Category Archives: Uncategorized

ioby’s Top-6 Tips to Start a Thriving Urban Farm

Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting out, creating an urban farm isn’t as challenging as you might think!  Bring fresh produce and fun activities into your neighborhood with our step-by-step guide.

Spring is in the air! Small buds are emerging from trees and clusters of yellow flowers are peeking through the concrete. Soon, farmers market stands will evolve from winter produce (potatoes, anyone?) to brightly-colored cucumbers and cherries. Witnessing all of this abundance can spark the desire to create an urban farm of your own, which is simpler than you might imagine! Here, we’ve mapped out everything you need to transform a patch of land into a bustling, productive urban farm.

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ioby Seeks our Next CEO

ioby’s Board of Directors and staff are working with Axis Talent Partners on an executive search for ioby’s next CEO. This is an exciting time for our organization, and we hope you’ll help spread the word within your networks. We know our community has a wealth of experience in civic leadership, nonprofit organizations, grassroots organizing and other areas, and we need your help!

View the CEO job posting

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Fiscal Sponsorship: A Simple Fundraising Solution For Grassroots Groups

How community groups and activists can fundraise like a nonprofit without the administrative headache.

If you’re an activist or a community leader, you’ve probably been there: You’ve just had an idea that you know will transform your community, whether planting a garden or slowing down traffic on your street. Your neighbors are on board, the vision is clear, and the excitement is palpable! Everyone is ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

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Giving Report 2022: Growing our impact through positive change

This past year was incredible for ioby and our neighbors. To date, ioby has supported local leaders to raise over $18.6 million for 3,474 projects that make our neighborhoods more sustainable, more just, and more awesome! In 2022, 65% of the leaders we served identified as BIPOC, and more than 46% were part of small, unincorporated groups who otherwise lack access to critical resources. Together, our leaders show that there’s great power in the simple act of coming together to confront a common problem. 

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I Can Swim My Way

Gloria Buxton has spent the majority of her life on the expansive shorelines of Lake Erie with her brother William Otis Jordan, known as Billy to everyone who knew him. Born in Ashtabula, Ohio, she recalls memories of growing up on the docks with her family. “My father was a fisherman, so he would always take me and Billy down to the boats and we would ride with him. Our parents were instrumental in making sure we knew how to swim. I’m really thankful for that.”

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For us, By Us: Uplifting the Black Autism Community

When Josselyn Okorodudu’s son was diagnosed with autism at the age of five, she remembers experiencing a world of devastation and loneliness. Six years have passed since then, but during that time Josselyn has worked to carve out a space for her son Kai and other members of the Black Autism Community. “Now that my son is eleven and I have more space to consider what is going on in my community, I really felt compelled to reach back a hand to those parents who just learned of their child’s diagnosis. I know those parents feel just as isolated and lost as I did, so I wanted to help build a space for all of us.”

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Kofi Thomas Fundraises an Ecosystem of Change

When Kofi Thomas was volunteering at The Peoples Garden in Bushwick, an elder told him about a nearby piece of land that was being used as a trash dump. That space, now called the Good Life Garden, has grown into a green space, a hub for community gathering, and a place for celebration and joy. “When the project started, I just thought we were gonna grow some food. It’s been a lot more than that,” says Kofi. 

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ioby Announces Four New Members to Board of Directors

ioby’s Board is composed of many standout individuals. Each member brings a unique background and perspective to the table as they guide ioby forward.  Together, the Board members and their specialties form one of ioby’s greatest strengths. “Every nonprofit’s Board is a critical part of the governance structure,” says ioby CEO and co-founder Erin Barnes. “At ioby, we’re lucky that our Board of Directors are enthusiastic ambassadors of our work. They are expert advisors in everything ranging from community development to the arts, technology, and finance. They additionally work as trusted partners with our staff in co-creating our ongoing Racial Equity and Inclusion work.”

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What’s NEXT at ioby: A Conversation with ioby Product Owner Helen Poon

ioby’s Product is an essential part of our work serving project leaders across the country. The Product consists of our online crowdfunding platform and all other digital services which are tailored to meet the needs of ioby Leaders, ioby project donors, and the ioby staff who support them. 

Both ioby’s online Product and offline services are built around our principles of equity and inclusion. These principles, based on 6+ years of feedback from ioby project leaders, exist to keep our work grounded as we grow our organization and our work. 

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Erin Barnes: Reflecting on this moment, and starting in our own backyards

Dear neighbors, 

I can’t describe how meaningful it is to be an Obama Fellow and learn from President and Mrs. Obama in these tumultuous times. The protests in support of the movement for Black lives have been incredibly inspiring, even as the state repression that follows is horrifying. It’s laid bare the brutality of our racist system, but it’s also reminded many of us that racism permeates deeper than our police and criminal justice system; we see it in our housing, our parks, our schools, our neighborhoods, and our healthcare system. 

With this national uprising in mind it was a tremendous honor to be able to ask Mrs. Obama last week the question that is most on my mind right now, and perhaps on many of yours, too: How can we use this moment when so many of our eyes are wide open to fight for racial justice in all aspects of our lives? 

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