LAFAYETTE, La. (July 28, 2017) – The 24-Hour Citizen Project, hosted by civicside, is back for its second annual funding event. Eight community projects led by citizens will be pitched at this year’s event which will begin at Teche Drugs (Gift Shoppe) at 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 29.

The event connects citizen-led initiatives with community experts, leaders and financial backers who are looking to affect positive change within the Acadiana community. Since its inception in 2014 as a crowdfunding engine, civicside has helped to fulfill 14 citizen-led projects totaling more than $70,000 from 320 financial backers.

“As a financial backer, I want to use my resources to support initiatives that foster community engagement and social responsibility,” said Hunter Perret, The Perret Group. “civicside has done a great job connecting innovative and forward-thinking members of our community with the resources they need to make an impact.

“The 24-Hour Citizen Project inspires and empowers Acadiana residents to be advocates who can enact real, transformative change within their own community. I believe the success and future of our region lies on the time we invest to instill a strong culture of social responsibility, and this project does that by challenging citizens to come together to create and implement a vision for community improvement—I can’t wait to see what they have prepared this weekend!”

Starting Saturday, eight citizen-led teams will have completed 24 hours of work and will be prepared to pitch their community project to nine financial-backer citizens (totaling $12,000 of pre-committed funds) for the chance to “win” funding for their proposed project. Attendance is free and open to the public on Saturday, July 29, with doors open at 6 p.m. at Teche Drugs (Gift Shoppe). To learn more about civicside and the 24 Hour Citizen Project, visit www.civicside.com.

About civicside

Founded by Butch Roussel in 2014 as a local crowdfunding website, civicside has expanded its reach to be a “launchpad” for citizen-led projects designed to improve the Acadiana community. civicside has facilitated fundraising efforts for projects like the “Lafayette” sign in Parc Sans Souci, the parklets on Jefferson Street and the Art Wall at Buchanan which is currently accepting art submissions.