Crowdfunding Resource Center
Many economic development agencies, non-profits, small businesses and entrepreneurs are turning to individual fundraising sources to support capacity building and business development. Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people. This process is almost exclusively done over the internet, giving small businesses, entrepreneurs and organizations access to capital at a very broad level.
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-Understanding Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is a useful tool for development finance professionals. CDFA has collected many resources to help you understand this important tool.
COVID-19 Weekly Briefing - Impact Investors' Responses to COVID-19
During the May 1, 2020 Weekly COVID-19 Development Finance Briefing, listeners heard how four prominent leaders in impact investing are responding to both the economic crisis and the public health crisis, learned about the types of solutions and partnerships they are actively engaged in, and how philanthropic impact investors can realign their strategies to help with recovery efforts.
CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series: Sourcing Local Capital for Community ProjectsMembers only
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Communities that face socioeconomic challenges often lack the capacity to undertake the use of many financing tools that are used for economic growth and development. In urban, rural, and suburban communities alike, communities are exploring locally derived methods of developing access to capital. From crowdfunding to co-ops and creative investment approaches, during this installment of the CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series, we learned about the tools that are being used to bridge the financing gap and make local economies work.
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-Resources
COVID-19’s Concentrated Health and Wealth Effects in Black CommunitiesMembers only
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The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed acute and deep-rooted connections between physical and economic health. Many of the same places hit hardest by the pandemic are reeling concurrently from the health crisis, business closures, and job losses. These communities are disproportionately communities of color. This brief examines reasons why Black-owned firms have been almost twice as likely to shutter as small firms overall.
COVID-19 Weekly Briefing - Impact Investors' Responses to COVID-19
During the May 1, 2020 Weekly COVID-19 Development Finance Briefing, listeners heard how four prominent leaders in impact investing are responding to both the economic crisis and the public health crisis, learned about the types of solutions and partnerships they are actively engaged in, and how philanthropic impact investors can realign their strategies to help with recovery efforts.
CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series: Sourcing Local Capital for Community ProjectsMembers only
Login
Communities that face socioeconomic challenges often lack the capacity to undertake the use of many financing tools that are used for economic growth and development. In urban, rural, and suburban communities alike, communities are exploring locally derived methods of developing access to capital. From crowdfunding to co-ops and creative investment approaches, during this installment of the CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series, we learned about the tools that are being used to bridge the financing gap and make local economies work.
Shared Kitchen ToolkitMembers only
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This Toolkit is intended for everyone from kitchen entrepreneurs to startup nonprofits, from economic development agencies to producer networks, from food system groups to real estate developers. We hope this Toolkit also provides helpful guidance to existing food businesses and community kitchens (churches, community centers, schools and food access program kitchens) who seek to share their commercial kitchen space with entrepreneurs and food programs as an ancillary use.
View more Crowdfunding Resources
-Case Studies
CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series: Sourcing Local Capital for Community ProjectsMembers only
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Communities that face socioeconomic challenges often lack the capacity to undertake the use of many financing tools that are used for economic growth and development. In urban, rural, and suburban communities alike, communities are exploring locally derived methods of developing access to capital. From crowdfunding to co-ops and creative investment approaches, during this installment of the CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series, we learned about the tools that are being used to bridge the financing gap and make local economies work.
New Funding Sources for Food-Related BusinessesMembers only
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This directory provides an overview of various sources of financing that may be available to food hubs and other food-related businesses. This directory is a partial listing of what may be available across the United States; some examples may not be a good match with your particular circumstances. Many of the funding sources listed in this directory are available for local food-related businesses across the United States, but several additional funding websites are specifically for Michigan.
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-Headlines
Communities throughout the country use crowdfunding every day and CDFA collects headlines on projects and news daily.
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-Training Courses
Fundamentals of Economic Development Finance WebCourse
Daily: 12:00 - 5:00 PM Eastern
The Fundamentals WebCourse is the foundation for all of CDFA’s educational offerings. This course helps attendees understand the variety of development finance tools available, from bonds, tax credits and TIF, to federal financing programs, RLFs, and access to capital lending resources.
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Intro Food Systems Finance WebCourse
12:00 - 5:00 PM Eastern
The Intro Food Systems Finance WebCourse examines the development finance programs that sustain a local food system and how investments in that system can drive economic development on a broader scale. Topics covered include federal, state, and local sources of capital, stakeholders involved in the financing process, and case studies that showcase the variety of financing programs.
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-Upcoming Events
-Webcasts
COVID-19 Weekly Briefing - Impact Investors' Responses to COVID-19
During the May 1, 2020 Weekly COVID-19 Development Finance Briefing, listeners heard how four prominent leaders in impact investing are responding to both the economic crisis and the public health crisis, learned about the types of solutions and partnerships they are actively engaged in, and how philanthropic impact investors can realign their strategies to help with recovery efforts.
CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series: Sourcing Local Capital for Community ProjectsMembers only
Login
Communities that face socioeconomic challenges often lack the capacity to undertake the use of many financing tools that are used for economic growth and development. In urban, rural, and suburban communities alike, communities are exploring locally derived methods of developing access to capital. From crowdfunding to co-ops and creative investment approaches, during this installment of the CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series, we learned about the tools that are being used to bridge the financing gap and make local economies work.
CDFA // BNY Mellon Webcast Series: Crowdfunding Small Business DevelopmentMembers only
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Crowdsourcing.org defines crowdfunding as “the use of small amounts of capital from a large number of individuals to finance a new business venture.” This financing mechanism has become immensely popular with entrepreneurs and small businesses as can be seen by the growth of websites such as GoFundMe and Kickstarter. States across the nation are adopting legislation to support this new style of finance. Some states have even partnered with crowdfunding providers or offered grant programs to encourage its use. During this installment of the CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series Diane Wolverton and Kim Vincent from The Local Crowd, LLC, Trey Sherwood from the Laramie Main Street Alliance and Katharine Czarnecki from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation present on the approaches their communities are taking to support crowdfunding.