EPIP-NY Event: Tapping the Crowd to Solve Social Inequity

January 22nd

With generous support from the Surdna Foundation, our EPIP-NY chapter partnered with Housing Works Bookstore Cafe to host a fascinating panel discussion on crowdfunding for social change.  The distinguished panel explored a number of issues in the emerging field and left attendees with a deeper understanding of crowdfunding's current impact, and its potential for the future.  

To hear the thorough and candid conversation, check out the podcast here and below!  Photos from the night are below as well, from our friend Vlad Drekalo!

Panelists:

Oliver Hurst-Hiller, DonorsChoose.org
Oliver Hurst-Hiller is Chief Technology Officer and Head of Product at DonorsChoose.org, a platform allowing public school teachers across the U.S. to fundraise for their classroom projects.

Megan Kashner, Benevolent
Megan Kashner, a clinical social worker, founded Benevolent in 2011 with the goal of introducing a new perspective on the experiences of low-income Americans who had for too long been publicly denigrated.

Liezl Van Riper, Kiva
Liezl Van Riper is Director of Development (East Coast) for Kiva. Since 2004, Kiva has leveraged the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, allowing individuals to lend as little as $25 to help create economic opportunity around the world.

Brandon Whitney, ioby
Brandon Whitney is the co-founder and chief Operating Officer of ioby, a digital crowd-resourcing platform that supports citizen-led, neighbor-funded initiatives that make neighborhoods stronger and more sustainable.

Allison Fine, Personal Democracy Forum - Moderator
Allison Fine, a Senior Fellow at the Personal Democracy Forum and best-selling author of “The Networked Nonprofit” (Wiley & Sons, 2010) and “Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age” (Wiley & Sons, 2006).