There comes a time in an organization’s life cycle where we must step back and evaluate progress and direction. We made a commitment long ago to never stop learning. And to always ensure our time and resources are being used wisely. For those who have been following us since inception, you know us as “civicside” – the community crowdfunding website that launched to crowdfund community projects in Acadiana. While we enjoyed our time in the crowdfunding arena, we quickly realized that other websites like Kickstarter and GoFundMe were entirely more robust, and we couldn’t (and didn’t want to) compete. We found our time was spent maintaining/building a website, rather than helping citizens pursue projects for the community. For those who know us best, you know that encouraging citizens to pursue passion projects always came first above anything else.
After 3 years of successfully crowdfunded projects, we learned the uniqueness and challenges associated with citizen-led projects. We learned that citizens need not only financial backing, but also a team of friends, decision makers and expertise to push their idea along. We felt discouraged watching citizens struggle to get good ideas off the ground, but knowing there was a better way.
Then came the 24 Hour Citizen Project.
It was a concept that encapsulated everything we learned as “civicside” the crowdfunding website, and was a recipe for sparking action. Like all good recipes, they deserve to be tested over and over again. We’ve done just that over the last two years, and feel that after two successful events in July 2016 and July 2017, the 24 Hour Citizen Project is here to stay. In this decision, we’ve also found a new identity. We’re no longer a crowdfunding website. And rather will now focus efforts solely on the 24 Hour Citizen Project so that citizens can continue to have a platform and incubator for community ideas.
So, we’ve evolved. And so will our name. We’re now the 24 Hour Citizen Project (24HCP), and no longer civicside. While we’ll always be grateful for our civicside experience, we’re excited to finally have found our identify- The 24 Hour Citizen Project.
Love,
The 24HCP Team