Let's build vibrant communities
together and support Civic Development Urban Farms Community Gardens Art Centers Skateparks Green Alleys Dog Parks Community Centers Park Pavilions Youth Development City Entrepreneurs Social Causes
Patronicity is a civic crowdfunding & crowdgranting platform. We bring together local citizens and sponsors to support great initiatives in their communities.
State Sponsored
First State Government Partnership to Start CrowdGranting.
Learn More About Crowdgranting
Contact Rob St. Mary to schedule a demo and learn how you can bring crowdgranting to your granting organization.
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is partnering with Patronicity to revolutionize the way grants are applied for, evaluated and approved. Through the Public Spaces Community Places grant, projects that qualify receive matching dollars to those crowdfunded.
MassDevelopment has launched it's Commonwealth Places program & the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority has launched the CreatINg Places program to drive and strengthen community and economic development through activating new or distressed public spaces.
Have an idea?
Passionate about building the community?
Start Your Project
Play your part by supporting progress in your community. Big or small, every contribution matters!
Discover Projects
Multiply your impact & support projects on a larger level by offering qualifying grants.
Learn More
Meet The Team
Interested in Joining The Team? We're always looking to expand our team and bring on dedicated and passionate individuals to help Build Vibrant Communities.
If you're interested in our growth, shoot us an email with your resume and why you want to be a part of the Patronicity Team: info@patronicity.com
Mahala Clayton
Michigan Community Project Manager
I came to work for Patronicity because I identified with the goal of building communities by fueling the ideas of the most impassioned people within them. For me development should start by meeting the demands and needs voiced by the civic whole, and Patronicity grants opportunity to citizens to fix or grow their community the way they see fit. Contact me if you have an inspired idea to grow your "place".
Jonathan Berk
New England Director
I’ve worked as an attorney focussing on real estate development projects across Massachusetts for the past few years helping developers and investors realize their creative visions for development projects and communities. Working on these I realized there was always something missing. You can build “utopia” within the four walls of the building you’re working on but once you step outside, you’re reliant upon cash strapped municipalities to foot the bill. These community assets are where innovation happens, where relationships are built and where cities and towns become a “community.” Empowering residents to build these themselves is a power every city should have. I’m looking forward to helping you, the residents of New England, empower yourselves to build your own“community.
Michelle Moon
New England Community Project Manager
I'm an urban planner and designer who's worked in the Boston area since 2007. My passion focuses on parks, greenways, active transit, wellness, and placemaking, which includes planning, design, implementation, maintenance, and programming. I have always been interested in how people connect to place and the importance of working and acting locally on environmental issues. When I’m not sitting at a desk working, you can find my out on my road bike or hiking in the mountains every chance I get all 12 months of the year.
Ebrahim Varachia
President | Co-Founder
I graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree focusing on International Development and creating sustainable businesses in developing countries. Staying local and moving to Detroit, I translated that into urban revitalization and began working on two startups. Being an entrepreneur coupled with my passion for sustainable community development, I enjoy learning of great new initiatives happening around the country started by other entrepreneurs, innovators, artists, & activists.
Chris Blauvelt
Founder
I started Patronicity after having lived and worked in Detroit and, despite all the bad press, seeing the incredible power of community. Crowdfunding is a fun yet powerful way to bring community together and support initiatives within, and with Patronicity we're working to take that to the next level by seeing community as not only the people in a neighborhood but the businesses and local government that plays a role in shaping it as well.
Rob St. Mary
Director of Outreach
After a 14 year career in commercial & public radio, I decided to take the lessons learned on the streets covering neighborhoods, arts, & culture, and turn them outward as a way of improving the things I’ve loved all my life. As not only a Patronicity employee but a success story, I know what the platform can do for the individual and the larger community to open opportunity. Beyond my work here, I’m also a huge film and music fan, published my first book in the Fall 2015, and continue to play guitar/bass. I enjoy time with friends, fine food, and my cats.
Photo by Eric Seals - Detroit Free Press
Veronica Watson
Indiana Director
I came to Patronicity after serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA for two years in New Orleans and Indianapolis. That experience showed me just how difficult it can be to ensure that all members of a community - be they residents, businesses, nonprofits or the local government – have a voice and the power to make the change they want to see. That’s why I love what we do at Patronicity; we give power back to the community members who have the ideas and the drive to make change. If you have a great idea, and the drive to make it happen in your Indiana community, I’d love to hear from you!
Tim Heaphy
Web Designer/Developer
I've been a filmmaker, educator, and marketer. At Patronicity, I primarily design and code the front-end of the website, but also handle many of the graphic design and marketing responsibilities. Though my professional life has been circuitous, my personal commitment to empowering and enabling people has never wavered. That is what I love about working here — my personal passions and professional interests get to coexist.
Photo by Jordan Butler
Thomas Coke
Director of Sales
Thomas Coke is formerly the VP of North America for Hubbub Fundraising, a white label crowdfunding platform for higher education and non-profit. He was previously the CEO of CampusStarter.co, a crowdfunding site for college entrepreneurs. He has also been the Director of Business Development at CrowdFundConnect and in Business Development for FinTech startup VerifyValid. He advises a variety of startups in the Midwest and speaks around the country on crowdfunding, payments and electronic signatures as well as working on several state crowdfunding bills. He is a graduate of Kalamazoo College and the Michigan State University College of Law.