IOBY helps residents green up their neighborhoods
Plenty of people want to fix up their neighborhoods. But not everyone has the time, money or volunteers to do so. In Our Back Yard, or IOBY is a New York-based micro-philanthropy nonprofit that lets people post info on projects with eco-friendly intentions—think community gardens, composting classes, and playground cleanups—and request tax-free donations to get the project done.
IOBY was founded last summer by three Yale University School of Forestry & Environmental Studies students who were looking for a way to use online micro-philanthropy to fund neighborhood improvement projects, especially in impoverished urban enclaves that had long been neglected. So far, IOBY has helped fund 16 projects, from the $150 cleanup of a neighborhood veteran’s memorial, to a $69 children's bucket garden in Queens. The average price of most projects is $410, while the average donation is around $42. While the program is only in New York City right now, the founders hope to take it nationwide before long.
Posted by Keith Pandolfi | Categories: Green Home | Permalink
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