Dear Friend,The past two years have been tough. The COVID-19 pandemic, racialized violence, widening economic disparity, climate collapse, and the active dismantling of our democratic institutions have dominated our lives, with no clear end in sight.And yet, I am grateful to be able to work directly with our community of changemakers whose knowledge, passion, and drive results in real, positive change. These resident leaders are the reason ioby exists, and they are the center of our work. ioby could not do this work without our community of partners, donors, and supporters; thank you for your continued investment in our communities, and in our mission of resident-led change.In 2021, ioby supported 385 local projects to raise $3.5 million for real, tangible solutions to some of our most pressing challenges. In this Giving Report, I am excited to reflect some highlights from 2021, and share some of what’s next.I’m thrilled to announce that in 2022, we are migrating to a new ioby.org. ioby’s new platform, like everything we do, is rooted in deep listening and years of work with our communities, particularly BIPOC communities whose needs have often been overlooked. ioby believes that technology can never be value-neutral, so we continually strive to build ours toward equity. That’s why our racial justice work last year included launching a new Digital Inclusion Policy, rooted in our values, to guide our future decision making as an equity-focused intermediary. And this same kind of deep listening has shaped our fundraising coaching, tools, fiscal sponsorship, match programs, and the resources we offer.ioby’s work has always been about making it easier for residents to step into civic leadership. Taken together, even small-seeming local actions are the first steps toward repairing our tattered civic infrastructure. We have seen leaders in neighborhoods nationwide rise to the critical challenges of the past two years. And we truly believe these local leaders are best positioned to lead our way out of crisis, whether long-standing or sudden. It’s our job to support and follow their lead.With immense gratitude,
Erin Barnes
Co-Founder & CEO
Spotlight: What We Learned in 2021
ioby has long provided a source of critical funding for civic leaders and activists who need it most. In 2021, we doubled down on serving unincorporated groups, the “deep roots” who often have the greatest need for critical funding in real time. We have seen the ascendance of mutual aid networks such as Bed-Stuy Strong, who rose up quickly, despite a lack of formal leadership or 501(c)3 status, to meet the urgent needs of neighbors in crisis.This past year, fully half of all ioby projects were BIPOC-led, and many have an explicitly anti-racist focus. We are proud to support projects like BlackSpace, whose work is explicitly rooted in Black urbanism and undoing systemic, racialized violence toward Black communities. This is the work of movement-building, and it’s happening all around us, block by block.
Positive Change That Builds Community Power
What does a better world look like? Is it safer streets? Racial justice? More beautiful neighborhoods with more places to play? Or is it the sense that the power to make a better world lies in our own hands and the hands of our neighbors?At ioby, everything we do—from the online fundraising tools we build to the way we work with local leaders to plan their fundraising campaigns—is rooted in our belief in the powerful good ideas of our own neighbors. Real, lasting, positive change at the community level can only be led by the people who are closest to the challenges and opportunities within their own communities.That’s why our work with local leaders is about so much more than raising money. It’s about building trust. It’s about building power. It’s about putting into action our belief that our communities, our democracy, and our world can be better—but only if we truly listen to each other and let our neighbors lead.
Beyond Crowdfunding: Practical Tools for Real-World Change
So far, neighbors have raised $16.3 million for 3,164 projects using ioby’s platform and services. That’s a lot of positive, local change. But what does it mean to work with ioby?Since our founding in 2008, we’ve built our online tools and support services on the belief that crowdfunding can be a powerful tool to put money into the hands of community leaders who are best positioned to make positive, local change. But ioby is so much more than a crowdfunding platform: for years, we’ve listened to the communities we serve, and have grown services that can magnify these leaders’ impact beyond the dollars they raise. We offer:
A National Movement, Block by Block
Anyone from anywhere in the US can work with ioby, as long as they have a good idea to make positive change in their community. So far, we’ve been proud to support local projects in over 300 different cities and towns nationwide, from the Bronx, New York to San Juan, Puerto Rico to Birmingham, Alabama.When a local leader reaches out to ioby with an idea, they are paired with a one-on-one fundraising coach whose job it is to make sure that leader has the tools and knowledge they need to fundraise successfully. Their fundraising coach helps the leader and their team create a budget, strategize their fundraising asks, and get the word about their project out within their community. If needs change, or if something unexpected happens along the way, the fundraising coach can help the leader change tactics to quickly respond.
Place-Based Strategies
ioby also has deep partnerships in our places of focus: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Memphis, New York, and Pittsburgh. In these places, we pursue place-based strategies to support resident-led change with an intentional focus on reaching neighborhoods with histories of racist-policies and disinvestment. This includes partnering with local organizations and agencies, implementing match programs, and providing on-the-ground support to residents from ioby Action Strategists—staff who work alongside these leaders to build lasting relationships of trust rooted in knowledge of place. This local, more-than-fundraising approach creates ripples within communities that can lead to transformational change, setting ioby apart.
ioby Match Programs
In 2021, ioby implemented 13 match programs in partnership with foundations, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and government.ioby's match programs are unique partnerships that support those best positioned to make change and build power in their neighborhoods—residents themselves. Match programs provide local projects with an opportunity to double their crowdfunded gifts and access timely, flexible, low-barrier support. By offering a $1 match for every $1 crowdfunded on ioby, match programs are an effective model for getting funding closer to the ground. By providing a meaningful incentive for residents to step up as leaders—many for the first time—match programs provide a powerful boost to neighbor-led positive change.
Supporting COVID-19 Relief and Recovery
In response to the shifting challenges of COVID-19, in 2021 ioby launched new and expanded rounds of COVID-19 focused match programs, with support from our partners, that were able to get timely, right-sized funds into communities to support critical community response and recovery efforts.
2021 Match Program Highlights
With support from the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation, ioby launched the Greater Cincinnati Community Recovery Match Program to support residents helping their neighborhoods recover from COVID-19.
ioby implemented a new round of the Cuyahoga Arts & Culture Match Program, supported by Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, for residents with ideas to make their communities more vibrant through the arts. ioby expanded the pandemic response-focused Neighbor Up Match Program in partnership with Neighborhood Connections. And in partnership with the Community Foundation of Lorain County, ioby launched the Lorain and Elyria, Ohio Match Fund, expanding our place-based efforts in the area.
