The Funding Network Celebrates 11 Years of Global, Non-Profit Funding With Its Third New York City Event

The Funding Network (“TFN”), an international, London-based organization that has created a unique “crowd-funding” event model, announced that it will conduct its third New York City event today in which selected non-profit organizations will deliver six minute pitches to potential donors. The event is the latest in TFN’s ongoing series of similarly structured meetings staged throughout the world, having previously matched donors with successful projects in the U.K., Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Romania and Bulgaria. The event extends the organization’s mission of democratizing philanthropy while transforming the lives of individuals around the world and will take place at The Jerome Greene Performance Space on Charlton Street in Manhattan, from 7pm to 9pm EDT.

TFN has championed a unique “crowd-funding” event model to raise money for smaller, worthy charities by allowing individuals to come together and pool small donations in response to presentations they hear directly from those organizations at meetings just like this. These events have cumulatively raised more than $8 million for 600 organizations from approximately 5,000 donors who have given amounts ranging from $20 to several thousand dollars. TFN’s members propose charitable projects for these events which are assessed according to TFN’s criteria and selected by a committee of TFN members after initial vetting of applications. These projects are designed to address such challenges as poverty, health, social inclusion, peace building, human rights and international development through initiatives such as campaigns, documentary filmmaking, education programs and social enterprise.

A representative from each organization has six minutes to present its work and six minutes for questions and answers before leaving the room, at which point an auction-style fundraising session begins. Anyone in the room can raise a hand and give a minimum of $100. The "bidding" continues with the aim of achieving $10,000 for each organization. Each non-profit organization receiving donations provides an update of its progress on the TFN website within months after receiving a grant. Organizations participating in today’s event are Partnership for Student Advancement, Just Leadership USA and Peace Direct USA.

A major partner of The Funding Network in Australia since its inception and a supporter of this event is the Macquarie Group Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG; ADR:MQBKY), a global provider of banking, financial, advisory, investment and funds management services. Macquarie supports a range of community programs around the world and contributes meaningfully to the communities in which its staff lives and works in Australia, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Founded in 1969, Macquarie employs more than 13,900 people in 28 countries. As of March 31, 2014, Macquarie had assets under management of $US396 billion.

About The Funding Network

Through live crowd funding events, The Funding Network is democratizing philanthropy while transforming lives. Sitting at home and writing a check to an organization whose work you support feels good—but it’s not as rewarding, inspiring and fun as standing with your community to help innovative organizations make a real, positive difference in the world.

In the 10 years since its launch, TFN has matched more than 5,000 donors with more than 600 projects around the world. TFN groups are bringing people together and changing lives in the U.S., U.K., Toronto, South Africa, Australia, Romania and Bulgaria.