From $75 to Fully Funded in Less Than 48 Hours: Community as Capital in Action

We have some incredible news!

Just four short weeks ago, Vaughn Fauria, President at NewCorp, (who was introduced to us by Dorien Nunez of The OMNIResearch Group), introduced us to Kaitlin Guerin and her husband, Lino, owners of Lagniappe Bakehouse.  What happened next is a testament to the power of "community as capital." As a community, we rallied to activate our collective social and financial capital to champion an entrepreneur. 

It all started with a gathering. Friday, 7/3,  we hosted a community cocktail hour at their beautiful space. Prior to the event, they were in their private fundraising period, with three lenders, totaling $75.

Sunday, 7/5 at 10:00 am, their public crowdfunding campaign launched right before an ESSENCE Festival panel discussing crowdfunding and an activation at the Makers Studio that morning. They were 30% funded at $4,100 with 37 lenders. 

At 1:40 pm,  less than four short hours later, they were over 50% funded at $6,800 and 76 lenders.

Monday, 7/6 - Tuesday, 7/7, emails were sent, networks were activated, and the numbers skyrocketed:

• 66% funded by early Monday at 12:19 am (112 lenders) 

• 80% funded by Monday at 2:35 pm (146 lenders)

• 100% funded by Tuesday at 8:42 am (182 lenders) 

Within less than 48 hours of the start of their public campaign, they met their $13,500 goal with 182 lenders!

The funding will help Kaitlin and Lino replace essential equipment, meet growing demand, and continue serving New Orleans through food, culture, and community.

This is what Community as Capital looks like.

If you participated in Kaitlin’s campaign, we need your help to track the community’s impact! Please take a minute to join the IFEL Capital Circles Kiva Lending Team on Kiva. Joining the team will enable you to associate your contribution to Kaitlin’s campaign with our group. We can’t see how much you contributed; it helps us count how many members of our community came together to make this happen. 

If others in your network should be involved in this important work, invite them to join the circle. If there are entrepreneurs in your network who need support, invite them to apply for support. 

We are so excited about the Capital Circles model that we are building together. This is just the beginning. We can't wait to see who we help fund next.

Thank you for joining us on this journey.