A sneak peek at our application for the Code for America Accelerator

Last night, we submitted our application for Code for America’s Accelerator program. We love CfA and have long been inspired by the work they do to disrupt government through technology.

Not familiar with Code for America or the Accelerator program? Here’s a brief description from http://codeforamerica.org/accelerator:

The CfA Accelerator is an early stage seed startup accelerator focused on the civic space – that is, government, community, and the interaction between the two. Increasingly the way in which we engage with government is channeled through technology, which means there’s a tremendous opportunity for entrepreneurs to build new, successful, and profitable startups that make the experience more like the consumer web. The CfA Accelerator aims to help early-stage civic startups get the financial, strategic, and operational support they need to succeed.

We believe that Citizinvestor is the perfect fit for the CfA Accelerator, and when asked why we thought so on our application, here was our response:

Citizinvestor has the potential to dramatically disrupt the process by which civic projects get prioritized and funded by municipalities. It’s a way of raising government revenue without raising taxes.

It’s a way for citizens to get the projects they want built faster without the government having to find new money in the budget. It’s a way for citizens to communicate and engage with local government without having to attend meetings or public forums.

Billions of dollars in municipalities’ annual budgets are tied to projects that are perfect for our platform. By making these projects public and giving citizens the opportunity to crowdfund the ones they care about most, we will make government more transparent and accountable to the wants and needs of its citizens.

The idea of Citizinvestor has been met with enormous initial success from municipalities. Everyone we talk to in government loves the idea and is eager to put projects on our platform. But we need what CfA has got.

Citizinvestor is ideal for the CfA Accelerator because we are such a young company, and while we have seen initial success in the meetings we have been able to get, we would benefit greatly from the access and awareness the blessing of Code for America would bring. We believe that a milestone as big as being selected for the CfA Accelerator this early in our history will prove monumental to our success and our ability to disrupt the interaction between government and citizens with regards to civic projects.

What do you think? Think we have a shot?

Wish us luck as we await to hear CfA’s decision in early June! And in the meantime, be sure to check-out the impressive program and some of the other things CfA is doing.