A Lakeview bar for “geeks.” A food truck of healthier, affordable sliders. A book to capture the character of all 77 Chicago neighborhoods – these are just a few of the 14 projects participating in the second round of a campaign to spark economic growth in the city, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CIW Co-op member World Business Chicago (WBC) announced last week.

The project is called Seed Chicago. Kickstarter and WBC – the City of Chicago’s economic development arm – are collaborating through it to help innovative small businesses and community development projects crowdfund. WBC selected the participants based on their potential to create economic opportunities in the neighborhoods, such as job growth or skill training.

But unlike a typical Kickstarter campaign, the projects are aggregated under a common Seed Chicago banner on a curated page, which Kickstarter data shows improves the success rates of its campaigns. The projects launched their campaigns together Tuesday to maximize their visibility and attract media attention.

“You are no longer going alone,” said Eric Olson, deputy director of WBC’s plan for economic growth and jobs. “You are part of a cohort of projects that we are constantly shining a light on.”

The goal? Enabling these projects to create jobs and economic growth in Chicago’s neighborhoods.

“Chicago’s strength is in our neighborhoods and our residents’ passion for expanding economic opportunity for their fellow Chicagoans,” Mayor Emanuel said in a news release. “Seed Chicago takes an innovative approach to creating economic growth that challenges communities and businesses to work together to develop and fund creative projects that have a direct, positive impact on neighborhoods and create important jobs.”

The first round, which completed its Kickstarter campaigns in May, saw five projects achieving full funding. They raised a total more than $50,000 from nearly 900 online contributors.

Sheree Moratto, director of the Roger’s Park Glenwood Sunday Market, said the idea came to her after having several conversations with eager entrepreneurs who wanted to start their own food business.

Moratto and the organization she is affiliated with, Rogers Park Business Alliance, wanted to create a one-stop shop to answer all their questions about how to make their food artisan business dreams a reality.

But she said she wasn’t sure where to start fundraising.

“When the Seed Chicago idea came to us through (WBC), we just thought, ‘Why are we waiting?’ ” said Moratto, 59.

With about two weeks to go, GROW-Food has already attracted nearly $9,200 from 97 backers who pledged money in exchange for perks like thank-you hugs and food samples.

While Kickstarter takes an all-or-nothing approach to fundraising, WBC’s Olson said he expects more projects to reach their target funding levels this second round than did the first. That’s because after the first round WBC set campaign guidelines to increase participants’ odds of success. For example, it capped the funding target at $10,000 – the average amount successful campaigns raise.

For projects that need more funding, WBC has reached out to partners for financing options like business loans and grants. In response, brewing company MillerCoors set up a $50,000 foundation to give successful Seed projects a dollar-for-dollar match of up to $5,000.

Moratto said GROW-Food’s funding would cover about half of the estimated cost of running a pilot program with five to eight aspiring food artisans.

But it’s not all about the Benjamins – a solid campaign would also help her convince other donors to support the project.

“It makes the reality of really being able to do this project so tantalizingly close at this point,” Moratto said.

To support the projects, go to Seed Chicago campaign page and pledge for a perk today!

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Written by: Jia You