University of Toledo official’s work earns honors from Washington

White House recognizes ‘Crowdfunding’ advocate

6/4/2013

McIntyre

Scott McIntyre, the University of Toledo’s interim manager of business incubation, has been recognized by the White House for his innovation in the field of crowdfunding.

Mr. McIntyre was honored Tuesday as one of the White House’s “Champions of Change.” The weekly program features people who do “extraordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.”

He was honored for his role as co-chairman of the founding executive committee for education and training at the Crowdfunding Professional Association.

Mr. McIntyre did not travel to Washington because his son was not feeling well.

“It’s an honor so much that I was selected among a group of my peers. My feeling was it was completely out of the blue. Obviously I’m pleased to be included,” Mr. McIntyre said.

Through the Crowdfunding Professional Association, Mr. McIntyre is helping to make crowdfunding more mainstream. The practice allows people or businesses to pool money for a cause or start-up venture, usually via the Internet.

The Kickstarter Web site, which allows people to donate money to creative projects, is one example of a crowdfunding effort.

Mr. McIntyre said crowdfunding shows signs of progressing into everyday life. He knows a little bit about new ideas moving into the mainstream — he was in California during the Internet boom in the 1990s.

“The donations and rewards base is thriving. We’ve seen the marketplace go from 50 to 9,000 with the word ‘crowdfund’ appearing,” he said. “If you’re already aware of the word crowdfunding, you’re going to be sick of it soon.”

Mary Jo Waldock, the senior executive director of the Office of Research and Innovation at the University of Toledo, said the honor is a great nod to Mr. McIntyre’s innovative spirit.

“We are excited to have Scott as part of our team at the university,” she said in an email to The Blade. “His experience in business development and as a leader in the growing crowdfunding industry, which was appropriately recognized with this great honor from the White House, will be an asset to our local economic development efforts.”

Mr. McIntyre has been at UT since April.

Contact Kris Turner at: kturner@theblade.com or 419-724-6103.