Crowdfunding Campaign for Mural #2 in Downtown Iron Mountain to Raise $10,000 in 45-Days

(LANSING, MI.)– The city of Iron Mountain will soon feature a new mural representing the future vision of the community with the help of a new crowdfunding campaign, the Michigan Economic Developmen Corporation and the City of Iron Mountain Downtown Development Authority announced today. The campaign is being offered through the Michigan-based crowdfunding platform Patronicity.  “We are pleased to partner with Iron Mountain’s DDA and the entire community to help bring this beautiful mural to life and add to the vibrancy of downtown Iron Mountain,” said MEDC Vice President of Community Development Katharine Czarnecki. “Crowdfunding is an innovative way for residents, businesses, and other stakeholders to generate excitement, pool resources, and fill funding gaps to activate great public spaces and community places.”  If the “Power of Words Art Mural #2” campaign reaches its crowdfunding goal of $10,000 by April 29, the project will win a matching grant with funds made possible by MEDC’s Public Spaces Community Places program. For project details and to donate, please visit: www.Patronicity.com/PowerOfWords2.  The campaign will support the project to crowdsource a word that represents the future vision of Iron Mountain. The residents of Iron Mountain have until March 20 to vote online for the word they feel best describes the future vision of the community. Once the votes are tallied and the chosen word is announced, award-winning artist and Iron Mountain native Mia Tavonatti, along with a team of professional artists and volunteers, willpaint a mural representing that word. To vote, visit here: http://powerofwordsproject.org/vote/.  The muralis part of the “Power of Words” project that began in 2013. The word for the first mural, “Believe,” was votedby residents as the one word that could make a difference. The mission of the Power of Words Project is to bring the power of words to life by using the transformative influence of art through a community-based, creative, humanitarian mural project. This project weaves together art, artists, students, and the greater community.  “The First Power of Words Project Mural has received positive feedback in our community and continues to be a point of pride for our downtown,” said DDA Program Director, Paula Craven. “These beautiful murals are important, because they bring life and culture to the heart of our city. The DDA is a proud partner of this event and we are overjoyed to have Mia return to Iron Mountain to complete the second Power of Words Project.”  Funding for the project will support painting materials and supplies, storage unit and scaffolding, promotional materials, t-shirts for volunteers and team, wall preparation, and upkeep/improvements to existing POWP.  Public Spaces Community Places is a collaborative effort of the MEDC, the Michigan Municipal League, and Patronicity where local residents can use crowdfunding to be part of the development of strategic projects in their communities and be backed with a matching grant from MEDC. Communities, non-profits and other business entities can apply at https://patronicity.com/puremichigan.  “Having strong arts and culture is one of the eight placemaking assets identified by the Michigan Municipal League that make up strong, vibrant communities,” said Dan Gilmartin, CEO and Executive Director of the Michigan Municipal League. “The word mural concept in Iron Mountain is a great way to create a sense of place and, if supported, will be a source of pride for community supporters for years to come.”  The Public Spaces Community Places initiative started in 2014 with MEDC providing matched funding of up to $50,000 for community improvement projects throughout Michigan. As of March 2, 2017, MEDC has provided $3,293,500 in matching grants. Since the launch of the program, 102 projects have been completed with nearly $3.9 million raised from 17,702 individual donors.