ioby

where:

Brooklyn

who:

ioby

impact area(s):

Other

amount needed:

$10,000

raised so far:

$1,506

summary

ioby connects donors and volunteers to projects to inspire environmental knowledge and action. Please help us to make NYC a better place to live, work and play.

the problem

New York City has uncounted environmental problems, the majority of which have simple solutions that lack funding and support. In 2005, NYC’s greenhouse gas emissions were equal to that of Ireland, or 58.3 million metric tons of CO2eq. Citywide our air fails to meet all federal requirements but some neighborhoods fare worse than others; West Harlem asthma rates are 21 times higher than in wealthier areas. According to PlaNYC2030, there are 35,000 vacant parcels of land in the ﬁve boroughs but underserved areas have 2,100 children per playground (the maximum is 1,250). There are small organizations working on all these and many other important conservation and restoration issues throughout the city, but they are sorely underfunded. What’s more, the organizations and their projects are often nearly invisible to the residents of the communities in which they work. New Yorkers can be unaware of the great work that is going on in their neighborhoods and miss an important opportunity to help the projects and places that they care about.

the solution

ioby (eye-OH-be) puts environmental action in its place: in our backyards. ioby combines the tools of online microphilanthropy and social networking to foster local environmental knowledge and action. Online, community-based groups with limited resources can describe their projects, and New Yorkers can explore the site, find meaningful projects, and make a donation or volunteer. ioby will connect vetted, well-planned NYC-based environmental initiatives with the support they need while raising public awareness and building partnerships for new solutions.

the steps

ioby takes environmentalism beyond the click. ioby has three goals: (1) raise awareness of New Yorkers about environmental challenges and solutions; (2) support existing, underfunded environmental initiatives with a new source of funding and volunteers; (3) and build partnerships that foster innovation, great new ideas, and mutual education. First, we’ve launched this beta website to pilot in the city. We’ll reach out to New Yorkers who care about their neighborhoods and who care about the environment and encourage them to use ioby.org to find projects they can support. At the same time, we’ll continue to encourage all kinds of groups around the city to apply to post their projects on ioby.org, inspiring new projects that help make NYC a better place to live, work and play. If you are a corporation interested in sponsoring ioby, please email us at ioby.org. Additionally, many employers offer matching charitable gifts. Be sure to ask your employer to match your donation to ioby. Volunteers can help in a lot of ways. If you have a special skill you’d like to offer, please send us an email at info@ioby.org.

Boston next, please!

6/1/09 by Anonymous

I'm donating to help NYC out, and hopefully ioby will come to Boston next!

Amazing work!!!

5/12/09 by Anonymous

Congrats for the initiative! Wishing you all the best!

So great

5/12/09 by Anonymous

What a great site! Empowers people to help out in a simple way!

Keep up the good work

5/4/09 by aliciareno

I've never had so much fun spending money. I can't wait to see ioby grow to every city in the country.

You guys rock!

4/24/09 by joelM

I love this site! You are fillling such an obvioius need to allow ordinary people access to tools to make a difference.

Post new comment

Project Updates

It's My Park!

3/11/10 by ioby

Do you have a project for It's My Park! Day? Submit it now and get the funds before May!

It May Be Snowing Now, but...

2/9/10 by ioby

Do you have an environmental project for your neighborhood that could use some love? Does your project need funding or volunteers? Do you have a community garden that needs some plants and flowers? Do you have a vision for a green roof or clean energy on the roof of your community center or school? Is there an abandoned lot in your neighborhood that could use attention? Do you want to organize some friends to pick up trash in the park where your pets and children play every day?

Spring is almost here. Soon we’ll be waking up our garden beds, rolling over our compost piles, and installing solar panels and wind turbines on our roofs. When the winter thaws, we’ll be itching to get outdoors on the weekends and get involved in the neighborhood. ioby is here to help.

Brian Lehrer Brings ioby Back on WNYC

12/22/09 by ioby

Brian Lehrer invited us back to follow up on the Uncommon Economic Indicators piece from March before we launched the site. Take a listen to hear some of our milestones of the year, and to hear fellow New Yorkers' New Year's resolutions.

Five New Projects from Brooklyn, Manhattan & Queens need your help!

10/20/09 by ioby

Added Value, the Red Hook farming group whose name has become nearly synonymous with "sweat equity" has increased their productive land to include a 3-acre stretch on Governor's Island. They need to purchase a rototiller to cultivate its farm there, which will bring increased production, youth employment and educational activities. Help them out.

PS 11's student-run Farm Market sells local, organic produce from a New York State Farm CSA to the neighborhood surrounding the school. They need your help to buy a tent.

Help Your Park on Oct 24

10/14/09 by ioby

Celebrate It's My Park! Day by getting involved in a park near you. Organized by Partnerships for Parks in the spring and fall, It's My Park! Day is a great way for New Yorkers to rediscover the open space and patches of grass in our neighborhoods.

Four New Projects!

10/9/09 by ioby

The Queens Coalition for Parks and Green Spaces' 3rd Annual Going Green in Queens event in Spring 2010 http://ioby.org/projects/queens/going-green-queens-2010 designed to bring together people to learn about environment issues and how they can be solved. Donate to support the educational event as they strive to reduce their own waste stream.

A science teacher at PS/MS 15 the Institute for Environmental Learning in the Bronx has a project to bring compost bins to the school. http://ioby.org/projects/bronx/kids-compost Only $337 will help them turn school lunch waste into soil they can use. With compost bins and supplies, they will reduce their environmental impact and teach students about soil science.

703 plastic bags, 438 food wrappers, and 2 BBQ grills.....Volunteers flex their power at Prospect Park

9/29/09 by ioby

On Saturday, September 19, different groups of volunteers helped the Prospect Park Volunteer Corps clean the lake and approximately 3 miles of shoreline. Through ioby, Tami Johnson organized a group of volunteers on pedal boats that gathered debris from trash islands within the lake. From the entire day's work, here are the statistics.

62.5 bagfuls of litter/debris removed from around the shoreline and islands in the lake;

Approximately 1551 lbs. of Trash and Debris was removed!!
________________________________________________________________

Items picked up by a group of volunteers on Saturday September 19th include:

198 paper bags
703 plastic bags
47 balloons
403 plastic bottles
575 glass bottles
332 beverage cans
1067 caps/lids
51 clothing/shoe items

ioby in TIME Magazine

9/22/09 by ioby

It's crazy that we didn't see this earlier, because it ran in the September 10th issue on the Responsibility Revolution and Obama's call for volunteerism, but TIME had a little typo and misspelled our name. But we forgive them, and we're happy to be in their roundup of New Ways to Make a Difference. Here's the article. And here's the ioby in TIME_Page_2 PDF.

More ioby news and blogs.

Volunteer to Clean NYC's Beaches with the American Littoral Society

8/12/09 by ioby

Last year the American Littoral Society cleaned up 17,000 pounds of debris from NYC's beaches as part of the annual International Coastal Cleanup day. This year ALS plans on doubling that impact. They want 10,000 volunteers at 70+ locations in all five boroughs. Contact them at http://alsnyc.org/ to sign up to volunteer.

Watch this video for more information:

Three New Projects!