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Press Release
CONTACT: media@nycha.nyc.gov
NYCHA, THE FUND FOR PUBLIC HOUSING, AND IOBY LAUNCH INNOVATIVE CROWDFUNDING PORTAL FOR RESIDENT-DRIVEN SUSTAINABILITY PROJECTS
Ideas Marketplace is high-tech online platform to enable residents and community-based organizations to raise donations, seek volunteers, and identify partners to undertake projects that green NYCHA developments throughout the City.
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NEW YORK –– Today, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) together with the Fund for Public Housing and ioby, a neighborhood-driven, resourcing nonprofit organization, announced the launch of Ideas Marketplace, an innovative online crowdfunding portal for sustainability initiatives led by residents and community-based organizations. The Ideas Marketplace will provide a platform for the many sustainability programs already in existence throughout NYCHA, while enabling new resident-led projects Authority-wide. The goal of the Ideas Marketplace is to create a virtual bazaar showcasing community organizations and resident-led initiatives to improve sustainability and quality of life for residents in NYCHA developments.
“Ideas Marketplace is an innovative step to support resident and community-driven projects to create greener, more sustainable NYCHA communities,” said NYCHA Chair and CEO Shola Olatoye, who also chairs the Fund for Public Housing. “Building partnerships to improve quality of life for our residents is a fundamental part of our NextGeneration NYCHA vision to create safe, clean and connected communities.”
"We know that NYCHA residents have great ideas to make our communities greener, healthier, stronger, and more sustainable, and we're thrilled to be teaming with NYCHA and the Fund for Public Housing to help bring these ideas to reality," said David Weinberger, ioby's City Partnerships Director. "It's truly amazing to see what happens when residents are able to become leaders in the local change they want to see."
Many residents and community-based organizations are working to provide sustainable solutions to local needs, ranging from access to healthy food, to increasing recycling participation, to environmental education. The Ideas Marketplace provides an online platform to encourage collaboration and knowledge-sharing, while creating an opportunity for supporters both inside and outside of the NYCHA community to help fund these home-grown sustainability projects that reflect local priorities and needs.
The Ideas Marketplace will provide each project with a webpage to raise individual donations, seek volunteers, find like-minded partners from across NYCHA communities, and enhance philanthropic fundraising capability. It will also enhance the ability of the Fund for Public Housing to identify grass-roots projects and provide a transparent framework for groups interested in working with NYCHA and the Fund.
NYCHA worked with ioby, a nonprofit crowdfunding web platform for residents and community-led programs to raise resources, to create and host the Ideas Marketplace. In addition to to pool funding, the platform also gives users the ability to organize different types of capital— social networks, in-kind donations, volunteer time, advocacy — to make the neighborhood a better place to live (see link to Ideas Marketplace here).
The Authority recently hosted a workshop for 10 nonprofit organizations in partnership with ioby and the New York Community Trust, to show them how the Ideas Marketplace works and to share crowdfunding strategies. One organization, Rockaway Youth Task Force, already launched their project on the Ideas Marketplace. They are raising funds for community gardens at Ocean Bay Houses in Far Rockaway (see project here) and raised over $9,000 so far.
"We’re excited to be the first group to raise funds through the Ideas Market Place,” said Milan Taylor, Executive Director and Founder of Rockaway Youth Task Force. “I feel confident that we will reach our goal through the support of our community and private partners.”
“Cafeteria Culture is thrilled to partner with NYCHA and IOBY to build upon our youth-led citizen science, video journalism, and civic action projects with Red Hook Brooklyn’s PS 15 youth,” said Debby Lee Cohen, Executive Director and Founder of Cafeteria Culture. “As community leaders, PS 15 youth creatively engage neighbors on issues and solutions to reduce plastic street litter that is washing into our waterways, poisoning marine wildlife and moving up the food chain.”
“I’m excited to see the kind of projects that will come out of Ideas Marketplace,” said Erycka de Jesus, a NYCHA resident and outreach coordinator for the NYC Compost Project Hosted by Big Reuse, who attended the workshop. “We are always excited to represent the sustainability aspect of the green movement and be a beacon and resource for the City.”
Ideas Marketplace is part of NYCHA’s Sustainability Agenda, an extension of the Authority’s NextGeneration NYCHA plan to create safe, clean and connected communities. The Sustainability Agenda outlines NYCHA’s commitment to improve resident well-being and operate as an effective and efficient landlord while supporting the City’s ambitious climate goals.
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About the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) provides decent and affordable housing in a safe and secure living environment for low- and moderate-income residents throughout the five boroughs. To fulfill this mission, NYCHA must preserve its aging housing stock through timely maintenance and modernization of its developments. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/nycha and for regular updates on NYCHA news and services, connect with us via www.facebook.com/NYCHA and www.twitter.com/NYCHA
About the Fund for Public Housing
Never before has there been an organization that exists solely to address the priorities of New York City public housing communities. The Fund for Public Housing is an independent not-for-profit organization that invests in the well-being of New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents and their communities. The Fund collaborates with public and private partners to reimagine and improve the way public housing works. For more information, visit www.fundforpublichousing.org or follow the Fund on Twitter, www.twitter.com/Fund4PH
About ioby
ioby is a crowd-resourcing web platform for residents and community-led programs to raise resources. In addition to ioby’s functionality to pool funding, the platform also gives users the ability to organize many kinds of capital— social networks, in-kind donations, volunteer time, advocacy—from within the neighborhood to make the neighborhood a better place to live. For more information visit www.ioby.org.