Back in February we reported that Boston is one of several cites where economic disparity is among the worst in the country. In essence, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. And while Mayor Marty Walsh and constituent city officials attempt to curtail this trend – let’s face it, they’ve got their minds on plenty of other matters as well – one Indiegogo campaign has been launched in hopes of adding some strength to this sentiment through the power of positive reinforcement.
Dubbed Union Capital Boston, the crowdfunding campaign is based on the idea that in order to fight poverty and the growing gap between the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor, rewarding people for giving back and reinvesting in their community is the best approach. When a community member shops a homegrown store, volunteers time for community service or chips in on a neighborhood project, for example, he or she can accrue points redeemable for prizes.
Prizes, as you can see in the Indiegogo pitch video below can range from MBTA passes and gift cards to longterm college payments.
BostInno got in touch with Union Capital Boston’s lead organizer, Eric Leslie, about the impact he sees this new initiative having on not just Greater Boston, but also potentially the entire country.
“At scale, our goal is to serve low-income families in the Greater Boston Area, the Gateway Cities, and ultimately in cities nationwide, in order to close the poverty gap,” Leslie mentioned in an email. “We believe our model can be replicated and used in low-income communities across the country and are eager to ‘use the actual to prove the possible.'”
Like most projects in the Digital Age, Union Capital Boston will use Android and iOS applications to scan, track and dole out rewards. But of course, not everybody has a smartphone. For those who don’t, fret not. UCB will be rolling out a fully functional tracking system for people still using SMS text messaging.
Your Indiegogo donation will be put towards UCB’s fall pilot launch, due for August 23. And though the pilot is officially slated to kick off on September 2, the August event will bring together UCB pilot members and personnel to help acclimate users to the mobile app for their respective device, start planning a community project and hit the ground running by garnering some points. Come December, members will be able to first cash in on their earnings.
“New chapters will operate on a franchise model, with a high degree of autonomy and local management and customization depending on the needs and preferences of each individual city,” added Leslie.
Each individual city; that means Leslie and his constituent co-founders are looking to plant crops of Union Capitalists from coast to coast. Union Capital Philadelphia, Union Capital Detroit, and Union Capital New York and a slew of other major metropolitan areas, with mid-sized cities to follow, aren’t out of the question.
In the meantime, though, Union Capital Boston needs your help. They’ve set a goal for the entire month of June to raise $20,000 and have already banked $5,275 from 22 different funders at the time this article was written. Pitch in now and you won’t only be privy to the donor perks, you’ll be doing your community a major public service.
