Formerly known as SellAVenture, we are very excited to introduce our new name!
Buzzbank is an online marketplace connecting social ventures with backers, supporters and cheerleaders.
The Buzzbank marketplace brings together ventures from all walks of life, from small-community initiatives to world-changing big ideas. Buzzbank backers find ventures they like and provide support with funding, feedback, and other means alongside like-minded individuals who are equally passionate about social entrepreneurship and social change. In short, it’s crowd-funding for social ventures.
By backing a Buzzbank idea, Backers get more than just a warm glow. Every Buzzbank-featured Venture gives something back (we call it the Give Back), providing its backers a sense of ownership and involvement in the process. This includes benefits such as invites to interesting events, goods and services in return, and participating in social loans to the Ventures.
Buzzbank’s philosophy is that together, we can make good things happen. Buzzbanking is about supporting social ventures, innovating, and changing the world for the better.
So why the name “Buzzbank”?
Buzzbank is all about harnessing the collective power of communities to make good things happen. It is a bank of energy, of people, and of good will – aggregating the power of crowds to give life to charitable and ethical initiatives. What is ‘banked’, therefore, is not money but energy – the ‘buzz’ – that gets right to the heart of the notion of ‘crowd power’.
And in case you wondered, we are not a “Bank” in the big “B” sense! We help Ventures and Backers connect by providing a marketplace which Ventures can use to present their ideas for change and Backers can seek ways to help and provide funds and support for development.
When will Buzzbank be up and running?
We are targeting a soft/beta launch in Autumn 2010.
How many ventures will Buzzbank feature?
We are in discussion with over 40 ventures in preparation for our launch. Thirty two (32) have been actively working on the definition of the their fund-raising needs and the benefits they plan to offer their Venturists. In the next couple weeks, several of these ventures will be presenting their crowd-funding offers off-line to raise pre-launch interest and pledges.
Here is a list of our pioneering ventures getting ready for September: Our Pioneering Ventures
Upcoming Events:
We are running monthly drop-in sessions for interested projects and social ventures to learn about our crowd-funding approach. Sign up via the Eventbrite links below - its free!
- Tuesday, September 21, 4-6 pm, London: http://buzzbank-sep10.eventbrite.com/
- Tuesday, October 19, 4-6 pm, London: http://buzzbank-oct10.eventbrite.com/