Fiscal Note
Existing staff resources will be allocated to promote and educate about certain projects that utilize "crowdsourcing," or funding contributions made by the greater community. The City will not administer the funding for the projects, but rather highlight those that benefit the City as a whole. No appropriation is required.
Title
Authorizing City Staff to promote crowdsourcing and crowdfunding for placemaking projects.
Body
Whereas, the City of Madison benefits in numerous ways when its citizens actively participate in creative placemaking to improve the gathering places within our community such as our streets, sidewalks, parks, buildings, and other public spaces; and
Whereas, placemaking invites greater interaction between people and fosters healthier, more social, and economically viable communities; and
Whereas, budgetary considerations limit the amount of investment the City can make in the increasing number of ideas citizens are bringing forward to activate neighborhoods through creative placemaking; and
Whereas, there is a need for broad community involvement to accomplish the level of placemaking we desire in every Madison neighborhood and one way this can be efficiently achieved is through crowdsourcing technologies; and
Whereas, crowdsourcing is a general term that refers to a way of searching for and obtaining needed resources of ideas, services, or funds from anyone, particularly in on-line communities; and
Whereas, crowdsourcing of time, energy, and funding demonstrates how very small contributions can lead to significant accomplishments; and
Whereas, placing the ability to deem what is worthy of accomplishing in the hands of the citizens through crowdsourcing creates a sense of empowerment; and
Whereas, crowdsourcing platforms use the internet to reach beyond existing networks and quickly involve people with similar interests; and
Whereas, crowdsourcing has the potential to engage new members of the community and build support and funding for placemaking projects throughout the city; and
Whereas, crowdfunding more specifically refers to the subset of crowdsourcing specifically focused on pooling money to support ideas or projects; and
Whereas, in recent years over 450 crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter, Power2Give, Indiegogo, Neighbor.ly, and CitySourced have raised millions of dollars for communities, non-profit organizations, and individuals to complete their projects; and
Whereas, traditional methods of funding for arts and placemaking rely on a relatively small number of large donors, crowdfunding harnesses the power of a large number of small donors which broadens community investment for neighborhood placemaking efforts; and
Whereas, crowdsourcing can help to diversify community engagement to include all ages of placemakers including baby boomers, generation Xers and other young adults, as well as multicultural communities throughout the City; and
Whereas, even projects that are popular favorites on crowdsourcing sites might benefit from additional attention, including tweets or blogs by elected officials, or additional press coverage.
Now, therefore, be it resolved that the City of Madison should utilize crowdsourcing platforms as a way to highlight some of the innovative local placemaking projects underway that make Madison unique.
Be it further resolved that City Planning Division staff shall create avenues to highlight community projects that promote neighborhood placemaking and advance other civic goals through crowdsourcing and crowdfunding sites.
Be it further resolved that in addition to informing citizen placemakers about resources available to them through the City, staff shall also educate them about crowdsourcing platforms as appropriate.
Be it further resolved that City staff shall review potential projects based on clearly established selection criteria that demonstrate community value and civic goals as are stated in approved City plans and official documents.
Be it finally resolved that City staff shall promote crowdfunding for neighborhood placemaking projects by establishing a curated page on a crowdfunding platform (such as Kickstarter).