Change by Us NYC: Fostering Collaboration Between Community Groups

Recently, New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, announced $15,000 worth of private grants to community groups to fund gardening, composting and stewardship of the city's community gardens and other green spaces. The 19 community groups who were awarded funding for their projects, applied for grants the city’s new community collaboration platform, Change By Us.

The new website, launched in July, enables New Yorkers to connect with each other and with local government to create projects for improving their neighborhoods and their city. Among the winning recipients were projects ranging from a rooftop farm to a street tree task force to a sustainable flatbush committee and an association formed with the purpose of transforming a neglected property along a run down railroad corridor. Change By Us NYC has united local residents and given them the tools to start meet-up groups, raise funds, and work with community-based organizations and government agencies to develop projects that will have a lasting impact.

HOW IT WORKS

Share Ideas
Change By Us NYC allows community members to broadcast to other residents what is on their minds, encouraging the philosophy that no idea is too big and no idea too small.
               
Join or Create Projects
Visitors simply look for projects in their neighborhoods or around the city where they can help. Then, after logging in and becoming a member, users are able to plug into a network of other members share similar passions for building a better community.

Build Teams and Raise Money
Change By Us NYC also enables users to connect quickly with the people who will help their cause, fostering a collaborative spirit of sharing ideas, plans, tools to help each other succeed. By partnering with crowd funding site, ioby.org site, there’s even an easy way for residents to raise the funds needed to move their projects to the next level.

Find Resources
With over 207 listed resources, members should not have any problem connecting with public and non-profit programs, accessing government services or locating an expert to provide them with insight and offer guidance on a particular project.

Rumor has it that the site will also offer a line-up of influential New Yorkers who have agreed to follow projects and connect with community members online through their blog. So far, Change By Us NYC seems to be gaining speed with more than 2,250 registered users, over 2700 ideas posted, and 247 current projects to date. We will be keeping a close eye on this site and its growing number of projects as New Yorkers find a place to put their ideas about how to make their city a better place to live into action.

Find out more >>

See the full list of Change By Us NYC projects awarded grant funds >>