What kind of future is possible when it is being directly influenced by the public?
A city is changing when representatives of the business sector, of local authorities and civil society join their forces for this purpose. It is changing when its citizens are aware of the fact that one cannot rely upon the state. When they are searching for opportunity themselves in order to render the life of the community more comfortable and meaningful.
Consider the example of the project called ‘Reytarska Circle’. A cylindrical building located on the Rytirska Street had long been making quite a gloomy impression, until business people got together and bought this building out for commercial purposes. After a full reconstruction not only did the unique architecture of the building revive, but it also started to convey a new meaning thanks to the places that are regularly frequented by people.
Not only is the business sector capable of such changes. Drawing on the case of four crowdfunding projects, we are going to tell you about how a city can be shaped by its citizens.
First things first…
Let us remind you what crowdfunding is.
Crowdfunding means raising funds for the implementation of a certain project or initiative with the help of charitable donations. In other words, people select a project and chip in to support it financially. Normally, for this purpose online platforms are created where visitors can learn about new projects and decide which of them they like best.
There are several national platforms in Ukraine that help implement most different projects. Take the example of the platform ‘Spilnokosht’, where people seek support for, e.g., the development of children’s camps, shooting movies, fighting against poaching, and, in particular, delivering lunches for homeless people from Good Bread. Until recently there has also existed the platform Na-Starte which has been raising funds for social and cultural projects.
We’re going to tell you about the local examples of such platforms.
‘My city’ (Kharkiv, Odesa, Dnipro)
This is a platform that raises funds for the implementation of social projects in three cities, namely, Kharkiv, Odesa and Dnipro. ‚My City‘ has been active in Odessa for five years. Kharkiv and Dnipro joined the platform in 2021.
On its website you can publish information about any project – you can attract funds for the construction of roads and development of transport, for projects in the area of culture, sport etc. Your project has to meet one requirement: it has to be non-commercial, apolitical and non-religious. As of now the community has implemented 110 projects, having raised over 3 million UAH (about 106 thousand USD – editor’s note).
The platform’s mission lies in implementing projects that improve life in the city. At the same time, it also provides an opportunity to form a community of not indifferent people who are striving for change.
‚We used to do everything on our own before: we would clean the streets, install boxes, repair and paint stuff’ , the founders of the project, IT guys Artem Borodatiuk and Oleksandr Borniakov, shared their memories while talking to the reporters of the Ukrainian urban platform MistoSite.— But then we came to understand that that was the wrong approach – we had to engage people. Every project has to have its author who knows best how to make it successful.’
Today, among the projects of the platform there are initiatives on building a waste sorting station, establishing a coworking space for students, summer reading hall or holding a conference that will help youths to forge their own path in life. Also, lots of projects are aimed at helping animals and people of no fixed abode.
Aside from the projects, on the platform you can also share your ideas about the development of your city and learn how to launch a project that requires fundraising.
For this purpose, ‚Moye Misto‘ (the Ukrainian for ‚My city’ – editor’s note) has established a school that helps develop, lay out and promote new project ideas.
Every visitor of the platform is offered to choose the capacity in which they will be using it. In all, there are five of them – that of an author, sponsor, volunteer, mentor and viewer. However, if the visitor feels that they can contribute more, they can change their capacity.
The platform is currently being used by 14,000 people. However, its developers call on as many people as possible to join the project, since even a tiny idea may provide an incentive for global change.
‘Teple Misto’ (Ivano-Frankivsk)
The platform ‚Teple Misto’ (the Ukrainian for ‚a warm city‘ – editor’s note) was launched back in 2014 with a view to providing the citizens of Ivano-Frankivsk with a chance to revamp their city. The platform effectively unites active citizens, business people and representatives of the city administration.
‚Sustainable change is only possible within the framework of a complex approach and cooperation of three actors – the business sector – civil society – the state (city administration). Such change is not possible through the efforts of solely the business sector. Having realized the necessity of such an inclusive approach to societal transformation, we started to study other sectors as well as search for ways to engage their representatives first in a dialogue and then in joint efforts’, said the former head of the platform Yuriy Phyliuk.
The project vision is to create a warm environment for warm people. There is no place for artificiality here. Its participants are only dealing with openness and transparency that help reach common goals.
The scope of the platform’s work is quite divergent. The platform works in such areas as:
- Activation of citizens;
- Enhancing the capacity of initiatives;
- Development of the ‚warm’ business;
- Organizational development of platforms.
The first project of the portal was the development of the visual style of Ivano-Frankivsk. The Kyiv-based company ‚Aimbulance’ and the designer Jovan Rocanov were in charge of this project. In 2014 the rebranded logo was even shortlisted in the category ‚Large Scale Logo‘ of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, having also become one of the best contemporary logos in the world.
The team of designers also developed an architectural and artistic concept of the city’s streets, which implied a unification of the city’s signboards. This task was even completed within a separate project called ‘Signboards’.
However, one of the most prominent projects of the platform was the opening of a public restaurant Urban Space 100, which was sponsored by 100 of not indifferent and socially responsible citizens of the city.
The special thing about this restaurant is that 80% of its revenues are donated to public initiatives.
The founders of the restaurant decide about which project is going to be funded. Thus Urban Space 100 has become a sort of a crowdfunding platform which has already helped implement 135 initiatives, such as air quality monitoring in Ivano-Frankivsk, modernization of a local history museum and the launch of Urban Space Radio. It is a public radio station which hosts people discussing social problems of the city, culture and music. It airs Ukrainian music and also hosts activists and interesting personalities that share their experience in different fields. The studio is located right in the restaurant. It is entirely made of glass, so that the visitors of Urban Space 100 can have the opportunity to watch the radio programs being recorded.
As time passed ,Teple Misto‘ promoted the idea of opening social restaurants within the framework of the program Urban Space Global. Now there is a similar restaurant – Urban Space 500 – located in Kyiv. As one may infer from its name, the opening has been sponsored by 500 investors.
‚Teple Misto‘ also offers two grant programs for financial support of projects, such as, for example, financial assistance provided by the restaurant Urban Space 100.
As of now the platform offers its visitors the opportunity to provide help for many projects, such as the renovation of the old city’s plant ‘Promprylad’, the strategy of development of the city of Ivano-Frankivsk and an educational space that will help promote cinematic and creative industry in the region.
‘Dobroye Delo’ (Odesa)
Apart from ‚Moye Misto‘ Odesa also hosts the social platform ‚Dobroye Delo‘ (the Russian for ‚a good cause‘ – editor’s note) which is currently supporting approximately 20 charitable initiatives. Its goal is to secure a safe and comfortable city. Each project is aimed at fighting people’s indifference which, in view of the platform’s founder, hinders the realization of useful ideas.
‚This portal has been created for everyone who reads it, for everyone who believes that it is possible to change the world. This platform is meant for our tomorrow, for the tomorrow of our children… I create projects for those willing to help, for those who are ready to follow this path, for those without whom none of the achievements would have been possible’, said the platform’s founder Anatoliy Kavun.
The platform supports environmental initiatives, people with disabilities, the elderly and children. Thanks to the charitable donations, the project has managed to arrange green spaces, restore inner yards of the city, provide food and medicines for those in need. ‚Dobroye Delo‘ also provides people with necessary medical equipment and orphans with toys, clothing and presents. The platform also supports the all-Ukrainian project ‘Vikno zhyttia’ (the Ukrainian for ‚a window to life’ – editor’s note), which helps mothers to safely leave their newborns at the maternity hospital so that the social services can take care of them.
There are three ways of joining the platform:
- Taking part directly in the selected project;
- Becoming a coordinator of the project;
- Becoming a platform’s partner.
As of now the project has raised a total of 12 million UAH of donations (about 425 thousand USD – editor’s note), which have been used to improve the lives of Odesa’s citizens.
‘Prostir’ (Rivne)
In 2016 a new platform ‚Prostir‘ (the Ukrainian for ‚space’ – editor’s note) was launched in Rivne. This organization has brought together conscious citizens who want to change their city for the better. The platform establishes a link between these people and their initiatives.
‚Prostir’ supports the implementation of projects in the following areas:
- education;
- urban planning;
- sport;
- culture;
- entrepreneurship.
The platform also supports creative youths. From 2017 to 2020 members of the organization held four festivals of creative industries. In their lectures speakers from the EU and Ukraine shared their experiences in entrepreneurship in the area of creative startups. Also, there were movie screenings organized, concerts and parties where the participants had the opportunity to engage in networking.
The platform also made possible the opening of the first art residence ‘Contemporary Art Rivne’. It brought together artists that were supposed to create works aimed to draw attention to the issues with water in the region. Subsequently, their works were exhibited at CONTEMPORARY ART RIVNE.
At the end of 2021 the organization held a charitable auction of children’s works. A total of 30 works were auctioned, among which were Christmas decorative components, a test drive, a T-shirt with autographs of famous sportspeople. The auction raised 112,000 UAH (about 4 thousand USD – editor’s note) in favor of the educational orphanage in the town of Tuchyn, which is located in the Rivne oblast.
Currently over 13 projects are being supported. You can learn more about them here.
