Authored By chloe.morrison

Local entrepreneur Josh Dillon is working toward launching a new crowdfunding platform that raises money for education, and his first step is to raise capital to get the project started.

The name of his business and fundraising platform is Eduency, and the current campaign to raise capital to get it going is called Eduency Swag.

“The purpose of Eduency Swag is not only to give back to schools and solidify our mission as a company, but also to raise capital,” he said.

He explored different options for raising capital to support his business idea, but instead of something more traditional-like getting investments from venture capitalists or applying for a small business loan-he wanted to do something that also helps education.

So he has used local businesses to create education-related T-shirts, which he’s selling here.

Teachers, parents, PTA members or anyone who wants to contribute can sign up for a specific school to get support through Eduency Swag.

When they purchase a T-shirt, 35 percent of the cost goes to the school of the buyer’s choice. The rest of the money goes to support Eduency in its mission to create the fundraising platform.

Once Dillon raises enough capital, he will launch Eduency, which will be a tool for local educators and community members to raise money for a specific school or project.

For example, if the leader of a school’s band needs to raise money for a trip or instruments, the leader could create a profile online for people to support that goal.

Between 88 and 100 percent of the money donated via the crowdsourcing platform will go directly to the school/project, Dillon said.

“We take a 12 percent cut from everything donated because we cover credit card processing and everything else,” he said. “That’s what we need for bare necessities to keep our servers running.”

And the site gives donors the option to cover that 12 percent, so if that’s the case, 100 percent of the donation goes to the school/project.

Right now, he’s looking for local educators who want to be a part of this.

“I’m really looking for teachers and booster club members to reach out to us and see how they can become a part of Eduency Swag,” he said.