CitySourced is a civic engagement SaaS (Software as a Service) platform that connects citizens to local government agencies and the services they provide. The platform provides HTML5 and iOS/Android citizen-facing client applications that connect with a CRM and Service Request Management application tailored specifically for use within the public sector.

CitySourced
Type of businessPrivate
Type of site
Civic Technology
Available inEnglish
FoundedNovember 2006; 18 years ago (2006-11)
Headquarters,
United States
Area servedWorldwide
OwnerRock Solid Technologies, Inc
Founder(s)Jason Kiesel
Employees10
URLwww.citysourced.com
Current statusAcquired
Native client(s) oniOS, Android, HTML5

History

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In 2006, Jason Kiesel created FreedomSpeaks, a non-partisan political social network that enabled citizens to start grassroots activist campaigns targeting their publicly elected officials. In the spring of 2009, FreedomSpeaks began development on the CitySourced mobile application to help citizen report problems in their neighborhood directly to City Hall. CitySourced officially launched in September 2009 at the 2009 TechCrunch50[1][2] startup conference. During the Q&A portion of the presentation, Kevin Rose stated of the application:

"I’d like a stream for my neighborhood of things that need to take action on."[3]

In December 2011, the company raised a $1.3 million Series A investment[4] and officially changed its name from FreedomSpeaks, Inc. to CitySourced, Inc.

In March 2013, the company launched ZenFunder,[5][6][7] a civic crowdfunding product that allows municipal governments and schools districts to raise funds for specific projects by crowdfunding the proposed projects directly from residents or citizens. The ZenFunder product was sunsetted approximately one year later due to a lack of customer demand.

In April 2019, the company merged with government CRM software provider Rock Solid Technologies, Inc. through the backing of the Austin-based private equity firm Strattam Capital.[8]

Awards

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  • 2009: TechCrunch50 Finalist at the 2009 TechCrunch50 Conference[9]
  • 2013: IBM Beacon Award Finalist[10]

References

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  1. ^ "CitySourced Presentation at TC50". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  2. ^ McCarthy, Caroline (Sep 15, 2009). "Citizen complaint app finally fires up TechCrunch50". CNET. Archived from the original on September 19, 2009. Retrieved Oct 10, 2011.
  3. ^ Rao, Leena (15 September 2009). "TC50 CitySourced Lets You Report Pot Holes And Graffiti On The Go". September 15, 2009. TechCrunch. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  4. ^ "CitySourced Raises $1.33 Million in Series A Financing". PRWeb. Archived from the original on January 11, 2013. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  5. ^ "Tech Startup, CitySourced, Launches ZenFunder, a Civic Crowdfunding Platform | Informed Infrastructure". Archived from the original on 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  6. ^ "CITYSOURCED.COM - Report graffiti, potholes, trash and other civic blight with your smartphone to your public officials". 2013-04-30. Archived from the original on 2013-04-30. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  7. ^ Davies, Rodrigo (2017-03-21). "New civic crowdfunding platform Zenfunder targets public-private partnerships, starting with a San Jose councillor". Medium. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  8. ^ "Rock Solid Technologies to Merge with CitySourced". Strattam. 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  9. ^ "TechCrunch50 Winners". TechCrunch. Sep 15, 2011. Archived from the original on October 10, 2011. Retrieved Oct 10, 2011.
  10. ^ "2013 IBM Beacon Award Finalist". Rock Solid | North America. 2013-02-27. Archived from the original on 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
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