Citizinvestor

For project funding, Citizinvestor was a civic crowdfunding website that describes itself as a "crowdfunding and civic engagement platform for local government projects on the United States."

Citizinvestor
Type of site
Civic crowdfunding
Available inEnglish
OwnerRoark Rearden & Hamot Capital Management
Created byJordan Raynor, Tony DeSisto, Erik Rapprich
URLwww.citizinvestor.com
CommercialYes
LaunchedApril 2012 (2012-04)
Current statusClosed

Overview

Citizinvestor was an online crowdfunding platform specifically focused on raising money for public projects and community infrastructure, started in Tampa, Florida by Jordan Raynor, Tony DeSisto, Erik Rapprich, and Joy Randels.[1][2][3] It was launched in partnership with the city of Philadelphia.[3][4][5]

It was inspired by a case in Davis Islands where the community wanted a swimming pool repaired, but the city did not have the finances to do so;[6] citizens successfully raised the funds with events and going door-to-door and this became the model for Citizinvestor.[1] The founders hope to "spark a rise of micro philanthropists".[1] The platform allows citizens to promote independent projects through a petition process and also works with city officials to crowdfund civic projects that were planned but abandoned due to budget constraints.[1]

While anyone can start petitions for new projects, projects can only be submitted by government entities, usually municipal governments.[2] Donations are tax deductible,[3] and donors are not charged if their project does not reach its funding target.[2] Unlike other crowdfunding platforms, no perks/rewards are offered.[2] The site's initial focus was on projects: between $10,000 and $20,000.[2]

Citizinvestor also offered a software as a service product, Citizinvestor Connect. Local municipalities, public-private partnerships, economic development organizations, and nonprofits can license the platform and customize it for their organization, leveraging it to raise funds and engage with their community.

References
  1. Morelli, Keith (23 September 2012). "Kayak commute dream is a citizen-investor idea". Tampa Tribune. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  2. Neubauer, Miranda (31 July 2012). "Three Kickstarter-Inspired, Civically Minded Crowdfunding Sites". TechPresident. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  3. "Citizinvestor Launches in Philadelphia". archive.is. 2013-04-14. Archived from the original on 2013-04-14. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  4. Drell, Lauren. "Crowdfunding Startups Let You Be Your City's Urban Planner". Mashable. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  5. Mathis, Joel (2012-09-14). "With "Citizinvestors," Philly Will Try to Crowdfund its Way to a Better Future". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  6. Schiller, Ben (2012-10-01). "Citizinvestor: Crowdfunding For Community Projects". Fast Company. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
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