The ioby: Sustainable CT Community Match Fund is now closed. In 2019 and 2020, the ioby: Sustainable CT Community Match Fund invested $360,000 in resident leaders to make communities more sustainable, healthy, and vibrant.

With the generous support of Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation; Smart Seed Fund, an initiative of Hampshire Foundation; and Sustainable CT, ioby partnered with Sustainable CT to support residents with good ideas for projects to make their neighborhoods more sustainable. Together, these projects helped create a more vibrant and resilient Connecticut.

Resident leaders envisioned more green spaces, better public transit, solar for public spaces, more affordable energy-efficient housing, composting programs, protected natural habitats, and more! This match opportunity supported their fundraising work to go twice as far.

Overall, project leaders leveraged $360,000 in match funds to help raise an additional $378,722 with ioby— for a total of $738,542 in funding for resident-led sustainability work! See the grid below for examples of the many ways that residents worked to increase sustainability in their neighborhoods.

What were the eligibility requirements?

Frequently asked questions?

Want more information about civic crowdfunding?

Check out some of our online resources to get started. Remember, when you crowdfund with ioby, you’ll also have access to a leader success strategist who can help you plan your campaign, reach for milestones with you, and help get you unstuck when you need support.

Participants:

The following projects participated in this ioby matching program:

Grid
Map

Gather New Haven (New Haven Land Trust) Composting Initiatives

Help Gather New Haven (formerly known as the New Haven Land Trust) expand on our composting efforts at community gardens around the city and create a new composting track for the Growing Entrepreneurs youth program.

NEEDS: $0 of 8,300
10 Gardens, 10 Parks

Help us build ten new native plant and pollinator gardens in ten parks! Our goal is to make beautiful natural spaces available to all corners of West Hartford.

NEEDS: $0 of 1,250
The Garden and the Grange - A Community Partnership in Hartford

The Community Garden desperately needs major repairs so it can continue to grow fresh food, foster new friendships, and show pride in the Barry Square neighborhood.

NEEDS: $0 of 4,407 + Volunteers
Lachat Giving Garden

Partnering with Social Services and the CT Food Bank CHIPS program, we grow to give organic produce to our neighbors facing food insecurity.

NEEDS: $0 of 18,919
Expanding New Milford's Barn Quilt Trail -The First in Connecticut

Volunteers work with antique and vintage barn owners to increase from eight to nineteen the numbers of barns hung with big, colorful quilt blocks, creating an attraction showcasing our rich agricultural heritage

NEEDS: $0 of 17,023
Colorful Bridgeport - Color It In Murals

Downtown Bridgeport's humans, food, art, and business make it a place unlike any other. We invite you to Color It In and take action by adding to the vibrancy of the district.

NEEDS: $0 of 5,112 + Volunteers
New Haven's Tree Planting Crews

Urban Resources Initiative (URI) provides paid training for youth and adults to plant all of the city's street trees.

NEEDS: $0 of 20,576
2020 BiCi Co. Do-It-Yourself Workshop and Community Hours

To get as many up-cycled bikes back out into the community as we can in 2020 in the Hartford region we need your help to fund 'Bikes for Jobs' and 'Do-It-Yourself Hours.'

NEEDS: $0 of 30,297 + Volunteers
Stamford Food Scrap Recycling Initiative

Stamford Food Scrap Recycling and the City of Stamford need your support to start a Food Scrap Recycling Program to reduce the amount of garbage sent to landfills by diverting our food scraps to compost.

NEEDS: $0 of 3,550 + Volunteers
Haven's Harvest Hamden Expansion!

Haven's Harvest is expanding our work in Hamden to recover good, excess food and redirect it to people, by engaging

more food donors and community sites as partners.

NEEDS: $0 of 25,770 + Volunteers
I ♥ My Home CT

Your opportunity to partner with NHS of New Haven to help residents save money on utility bills and make their homes healthier and more comfortable!

NEEDS: $0 of 34,290
23 Scholarships to Dive Into Dance with Sonia Plumb Dance

Sonia Plumb Dance is providing 23 scholarships for disadvantaged Hartford students to train at The School of Sonia Plumb Dance. Dance. Discipline. Create.Community.

NEEDS: $0 of 2,350 + Volunteers

About the Match

Sustainable CT is a voluntary certification program that supports and recognizes thriving and resilient Connecticut municipalities. Sustainable CT’s wide-ranging menu of actions, tools, and resources help communities become more connected and vibrant. Learn more.

ioby is a nonprofit crowdfunding platform and so much more. ioby stands for “in our backyards,” but it also stands for taking care of each other, for civic participation, and for trusting neighbors to know what’s best for the neighborhood. Our crowdfunding platform helps connect local leaders with the training and support they need to crowdfund tax-deductible donations in their communities for projects that make our neighborhoods healthier, greener, more livable, and more fun. Learn more.

The Sustainable CT Community Match Fund is made possible with the generous support of Smart Seed Fund, Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, and the Connecticut Green Bank, and the Innovations in American Government Award, a program of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School.