In Finland, a crowdfunding platform for community projects

Conceived in Finland, Brickstarter encourages citizens to take civic projects into their own hands, rather than waiting for governments to pick them up.

Following on from our coverage of Smallknot, the US site that enables residents to support their favorite local businesses with donations, we’ve now discovered another similarly community-minded crowdfunding platform. Conceived in Finland, Brickstarter encourages citizens to take civic projects into their own hands, rather than waiting for governments to pick them up. Like the site it is modelled and named after, Brickstarter invites anyone to upload details of a project that seeks to benefit the local society, the amount of money needed to get it underway, and updates on progress once it begins to turn from proposal to reality. Those visiting the site can search for the projects nearest them, vote for or invest in the ones they like, or arrange to volunteer their time or attend a future meeting. With the slogan ‘Yes, in my backyard!’, the site aims to foster discussion and participation in community improvements, providing a platform for residents to suggest what they would like to change in their area. These desires are reflected in the real-time Dashboard, which maps the topics generating the largest response among locals and compares them with current strategies being pursued by institutions and authorities. Those authorities can also get involved, giving their backing to projects they believe could have traction. Although currently a prototype, the team are currently working with the Finnish Innovation Fund to help bring the full site to the public. Until then, could this kind of community crowdfunding bring improvements to your region? Spotted by: Dietfried Globocnik