Today we have new securities laws, born out of the JOBS Act of 2012, that let us form capital for scrappy startups and scrappy buildings with the help of neighbors, friends, allies, and enthusiasts. Eve founded Small Change, a real estate crowdfunding platform, to take advantage of these regulations and to help projects leverage funds from anyone who cares.
On Small Change, anyone over the age of 18 can invest in real estate with as little as $500.
Small Change makes investing hyper-local and accessible. It empowers people to participate in building their own communities, while giving them a chance to build their own personal wealth. You see, unlike on Kickstarter where you can make a donation, on Small Change you can invest. Through Small Change, people who want to see their neighborhoods and cities thrive can support in-demand, but hard-to-finance, neighborhood-changing projects like Pittsburgh’s first full-building co-working space, or energy-efficient affordable housing outside of Washington D.C., or architecturally bold infill housing in New Orleans’ odd-shaped vacant lots, or perhaps the next coffee shop on your main street.
This is a brave new world. As attorney Mark Roderick, a leading expert in the crowdfunding industry, has said, “Developers will use crowdfunding to secure capital. Individuals will invest in crowdfunding opportunities to build wealth and benefit their communities. What we’re seeing is the transformation and democratization of the U.S. capital formation industry.”