and to make suggestions on how New York City could become more prepared for extreme weather.

ioby is a US-based, IRS-recognized 501(c)3 organization. All donations to all projects are tax-deductible. ioby was incorporated in 2007, launched in beta in April 2009, and received its IRS determination letter on June 3, 2009.