How community groups and activists can fundraise like a nonprofit without the administrative headache. If you’re an activist or a community leader, you’ve probably been there: You’ve just had an idea that you know will transform your community, whether planting a garden or slowing down traffic on your street. Your neighbors are on board, the vision is clear, and the excitement is palpable! Everyone is ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work. Now it’s time for some fundraising… Those wooden garden beds or “slow, child at play” signs won’t pay for themselves. But do you really have to bec ..read more

This past year was incredible for ioby and our neighbors. To date, ioby has supported local leaders to raise over $18.6 million for 3,474 projects that make our neighborhoods more sustainable, more just, and more awesome! In 2022, 65% of the leaders we served identified as BIPOC, and more than 46% were part of small, unincorporated groups who otherwise lack access to critical resources. Together, our leaders show that there’s great power in the simple act of coming together to confront a common problem.  As we step into 2023, we wanted to take a look back and celebrate all the incredible ..read more

Gloria Buxton has spent the majority of her life on the expansive shorelines of Lake Erie with her brother William Otis Jordan, known as Billy to everyone who knew him. Born in Ashtabula, Ohio, she recalls memories of growing up on the docks with her family. “My father was a fisherman, so he would always take me and Billy down to the boats and we would ride with him. Our parents were instrumental in making sure we knew how to swim. I’m really thankful for that.” Gloria Buxton and Billy together as children Despite her positive relationship to water and the activities that come with it, ma ..read more

When Josselyn Okorodudu’s son was diagnosed with autism at the age of five, she remembers experiencing a world of devastation and loneliness. Six years have passed since then, but during that time Josselyn has worked to carve out a space for her son Kai and other members of the Black Autism Community. “Now that my son is eleven and I have more space to consider what is going on in my community, I really felt compelled to reach back a hand to those parents who just learned of their child’s diagnosis. I know those parents feel just as isolated and lost as I did, so I wanted to help build a space ..read more

When Kofi Thomas was volunteering at The Peoples Garden in Bushwick, an elder told him about a nearby piece of land that was being used as a trash dump. That space, now called the Good Life Garden, has grown into a green space, a hub for community gathering, and a place for celebration and joy. “When the project started, I just thought we were gonna grow some food. It’s been a lot more than that,” says Kofi.  Since Good Life Garden opened its gates in 2018, Kofi has crowdfunded over $25,000 with ioby through four successful projects to help sustain and grow the garden’s presence and impac ..read more

I’m excited to share some news with everyone in the ioby community:  Next year, I plan to step down from my role as CEO and into a founder-in-residence role. When I shared my decision with the Board and the Senior Management Team a few months ago, I made a commitment to support a process and a timeline that centers equity and inclusion. Together we decided that the best time for me to transition into my new role at ioby would be late summer of 2023, about a year from now.  Courtesy of The Obama Foundation I’m deeply proud of what we’ve built together over the past 15 years. ioby bega ..read more

ioby’s Board is composed of many standout individuals. Each member brings a unique background and perspective to the table as they guide ioby forward.  Together, the Board members and their specialties form one of ioby’s greatest strengths. “Every nonprofit’s Board is a critical part of the governance structure,” says ioby CEO and co-founder Erin Barnes. “At ioby, we’re lucky that our Board of Directors are enthusiastic ambassadors of our work. They are expert advisors in everything ranging from community development to the arts, technology, and finance. They additionally work as trusted ..read more

ioby’s Product is an essential part of our work serving project leaders across the country. The Product consists of our online crowdfunding platform and all other digital services which are tailored to meet the needs of ioby Leaders, ioby project donors, and the ioby staff who support them.  Both ioby’s online Product and offline services are built around our principles of equity and inclusion. These principles, based on 6+ years of feedback from ioby project leaders, exist to keep our work grounded as we grow our organization and our work.  ioby’s Product team is a big part of that ..read more

Our new Digital Inclusion Policy is the latest component of ioby’s larger Racial Equity & Inclusion (REI) framework, which is currently under development in a co-creation process with our staff and Board. We see ioby’s Digital Inclusion Policy as a guiding tool so that we can hold ourselves accountable to make just, equitable product and marketing decisions in both long-term and daily work. The policy was created based on formal and informal feedback from ioby Leaders throughout the years, and drafted with input from our entire staff. The new policy is rooted in ioby’s five Principles:&nbs ..read more

Plena, an Afro-Puerto Rican musical genre, is in many ways part of the beating heart of the barrio of Santurce, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  “After [Hurricane Maria] passed,” Mariana Reyes Angleró said, “the first community meeting that we had was to try to figure out how to do an inventory of houses that were destroyed and people that needed help. That meeting ended with plena music. It is not only for celebration, it is for life in general. You can hear it at a funeral, or every baseball game or Christmas parties or whatever. So it is a kind of soundtrack for this community’s activism.” T ..read more