Is Crowdfunding Sustainable Innovation the Key?

June 18, 2015

Crowdfunding Sustainable Innovation Video

Will Crowdfunding Deliver Results Where Lobbying Falls Short?

The phone is ringing. I answer and I am quickly introduced to Michael’s passionate and very logically reasoned request – will I chip in again on conservation and climate change efforts? This time I hesitate and after a few minutes Michael transitions to confirming interest and goes on to make a few more contribution requests. The call ends and a few days later I receive a follow-up letter in the mail from the group Michael represents. I can’t disagree with the outreach strategy, but the money the group is requesting is earmarked for lobbying efforts. It’s a familiar scenario. Michael is like the vast majority of us, knowing we must implement available solutions for a more sustainable planet. This time I decide against contributing to the group Michael represents and instead seek ways to support sustainable innovation and solutions in the businesses, startups, community leaders and entrepreneurs of today.
Maybe you’re like me and are looking for some tangible solutions because you no longer want to see your efforts marginalized or see initiatives fall grossly short of their end goal. For the past two decades you’ve seen how a few skeptics, questioning obvious science, can lead to watered down legislation. You are wondering if all your lobbying donations have been effective. You are aware of solutions and are looking to change the results. So what are you going to do? It’s time to gather your crowd, pool resources and fund the projects you have been lobbying and working on for years. This can be done with Crowdfunding. You won’t be the first. Others have gone before you and have realized tangible success.
What is crowdfunding? Crowdfunding is raising small amounts of money from a large number of people to fund a specific project, product or business and it’s done primarily online. Catchall Crowdfunding websites like IndieGoGo and Kickstarter have made headlines with million dollar funding successes for games and tech gadgets. Crowdfunding niche sites Wise Green Planet (Sustainability and Green Technology) and Tubestart (Digital Video & Film Projects) have emerged in response to the need for platforms dedicated to specific market segments. These crowed sourced funding sites give rise to alternative methods of financing projects and ideas by helping to democratize capital.
If taxes or sustainability matter to you consider this, local municipalities can spend on millions on fossil fuels every year. When the price of fossil fuels rise, more money is spent and finite resources are consumed. With crowdfunding, you can seek to change this for the benefit your community. You can support or start your own crowdfunding project for the purchase of solar panels, wind turbines or another form of clean, renewable energy and even incorporate Elon Musk’s Solar Battery, the Tesla Powerwall, as part of your communities overall energy solution. Clean and 100% renewable energy is sustainable and the money currently spent on fossil fuels could be directed elsewhere. The money spent on fossil fuels could instead fund structural improvements to utilities or help your local school retain course offerings, extracurricular activities and sports programs. This can be a reality in your community and crowdfunding can be part of the solution.
We can agree to continue to hold our elected officials accountable to the needs and priorities of society at large. However, we can no longer wait for legislation, we must act. We must ask if matching the climate laggards tit for tat, on the long, expensive lobbying road is an effective solution. Shouldn’t we instead be investing in progress, thought leaders and innovators through impact investing and crowdfunding solutions? A solar spill is a sunny day, but an oil spill is tax money wasted and far from progress. Lobbying has yet to stop oil spills, proving it can be an environmental wasteland. We can crowdfund sustainable innovation, divest from fossil fuels and create a healthier planet. The “Crowd” can be the catalyst for this shift by funding clean energy, green technologies and advancements in sustainability. It’s a choice. In the words of Bill Nye, “I want you all to preserve our world in the face of Climate Change and carry on as The Next Great Generation.”