Neighborly is a site that helps people invest in municipal bonds, or “munis”. Neighborly started back in 2013 as a sort of Kickstarter clone, helping users fund projects close to home. It’s only recently that they’ve decided to change tracks, becoming a community municipal bond investment marketplace instead.
The idea is still the same, though. The service is marketed at young adults who are just starting to invest their money, and who are more likely to want to fund community projects like schools and public transportation.
Municipal bonds, for the uninitiated, are essentially loans that residents “buy” from their government in order to fund infrastructure or special projects. Not only does this allow people to offer monetary support for worthy improvements to their neighbourhood, they also make some extra income from interest.
Neighborly seeks to update the process of purchasing munis to make it more accessible to the current generation of internet-savvy twenty somethings.
The service has certainly gained a lot of attention from the press though, and Silicon Valley economists are excited to see how Neighborly changes the world of municipal bonds.
Neighborly is taking an old-fashioned investment method and bringing it into the 21st century with their platform. We’re excited to see what they have to offer.
