All posts by Noah Lumbantobing

Alternatives to 311: a citizen-led movement for change

Neighbors making neighborhoods, , , ,

311 is a toll-free, non-emergency phone number that people in many cities can call to get information about municipal services (like trash collection), make complaints (like a pothole), or report urgent problems (like a downed power line). Even in cities where a number other than “311” is used, 311 is the most recognized name for this type of phone system. In many places, 311 is now also available as a smartphone app.

Residents are the natural eyes and ears of their neighborhoods, so any system that amplifies their voices straight to city hall gets a gold star from ioby. But what about those residents who want to do more than make a 30-second call to 311 when they notice something amiss on their block? What can neighbors do when they decide it’s not enough to make a report—they also need to take some action?

We’re proud to introduce you to three ioby Leaders who saw opportunities for improvement where they live, and who didn’t wait for someone else (even the government) to step in. While their projects are quite different in nature, they all used ioby’s crowdfunding platform to raise the money needed to make them happen.

Continue reading Alternatives to 311: a citizen-led movement for change →

4 fundraising ideas for grassroots movements

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Whether you’re the driving force behind a new grassroots movement, or are helping your neighbors achieve a simple project on your block, one thing is almost certain: you need money!

Grassroots initiatives large and small require good ideas, serious dedication, and adequate funding to succeed. ioby has worked with hundreds of grassroots groups to get funding, get resources, and get off the ground.  Below, we discuss four common funding strategies for the grassroots: their benefits, limitations, and our recommendations for getting the most donor bucks for your fundraising bang.
Continue reading 4 fundraising ideas for grassroots movements →

Awesome Project: Art in the Garden

Awesome Project, Pittsburgh, , ,

For the past three summers, every day that it looks like it might rain on a day that she teaches at Borland Garden in Pittsburgh, Emily Carlson talks to the weather and asks for it hold back the rain until two o’clock. That’s when the kids at Art in the Garden, a youth summer program in the garden, go home for the day. Without any shelter in the garden, programming has been at the whim of the weather, though they’ve been lucky. “Every single day for the past three summers it has worked except for one day,” Emily says. “But that feels like a lot to ask the weather, and it feels stressful to me, so we’d really like to have a structure built.”

So she and her community are kicking off their third ioby campaign to raise funds to build a shelter in Borland Garden for all weather–and extended season–learning, after previously having successfully nearly $8,000 with ioby to fund programming in the summer of 2017 and 2018. Continue reading Awesome Project: Art in the Garden →

Thanks for an amazing 2018!

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2018 was no ordinary year for ioby. We broke a lot of our records, got hundreds of projects done, and pushed the needle further on building a movement of changemakers. We’re not done yet, but the great progress we’ve already made was only possible thanks to the hundreds of neighborhood leaders–like you!–across the country who jumped in with us to get good done in our backyards. Whether you started a crowdfunding project on ioby, volunteered to help make it happen, or gave to a project or directly to ioby, we couldn’t have had an incredible year without you. Continue reading Thanks for an amazing 2018! →

7 projects that unite, not divide, our communities

Neighbors making neighborhoods, ,

You may have heard about a crowdfunding campaign for a border wall. We at ioby think this campaign—motivated by fear and hatred—not only runs against our principles, but runs counter to what crowdfunding can be: a powerful tool for change within our communities. Instead of a tool to wall us off, crowdfunding has tremendous power to build bridges across difference. When used to bring our communities together, there’s no shortage of ways crowdfunding can encourage community members to have a stake in a project, bring people together, and build civic strength.

Here are a few powerful examples of neighbors coming together and using crowdfunding to bridge differences and celebrate what makes our communities strong. Continue reading 7 projects that unite, not divide, our communities →

Winter activities that build community

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When the temperature drops, the daily drudgery factor can shoot up. Those of us in colder climes are about to start shoveling sidewalks, de-icing windshields, and spending 15 minutes lacing boots and buttoning coats before we can so much as step out the front door.

But not all winter activities are such a grind. When daylight retreats, it sets the perfect tone for huddling up, sharing ideas, and working on shared goals together—preferably over a plate of warm cookies.

Here are a few great examples of winter activities, brought to our attention by ioby friends and leaders, that make the most of cooler days and nights—and make neighborhoods better places to live, work, and play. Continue reading Winter activities that build community →

Beyond Voting: A national webinar

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Our communities are at a critical crossroads; in the face of myriad challenges, how do we strengthen our democracy and restore trust? How do we make lasting change across differences and continue to build our neighborhoods? Join us on Dec. 18th at 1 pm for a lunchtime webinar to see how neighborhood leaders (like you!) are looking both inside and outside the election cycle to build year-round relationships and make meaningful, lasting change in the communities they call home. Learn how they rallied their communities to take down confederate monuments, build food security, and inspire movements. Continue reading Beyond Voting: A national webinar →

Giving Report 2018

10 Year Stories, Neighbors making neighborhoods

2018 was a big year for ioby. It was a year of empowering young people to invest in our democracy, of honoring our elders, of fighting for justice, building community gardens, bringing beauty to our cities, and so much more. It was also a big year because it’s ioby’s tenth anniversary. So we’re celebrating $5.5 million raised for neighbor-led change, nearly 2,000 powerful projects, over 33,000 of neighbors pitching in to get it done, and ten years of getting good done in our backyards.

Read more about our ten years of building a movement of changemakers, and how you helped fuel it, in our 2018 giving report. 
Continue reading Giving Report 2018 →

Erin Barnes & Miriam Parson: What Pittsburgh means to us

Neighbors making neighborhoods, Pittsburgh

The massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue was a horrific hate crime, the deadliest attack on Jewish Americans in history. There is no question that violence like this has no place in our world, our country, in Pittsburgh, or in Squirrel Hill. It’s a particularly cruel irony to see such an explicit outburst of anti-semitism and hate befall a community made famous for its generosity, philanthropy, love and neighborliness.

We have no doubt that Pittsburgh will come together, as we’ve already seen our city do, and lean on one another to mourn and to heal.

As our grief turns to resolve, many of us find ourselves wondering: what next? Continue reading Erin Barnes & Miriam Parson: What Pittsburgh means to us →

Ten Year Stories: South Macon’s Agrihood

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ioby was founded in 2008 in order to make it easier for local leaders to gain the funding, knowledge, and resources needed to make positive change on a local level. For the past ten years we’ve worked alongside more than 1,600 passionate, committed community leaders and have watched as small projects have turned into larger initiatives and collaborations have become movements.

In the coming months, we’re taking a look back at the past ten years, and tell some of our favorite stories of positive neighborhood change. We want to know: what kind of things can start with a conversation, a neighborhood meeting, a few dollars raised?

This month, Danny Glover tells us about how his community crowdfunded with ioby to kickstart their project and bring food security to the neighborhood. Continue reading Ten Year Stories: South Macon’s Agrihood →