Mfarhanonline Social Media News: The Global Innovation Series is supported by BMW i , a new concept dedicated to providing mobility solutions for the urban environment. It delivers more than purpose-built electric vehicles — it delivers smart mobility services. Visit bmw-i.com or follow @BMWi on Twitter. You can crowdsource almost anything these days — news , music videos , fashion advice , your love life or even your entire life . While these examples are all very useful (or just plain amusing), there are a plethora of examples of how innovative entrepreneurs and eager philanthropists are using crowdsourcing techniques to improve local and global communities in real, substantive ways. Below are examples of how individuals are taking part in crowdsourced microloans, direct funds and volunteer efforts aimed at bettering their communities. Let us know which sites and services you’d add to the list in the comments below. Microfinancing “Microfinance offers poor people access to basic financial services such as loans, savings, money transfer services and microinsurance,” according to CGAP , an independent policy and research center dedicated to advancing financial access for the world’s poor. One of the biggest services in the microfinance sector is microcredit, or small loans given to low-income individuals interested in starting or growing small businesses. The idea is that in the end, borrowers will be able to pay back their loans as a result of building a sustainable and profitable business that would not be possible otherwise. Dr. Mohammad Yunus is credited with pioneering modern microfinance in Bangladesh in the 1970s. In 1983, he founded Grameen Bank , one of the most recognized names in microfinancing, and in 2006, he and Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for their efforts to create economic and social deve! lopment in areas with the most need. Now, there are a number of large microfinancing institutions, including Kiva , ACCION , Prosper , eBay-owned MicroPlace , and Wokai , an organization focused exclusively on China. Microfinance institutions are essentially crowdsourcing social good, as they connect investors with borrowers. Oftentimes, lenders will contribute small amounts to a particular project. For example, in the project pictured above, Margarita Lanoy is applying for a $125 loan to purchase more fruit to sell at her fruit stand in the Philippines. Lenders can lend as little as $25 to help her cause. Direct Funding While microfinancing focuses on providing loans and other financial services to the poor that must be repaid at some later point, there are many other crowdsourced funding opportunities that involve direct cash flow to communities, without the need to repay. Crowdrise is one such platform that enables users to start or donate to fundraisers. Eleven-year-old Abby Hofstetter, for example, set up a fundraiser to raise $10,000 for Masbia , a kosher soup kitchen with four New York City locations. She reached her goal in 17 days and has since increased her goal to $25,000. DonorsChoose is a site that enables American teachers to post project requests, ranging from a xylophone for music class to calculators for mathematics and science. In the end, the kids learn and the philanthropists get to see photos of how they helped out (along with homemade thank you cards). While funding platforms like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo aren’t exclusive to fundraising for cause-related projects, a fair amount of community-focused fundraisers can be found on each site. On Kickstarter, for example, Shawn Batey is raising money to produce Changing Face of Harlem , a film he has been working on for 11 years. With more than 200 hours of footage, the film promises to be “a unique contemporary historical piece looking at Harlem as you've never seen it before,” bringing light to socio-economic challenges and ! improvem ents over the years. Volunteering Online Services like the Taproot Foundation , Catchafire and Sparked enable specialized professionals to donate their time towards projects that are in need of their skills. With Taproot, individuals apply to specific consulting opportunities (such as “HR Generalist” or “Web Developer”) and eventually work within one of those roles on a four to five person project team. Unlike Taproot, Catchafire and Sparked list all current projects on their sites for users to choose from. Catchafire features a simple list of open projects that can be filtered by expertise (such as “Human Resources,” “Social Media” or “Multimedia”). Sparked is unique in that it asks users to note their skills and what types of causes they are interested in. In turn, users receive a list of suitable “challenges” that might be a good fit. Sparked is based around the concept of microvolunteering ; volunteer work that is convenient, bite-sized, crowdsourced and network-managed — in other words, volunteering that fits into your schedule in small chunks of time, as chosen by you. Typically, the work is done via a computer or mobile phone, instead of in-person. Crowdsourcing Knowledge To fix a problem, one must first know about it. SeeClickFix is a great example of how active citizens are using crowdsourcing to report neighborhood issues. Of course, it’s easier if everyone in a community is keeping an eye out for local problems, instead of a handful of people or organizations. That’s the idea that SeeClickFix is all about. Using the website , mobile apps , widgets or voicemail, users can report non-emergency issues — such as pot holes on the street or the lack of recycling bins in a certain neighborhood. From there, citizens can vote on neighborhood issues or forward them on to people who may be able to help. In other instances, “neighborhood groups, elected officials and advocates monitor key issues, and publ! icly pro pose solutions on how to resolve them,” states SeeClickFix’s website. What Innovations Are Improving Your Community? Do you know of a forward-thinking startup or technology that deserves to be a part of the Global Innovation Series ? Let us know about it in the comments below. Series Supported by BMW i The Global Innovation Series is supported by BMW i , a new concept dedicated to providing mobility solutions for the urban environment. It delivers more than purpose-built electric vehicles; it delivers smart mobility services within and beyond the car. Visit bmw-i.com or follow @BMWi on Twitter. Are you an innovative entrepreneur? Submit your pitch to BMW i Ventures , a mobility and tech venture capital company. Image courtesy of iStockphoto , Nikada More About: Catchafire , Crowdsource , crowdsourced , crowdsourcing , Global Innovation Series , Grameen Bank , indiegogo , kickstarter , kiva , SeeClickFix , social good , Sparked , Taproot Foundation For more Social Good coverage: Follow Mfarhanonline Social Good on Twitter Become a Fan on Facebook Subscribe to the Social Good channel Download our free apps for Android , Mac , iPhone and iPad Social Media reviews series maintain by Mayya
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