Our idea is an online crowdfunding platform that tackles the problem of climate change by empowering people to donate to a revolving fund for community-based solar energy projects.
In this model we crowdfund the cost of a community-based solar project. The revenues from one project will fund three more solar projects. And each of those will fund three more. And.. well, you get the idea.
Experiment:
Here is a mock-up of our soon-to-be released crowdfunding platform. What do you think? Please comment below with feedback on our mock-up. How could we improve the experience to make it more empowering?
Website walk through:
Step 1: Log-in and select a project to support.
Step 2: Watch video and donate to project.
Step 3: See your donor dashboard with stats on all the projects you've supported so far.
Step 4: Select what types of community centers you want to see go solar next using the revenues from solar projects you supported before.
What Distinguishes this From Other Solar Crowdfunding Platforms?
-A Revolving fund that reinvests savings from each solar project into more solar projects. This creates a positive feedback loop that leads to exponential solar growth in our communities.
How It Works:
Our Thought Process:
We want to show you how we got to where we are--the ideas that drove us to tackle the problems we see, and to choose the tactics we've chosen. Here are a couple of photos to show you the process!
"The big picture"- In this exercise we looked at the root causes of climate change which allowed us to see where our model fits in, narrow our focus, and develop specific objectives aimed at having a measurable impact.
We took pen to post-it to lay out ideas about crowdfunding best practices. We narrowed and refined these to come up with our plan for a new solar crowdfunding platform!
Why we Exist
We all know about the threat of climate change to our planet. We want to do something about it, but the problem is so big - where do we start? If we try to act alone, it can seem overwhelming. But when we work together, our efforts can make a real difference. Here is our plan.
How the Model Works
RE-volv is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco dedicated to fighting climate change by supporting the growth of solar energy in communities across the United States. RE-volv is building a citizens movement to make solar energy mainstream in the US. And we're doing it through a unique solar financing model that gives communities the opportunity to come together to create their own clean energy future.
Through crowdfunding, individual donations from around the world are pooled together to finance community-based solar energy installations. The community organizations that receive the solar pay RE-volv back through a 20-year lease agreement. These lease payments are then reinvested into the Solar Seed Fund to finance more projects. Lease payments from each project will finance on average three additional projects, providing for the rapid growth of solar energy in communities. Moreover, the monthly lease payments amount to 15% less than the organization’s original electricity bill with the savings rate growing over time. This allows community-serving organizations to save money and have more resources to use towards their mission.
Impact
We’ve completed two projects so far using our unique solar financing model which crowdfunds a revolving fund to finance community-based solar projects. Here are some of the impacts those first two projects have had:
First Project, completed in 2013: Shawl-Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley, CA
-Avoided the emission of 410,769 lbs of Carbon Dioxide, 45 lbs of Nitrogen Oxide, and 209 lbs of Sulfur Dioxide
-Will save Shawl-Anderson $107,000 on their electric bills during the system’s warranty
-800 people educated about the benefits of solar
Second Project, completed in 2014: Kehilla Community Synagogue in Piedmont, CA
-Avoided the emission of 362,342 lbs of Carbon Dioxide, 1,122 lbs of Nitrogen Oxide, and 810 lbs of Sulfur Dioxide
-Will save Kehilla $130,500 in on their electric bills during the system’s warranty
-1500 people educated about the beneftis of solar
The Solar Seed Fund is already working to fund further projects! $7,008 dollars from lease payments from the first two projects are helping to fund our third project for the Other Avenues Food Cooperative in San Francisco, CA! Read more about that project at www.solarseedfund.org.
These three projects combined will have the carbon equivalent of planting 200 acres of trees!
What Does Success Look Like?
RE-volv measures its success in three areas- Empowerment, Investment, and Education.
Empowerment: Success is when millions of Americans are working together to address climate change by supporting solar projects through crowdfunding and seeing the impact they're having in the community.
Investment: Success is when a revolving fund for solar is generating enough revenue to build new solar projects on a daily basis and eventually cover the roof of every nonprofit and co-op in the country with solar.
Education: Success is when every American understands how solar works, is in support of more solar energy in their community, and has the tools needed to investigate solar for themselves.
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