New Yorkers Band Together to Rebuild the Destruction Left by Frankenstorm
Crowdfunding has become a popular vehicle for raising support after tragic global events. Frankenstorm has been no different. One of our partners, GoFundMe, setup a dedicated Hurricane Sandy Relief page to list all the projects that are related to raising money for this recent storm. In a matter of days, the category collected more than 130 projects that have raised over $350,000 combined.
But crowdfunders aren't solely using the platform to raise money for themselves. Some of the project holders have used their crowdfunding campaigns to selflessly buy supplies for drop off zones or food for aftermath workers.
While watching the continued hurricane aftermath coverage, Shea Ivy from Astoria noticed a common thread that she felt she could help with: The lack of food, water, and other essentials in Staten Island. She felt New Yorkers were "better than that," and began encouraging New Yorkers to help each other out. Ivy contacted the appropriate officials and found out the best help was to load trucks up with supplies and deliver them to five designated drop-off locations.
Rather than stop there, Ivy launched a crowdfunding project on GoFundMe to raise $5,000. The supermarkets near her were fully stocked, so she would use the funds to rent trucks, buy supplies, and deliver them. In less than 48 hours, she raised $6,572 and turned it into food, water, clothes, pet food, toiletries, and baby supplies, and then delivered them to the drop-off locations.
Amanda Bauman considers herself part of a "determined group" of Brooklyn residents and had a plan similar to Ivy's. Bauman organized a grassroots donation campaign to benefit what she felt were the hardest hit areas. Her strategy was to raise money for 24 hours and then call around to the affected organizations and tell them, "We have $XX to spend on you. What do you need right now?"
She raised $5,000 in 24 hours and has continued to raise an additional $2,328. After seeing the damage first hand, her group decided to continue. Her group has delivered supplies and made sandwiches for those in The Rockaways in need.
Dane Evans, from Brooklyn, had a similar goal of delivering homemade heroes to those reorganizing their lives. In a matter of hours, Evans received $1,750 in donations from 53 people to help build and deliver the sandwiches. He's already delivered 160 heroes to Gerritsen Beach along with baby food and wipes.
Crowdfunding has provided a great outlet for New Yorkers to band together and help out their fellow neighbors to get their city back on track as fast as possible. Throughout this unfortunate tragedy, what crowdfunding experiences have you seen used effectively?