Working with local residents, volunteers, and youth leaders, ABC has created a paradise in El Barrio (aka East Harlem). Their community garden programs give children and families an opportunity to grow their own food and enjoy relaxing, volunteering, learning, and doing yoga in the garden.
Continue reading VIDEO: ABC Garden in East Harlem / El Barrio
Acts of creative placemaking are fabulous in every season, but they’re particularly poised to shine in the summertime, when days are long, plants are in bloom, and people are outdoors.
At ioby, our Board of Directors has long been one of our greatest resources, and it’s difficult to overstate how essential this incredible group of people has been in shaping our organization. From a leading role in establishing and embodying our mission and values, to practical and expert guidance of our tactical work in our cities of focus, it’s safe to say this is no typical nonprofit board. The bar is set high.
Continue reading Meet Harriet Tregoning, ioby’s Newest Board Member!
Compost NOW is a free residential food waste collection project in New Orleans. Master Composter Lynne Serpe and her team of volunteers partner with the New Orleans Public Library to build on the community library model of reuse and resource sharing in a place that’s convenient to everyone, across all demographics and ages.
Melissa Wong and Sandra Hong were both coming from men’s worlds: the tech industry, and the restaurant industry, respectively. They knew firsthand that there was a need in their community for a space designed by and focused on women. Hong had already founded Brooklyn-based Girl Party – a once a week series for unconventional gatherings, and Wong had been running a regular women’s networking and peer mentorship meet-up. When a mutual friend put them in touch, they hit it off right away, and decided to see what they could build together. New Women Space was born.
Continue reading AWESOME PROJECT: Making space for women, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Think all ioby projects are in cities? Think again!
This is one of our very favorite recent projects, in the tiny, rural community of Torrey, Utah.
Guest post by our friends at the United States Forest Service’s NYC Urban Field Station
Hey New Yorkers! If you are a gardener, a park champion, a food justice activist, a kayak club member, an educator, a researcher, or a community organizer—we need your help in putting your group on the map! The 2017 STEW-MAP survey is now open! Check your inbox and respond to the survey to make sure your hard work is recognized. (If you have not received a survey but are a part of a stewardship group you would like to see on the map, email stewmap.ufs@gmail.com.)
Continue reading Part of a NYC Stewardship group? Get on the STEW-MAP!
Christine Dimmick, who founded natural products company Good Home out of her Chelsea kitchen in 1995, has been in the natural products arena for a long time. But when she was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple of years ago, she realized it was time for an even deeper clean, and an even closer look at her life and her world.
Continue reading AWESOME PROJECT: Spreading love and healing on Governor’s Island
Did you know that there are currently about 50,000 vacant residential properties in Detroit? If you add commercial spaces and storefronts to the list, that number skyrockets to 80,000. That’s about 25 square miles of vacant and blighted property, out of the 139 square miles that make up the city. Which tells us something about how dire the situation has been, and for how long.
But what do you hear, when you hear these numbers? We hear possibility.
Continue reading AWESOME PROJECT: Billboard art to fight blight in Detroit!
While the average budget for ioby projects is around $4,000, many are larger scale. If you have your sights set high, your budget—and fundraising skills—will have to rise to the challenge.
Crowdfunding large amounts of money on ioby is totally doable, but it takes some extra planning. In our Rainmakers series, we’re sharing stories and tips from Leaders who have successfully raised $10,000 or more for their ioby campaign. Learn how they did it, and how you can do it, too!
Continue reading The Rainmakers: Frampton Tolbert of Center for Urban Pedagogy