This blog, written by Ariel Schwartz, originally appeared on Co.Exist on June 17 and can be viewed here. Southern Alliance for Clean Energy is proud to be an original supporter of Mosaic’s #PutSolarOnIt campaign.
It’s now a little easier to raise money for solar projects in your local community.
Mosaic is a crowdfunding platform that connects accredited investors (and anyone with $25 to spend, if you live in New York or California) with solar projects that need financing. Today, less than a week before the national #PutSolarOnIt day of action, it launched Mosaic Places, a new feature that lets anyone nominate local organizations–businesses, schools, community centers, libraries, and places of worship–as candidates for rooftop solar.
On Mosaic Places, each nominated place gets its own page. If enough people press “Support,” then Mosaic starts donating money. For every 50 supporters, Mosaic donates $100. And any homeowner who decides to go solar through a link on a Mosaic Places page gets $500 credited to their Mosaic account. The money can be used to donate to a Mosaic Places campaign, or it can be taken out as cash.
Mosaic Places isn’t necessarily intended as a gateway for nominated places to raise funds via the Mosaic platform. “Some Places will go solar through Mosaic, but most will be hooked up with other solar companies and installers across the nation. Mosaic Places seeks to bring qualified customers to the entire solar industry,” writes Billy Parish, co-founder and president of Mosaic (and one of Fast Company‘s Most Creative People), in an email.
Over 300,000 Mosaic Places are already up on the site at launch, supported by more than a dozen nonprofits, including the Alliance for Climate Education, Interfaith Power & Light, and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.