Next City Event: Ebrahim Varachia on the Power of a Crowd to Transform Public Spaces

Join Next City for another event in our online seminar series, this time with guest presenter Ebrahim Varachia, president & co-founder of Patronicity, on Wednesday, April 10 at 1 p.m. eastern time.

Public space within our cities and towns are at the core of what makes our communities work. People all over the country are leading the charge in the creation of these spaces, to be more open, inclusive and welcoming to all. And funders are looking to spur greater civic engagement around their work to ensure the impact is felt. We’ll look at some beautiful public space projects that are coming to life through an award-winning grant model that combines the power of crowdfunding with matching grants.

Varachia is the president & co-founder of Patronicity. Based out of Detroit, he recognized a city filled with people passionate about growth, empowerment and change. He believes the cornerstone of a great idea and bringing it to life is often the funding. He started Patronicity as a civic crowdfunding platform to inspire growth and change throughout cities and towns, both urban and rural, across Michigan and the country. Growing Patronicity to be more than just a civic crowdfunding platform, he has led Patronicity to change the way grants are administered and how communities come together to envision, build and create more sustainable and impactful projects meaningful to them. Being an entrepreneur with a passion for sustainable community development, he enjoys learning of new initiatives happening around the country started by other entrepreneurs, innovators, artists and activists.

This seminar is pay what you wish to register. Pay any amount that you would like or nothing at all. Those who become sustaining members paying at least $5 a month, or making a one-time donation of $15, will receive our latest print magazine, “15 Solutions for Cities” and a Next City winter hat as thank-you gifts. Your contribution toward this seminar will be used to find even more amazing guests, cover hosting fees, and organize seminars like this one more frequently. A video of the webinar will be made available to those who register.