The Local Crowd (TLC) Monadnock, a locally based crowdfunding platform hosted by Monadnock Buy Local, hits the road to travel to events in Chesterfield, Hinsdale, Swanzey and Winchester.  We plan to go where the crowds are to let more people know how they can use TLC Monadnock to raise funds for an initiative, organization or business based in their town.   In its first six months, TLC Monadnock raised over $14,000 from 192 supporters for three different crowdfunding campaigns.

Do you have an idea that could use a lift?  Then, please join us to learn more about TLC Monadnock at two community events in October.

The Hinsdale Farmer's Market will host TLC Monadnock during its October Festival on October 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Celebrate the harvest with us and learn more about the Hinsdale Beautification Committee’s efforts to bring the town together to build a stronger  -- and more beautiful -- community.

Ash Hill Center for the Arts in Swanzey will partner with TLC Monadnock to host a "Fair-ly Creative" event on October 22 from 11am to 4pm.  Artists and creative businesses from the Monadnock Region will demonstrate their skills and crafts. Invited exhibitors include painters, wood workers, jewelry makers, musicians and line dancers.

Last weekend, we traveled to the Winchester Pickle Festival in Downtown Winchester.  It was DILL-licious!  Mark Florenz of Archway Farm in Keene joined us with his sausage trailer -- which he purchased with funds raised through TLC Monadnock. He’s now able to sell his pasture-raised pork and other locally made products at events like the Winchester Pickle Festival.

Stay tuned for an event in Chesterfield this spring. We plan to partner with Chesterfield Community Supported Solar to highlight their citizen-inspired, citizen-directed project to install solar panels that will bring locally generated renewable energy to their municipal buildings.

TLC Monadnock's outreach efforts are funded by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation's Elting E. Morison Fund. Have questions?  Please contact us at monadnockbuylocal@gmail.com or 603-499-7950.

Placemaker Crowdfunding Update

TLC Monadnock's third online crowdfunding campaign reached its goal of raising $5,000 to support Monadnock Buy Local's Placemaker Local Rewards program. Fifty-nine supporters contributed $5,150 -- voting with their dollars to bring Placemaker to the Monadnock Region.

Placemaker is an innovative online platform that tracks purchases made at participating locally owned businesses and offers gifts and discounts to users who spend their dollars locally. Instead of independent businesses working to build customer loyalty on their own, they can band together through Placemaker and inspire more people to spend their dollars at locally owned businesses. Placemaker will also provide real-time data that Monadnock Buy Local and other economic development organizations can use to measure their impacts and refine their efforts.

This crowdfunding campaign went beyond raising start-up funds for our new program.  It demonstrated another use of TLC Monadnock, to gauge community support for launching a new service in our region. We hope other businesses will use TLC Monadnock as a market research tool, too.

The Local Crowd (TLC) Monadnock is a locally based crowdfunding platform that empowers individuals to support the businesses, organizations and initiatives that grow wealthier and healthier communities in the region.  Crowdfunding, or the practice of raising funds to support a project from a large number of people, is a viable alternative to recruiting businesses from outside the region to boost economic activity.

Have an idea that could use a lift from TLC Monadnock?  Learn more about what it takes to launch a crowdfunding campaign with us.