Crowdfunding program launches for locals only

The Sundance Economic Development Task Force is introducing a new way to invest in your community, whether by pioneering a project you think would improve local lives or offering financial support for someone else’s good idea.

The program is based on the idea of crowdfunding, popularized through such sites as GoFundMe and Kickstarter. What makes it different, says Andy Miller, who is spearheading the effort for Crook County, is that the Northeast Wyoming Crowd (or NEW Crowd) is entirely local.

It began, he says, with a $25,000 grant from The Local Crowd of Laramie to Campbell County’s economic development organization.

“They reached out to the communities surrounding them – so Crook, Weston, Johnson and Sheridan counties – and said, we’d like to make this a northeast Wyoming effort,” Miller says.

Miller thought it sounded like an excellent idea for the Crook County community and would at least be worth opening the door to see what projects and ideas might be out there.

“They’re looking for at least six projects by the end of 2023, but, boy, I just think we can blow that out of the water,” Miller says.

“There could potentially be more if we got worthy projects within the communities that are taking part. I don’t think it’s going to be too hard to get people excited.”

If a person or group has an idea, Miller says, they can put forth a goal of what they would like to raise and a plan as to how they will tackle the project. NEW Crowd will vet the projects to ensure they are appropriate, with preference given to projects that align with a town’s master plan and strengthen the local economy, and then support the chosen projects with such things as marketing.

“It’s going to be very similar to a GoFundMe, where people can go online, pledge their support and send in their dollars towards a project,” Miller says.

“Hopefully we can find some really community-focused projects that people within the communities can get behind.”

Some examples of projects, he says, include the pickleball group’s efforts to revitalize the tennis courts in Sundance, a church’s vacation Bible school program or a daycare initiative.

Among the nationwide projects currently looking for funding through The Local Crowd itself are a “Shop Local” event, a project to purchase food from local farmers for a mobile food pantry and efforts to improve night skiing at a nonprofit snowsports destination.

“I think there’s more out there, whether it’s an entrepreneur that has a business idea that could bring a service to Sundance that we’re in need of, and they just need a little bit of help on the capital side to get it going, or a nonprofit group,” he says.

What NEW Crowd is looking for, he says, is projects that will make life better for the people who live here, and he thinks we have a community that would stand behind those projects.

“The true test, in my opinion, is: what are some of the needs out there? You could ask five or six people the question and you might get a bunch of different answers, but in the end, I think a lot of things would rise to the top,” Miller says.

“The group wants to make sure that these projects, once they come on board through the crowdfunding initiative, have a very, very good opportunity to succeed and reach their goals. We want to go out there and make sure that these projects are successful and people get behind them and support them.”

NEW Crowd is initially looking for projects up to $10,000, but that’s not a hard and fast limit, Miller says.

“Ideally, with the funds available and where we’re at today, the target projects are within the $1000 to $10,000 range,” Miller says.

“That doesn’t mean that others won’t be considered if they are larger.”

According to Curtis Burdette of Energy Capital Economic Development, the Campbell County-based group that launched NEW Crowd, all raised funds will go to a project regardless of whether the initial goal is met. Likewise, a project will receive any funds in excess of their goal.

The $25,000 seed money has been used to support the initial operating costs of setting up the enterprise through The Local Crowd, and the initial marketing costs.

“They’ve spent a lot of time over the last couple of months getting organized, getting the technical stuff and the applications put together, and now we’re starting the rollout of the program,” Miller says.

Because NEW Crowd wants the program to be sustainable into the future, donations to the individual projects will include a 5% admin fee, which will be funneled back into NEW Crowd to help it continue.

Interested to find out more? Your first opportunity is coming up next week.

“We have an informational meeting on August 24 from 5 to 6 p.m. at the SSB meeting room,” Miller says.

The meeting will include a presentation and an opportunity to ask questions of the NEW Crowd group.

“Beyond that, we’re really looking for groups to come forward with their ideas,” Miller says.

Further information and application submissions can be accessed via the website at tinyurl.com/NEWCrowd.

Miller also invites community members to come to the meeting and find out more about the program and its ability to offer, “an avenue that you can support your local folks and your local projects.”