Small Change is first. FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) has just approved Small Change, the Pittsburgh-based crowdfunding platform, as the nation’s first Funding Portal dedicated to real estate. With a small stroke of a pen, or, more likely, click of a mouse, FINRA has ushered in a new era for real estate investors.

Now, at Small Change, anyone over the age of eighteen can invest in projects they like. They can do this with confidence, since Small Change is governed by regulations written to protect investors. There’s a limit to how much you can invest every year, so no-one, not even Warren Buffet, can get in too deeply. And there are stringent vetting and disclosure requirements on all offerings. If you want to know more, you’ll find plenty of educational materials on the site. It is written in plain English.

The Huffington Post, Crowdfund Insider and Locavesting all think it’s pretty terrific, and so do we.

Who’s behind Small Change? Eve Picker. Eve is an architect, city planner, urban designer, real estate developer, community development strategist, publisher, and instigator. She has spent over twenty years healing the wounds of a city, by developing a portfolio of enviable buildings, all previously abandoned as beyond hope. Time and again financing these tough projects was her biggest challenge. Crowdfunding, she believes, is an important financing tool for urban real estate developers. She wishes she had it years ago.

“Developers will use portals like Small Change to secure capital. Individuals will use portals like Small Change to build wealth and benefit their communities,” says attorney Mark Roderick, a leading expert in this new industry. “This is a brave new world. We are seeing the transformation and democratization of the U.S. capital formation industry.”

Small Change launched last year offering 506 (c) or Regulation D investment opportunities, which are reserved for accredited investors. These will continue to be offered alongside Regulation Crowdfunding opportunities.

“While we won’t see this new world tomorrow morning,” says Eve, “it’s coming. Over the next few months we’ll be rolling out our first Regulation Crowdfunding offerings. We’re already working with developers in cities everywhere.”

Small Change is the nation’s first equity crowdfunding funding portal dedicated to real estate. Small Change brings you projects that make cities better. You invest in them.