I was hoping for a 50-percent success rate. The fact that we have 97 percent is crazy.
-Katharine Czarnecki, Senior Vice President of Community Development, MEDC.
When the MEDC began working with Patronicity, the effort was to drive the reactivation of public spaces. The State of Michigan also wanted to leave the selection process up to the community to find out what projects it wanted. Through crowdgranting with Patronicity, the MEDC has seen exceptionally successful campaigns and community improvement that simultaneously brought transparency, speed, and cost efficiency to the granting process while garnering widespread media attention.
It just made it a lot more impactful for us to go our friends and our supporters and say ‘if you help us make this goal, it’s gonna double’. I think the real benefit of this kind of a partnership is that it’s the community who’s the review committee, in a sense.
-Alice Brinkman, Expanding Our REACH Art Center Project Creator
Through the PCSP Program, the MEDC has enabled projects statewide that may not have otherwise been possible. One such example is the REACH Studio Art Center in Lansing, MI, which was expanding its community art center for youth and adults by re-purposing five vacant storefronts along Washington Ave. They required nearly $100,000, an impossible sum to collect on its own. With Patronicity’s leadership and support, the REACH Studio Art Center was able to connect with the greater community, while receiving news, radio, and other media coverage to exceed its goal.
Based on our success in MassDevelopment's Commonwealth Places Program and crowdfunding campaign we were then able to attract business leaders and foundations and I don't think we would have been as successful without this first key step, Commonwealth Places.
-Al Wilson, Executive Director and Founder, Beyond Walls
Beyond Walls Lynn Beyond Walls Lynn was the answer to residents’ concerns that Lynn, Massachusetts wasn't putting its best foot forward. Residents identified the need to create a safer environment for pedestrians and a more attractive place for visitors to the downtown. In 2017, the idea emerged lead by a group of residents, business owners and artists and went on to raise over $80,000 from 1,300 residents, businesses and property owners through MassDevelopment and Patronicity's Commonwealth Places program. An international festival attracted thousands of visitors to Downtown Lynn and resulted in tens-of-thousands of dollars spent in the downtown area. Still to come... underpass lighting turning dark underpasses into vibrant new public spaces.
The Boston Main Streets Foundation partnered with Patronicity to provide crowdfunding as a tool to their affiliate 20 main street groups. They worked with patronicity to create a call for ideas submission portal which garnered community responses for ideas to better their neighborhood. After the submission process, four projects were chosen to run crowdfunding campaigns to gain further community support. This process allowed BMSF to provide crowdfunding as a tool and enabling their communities to run more successful campaigns while working with Patronicity’s team who provided technical assistance and coaching to the projects the whole way. Discover how you can become a Partner and enable your affiliate organizations to run more successful online digital giving campaigns with Patronicity!