Festival Makes Crowdfunding a Community-Building Affair

An innovative event held recently in Jacksonville, Florida used a festival as a means to bring crowdfunding to the people; providing a platform for community building and branding in the process. Could this be the future of financing public projects?

1 minute read

August 15, 2013, 12:00 PM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


"In April, 130,000 people flocked to the first One Spark festival in downtown Jacksonville, Florida, to hear indie rock bands, watch fire dancers, admire multimedia art installations, and, most important, listen to entrepreneurs’ pitches for more than 400 projects in search of seed money," reports Patrick J. Kiger. "Organizers promoted One Spark as the world’s first community festival focused on crowdfunding, a nascent method of microfinance in which small contributions are solicited from large numbers of benefactors via the internet."

"The Jacksonville event may be one harbinger of a promising new international phenomenon—civic festivals that aim to promote local communities by incorporating crowdfunding both as a source of capital and as a tool for engaging visitors and residents," he explains.

"Like any method of raising money, crowdfunding comes with caveats and potential pitfalls, and its novelty means users must be willing to venture into largely unexplored territory," Kiger cautions. "But proponents say that crowdfunding festivals’ potential to attract large, far-flung audiences and to synergize the online social networking with a tangible event makes them a powerful tool for building a distinctive community brand. Indeed, some of the concept’s enthusiasts even foresee a not-too-distant day in which architects and developers may use crowdfunding festivals to help remake a city by garnering support for new buildings or redevelopment projects."

Wednesday, August 14, 2013 in Urban Land

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 14, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Front of Walmart store with sign.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network

The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

May 7, 2025 - Inc.

Aerial view of Albuquerque, New Mexico at sunset.

New State Study Suggests Homelessness Far Undercounted in New Mexico

An analysis of hospital visit records provided a more accurate count than the annual point-in-time count used by most agencies.

May 16 - Source NM

Close-up on white bike helmet lying on pavement with blurred red bike on its side in background abd black car visible behind it.

Michigan Bills Would Stiffen Penalties for Deadly Crashes

Proposed state legislation would close a ‘legal gap’ that lets drivers who kill get away with few repercussions.

May 16 - Wood TV 8

Muni bus on red painted bus-only lane in downtown San Francisco, California.

Report: Bus Ridership Back to 86 Percent of Pre-Covid Levels

Transit ridership around the country was up by 85 percent in all modes in 2024.

May 16 - Mass Transit