Community donations for neighborhood improvement growing

Driven by a strategic partnership between Livable Memphis and ioby (in our back yards), citizens of Memphis have raised $500,000 (and rising) for neighborhood improvement. 170 projects (with an average budget of under $4,000.00 each) span the Greater Memphis area and include a Rock Garden in Soulsville, a Girls Inc. Youth Farm program, Paint Memphis 2 - the largest collaborative mural in Memphis, among various others.
 
ioby helps neighbors grow and implement great ideas for community improvement one campaign at a time. Their crowd-resourcing platform (crowdfunding + resource organizing) connects leaders with funding and support to make neighborhoods safer, greener, more livable and more fun.
 
Livable Memphis, a program within the Community Development Council of Greater Memphis, supports the development and redevelopment of healthy, vibrant, attractive, and economically sustainable neighborhoods throughout the Memphis region with a special focus on growth and development issues – including land use and transportation – and on increasing public participation in planning and development decisions.
 
Ellen Roberds, ioby Memphis Action Strategist, believes the significant citizen philanthropy success can be attributed to the collective ‘can do’ attitude and spirit of Memphians.
 
“We have a lot of doers and folks in our town who want to make change,” Roberds said. “People were excited about the tool, which ioby provides to streamline fundraising and community organizing activities. Our partnership with Livable Memphis allowed for greater access and bolstered the success of neighborhood projects and philanthropic efforts. ”
 
The ioby partnership with Livable Memphis began in late 2013 with a fundraising campaign for the Hampline bicycle trail in Binghampton, and quickly expanded to include parks, green spaces, public art, and other focus areas.
 
The ioby Memphis model is now guiding ioby's expansion into other U.S. cities, starting with Detroit and Cleveland based on strong local partners to embed and incubate ioby in a city for two years (and beyond).
 
“We are thrilled to have helped with reaching this milestone in Memphis,” said John Paul Shaffer, Livable Memphis Program Director. “We are so proud of Memphians for stepping up and working together to improve our neighborhoods.”
 
Overall, 19 zip codes in Memphis have been home to at least one ioby project, and 2,139 individual donations have been made. Fundraising and volunteer recruitment for active neighborhood projects is still ongoing.
 
ioby recently launched a new national fundraising match campaign, "Trick Out My Trip”. In partnership with the Transit Center, ioby is requesting proposals from neighborhood leaders with ideas to improve commuting. Participants will run crowd-resourcing campaigns to fund community improvement projects. To be eligible to be selected for the match, groups must fill out an idea form by May 20, 2016 at www.ioby.org/trip.