Crew, Not Passengers: How Everyday Investors Can Fund Climate Solutions
How Ordinary Investors Can Power Extraordinary Climate Solutions.
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The science is settled. The suffering is not. In the past few years, we’ve watched “once in a century” floods, smoke-darkened skies, and heat waves turn from outliers into a season. The world set a new record for warmth in 2024, and the U.S. alone tallied 27 separate weather disasters topping a billion dollars each. None of this is an abstraction; it’s the bill for our choices coming due. The decisive point is this: humans caused the warming, and we have the agency—and obligation—to change the trajectory. (IPCC)
What’s unambiguous now is also empowering. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states plainly that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land. That means human choices can cool them again. While governments and big companies must act, I’m convinced individuals—acting as consumers, neighbors, and investors—are indispensable. We don’t wait on a better future; we build it. (IPCC)
Innovation’s job: make the cleaner choice the easy choice
Technology won’t erase past harm. But innovation can remove the “sacrifice tax” that slows adoption of cleaner options—and that’s when systems change. Take EVs. We all know that road-trip charging anxiety has been a brake on adoption. The good news: charging networks are scaling up fast. Globally, more than 1.3 million public charging points were added in 2024 alone—roughly equal to the entire global stock just five years earlier. In the U.S., the number of fast-charging ports has jumped more than 80% in two years. Batteries are getting better, allowing faster charging, too. Speed, reliability, and density are trending in the right direction, which makes the decision to drive electric feel less like an act of virtue and more like a normal, good choice. (IEA)
The same dynamic applies in our homes. Heat pumps are not some exotic contraption; they’re the workhorse of efficient comfort, delivering three to five times the energy of the electricity they consume. As they’re powered by progressively cleaner grids, households cut emissions and often lower bills—without sacrificing comfort. Add better controls and smarter incentives, and you get flywheel effects that make the climate-friendly option the obvious one.
Even the hard stuff is getting real pathways. Cement and steel—responsible for a big slice of industrial emissions—have credible technical roadmaps: lower-clinker cement and material efficiency on one side; electrification, hydrogen-based ironmaking, and targeted carbon capture on the other. None of this is trivial, but it’s moving from white papers to pilots and first-of-a-kind plants. That matters because it shrinks the premium we ask society to pay for decarbonization.
Personal responsibility includes how we invest
We usually talk about personal responsibility in terms of what we drive, eat, or install on the roof. Keep doing that. But there’s another lever: how we allocate our capital. Households don’t just buy from markets; we fund them. If we want more climate solutions in the world, one way is to invest in them. Project Drawdown’s work is a helpful compass here—mapping the most effective, scalable solutions and reminding us that individual choices ripple outward through markets and politics.
Here’s the unlock: in the U.S., regulated investment crowdfunding lets anyone (not just accredited investors) back startups and small businesses tackling climate problems. Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) allows companies to raise up to $5 million in 12 months through SEC-registered portals; Regulation A (Reg A) opens a path to raise up to $75 million from the broader public. This isn’t charity; it’s investing—with risk, illiquidity, and the chance of return similar to the stock market—aligned with the outcomes we want in the world.
Two practical on-ramps: Reg CF and Reg A
Think of Reg CF as the community-scale on-ramp. Anyone can invest, and issuers can offer equity or debt. That flexibility matters: some climate solutions are classic venture bets; others look more like project finance or small-business lending. Platforms such as Honeycomb Credit and SMBX channel community loans and small business bonds, while climate-specialist platforms like Climatize focus on clean energy projects using Reg CF. If you’re an individual investor, this universe lets you assemble a climate thesis across different risk/return profiles. If you’re a founder or small-business owner, it gives you audience, capital, and feedback—often faster and friendlier than traditional routes.
Reg A is the scale on-ramp. Tier 2 offerings can raise up to $75 million and are sometimes called “mini IPOs.” We’ve seen companies use Reg A to broaden their investor base and, in some cases, list shares on a national exchange. Newsmax did exactly that in March 2025, closing a $75 million Reg A+ offering and commencing NYSE trading as NMAX—an example of the exemption providing a direct path to a public listing. (Different sector, same mechanics.) There are also earlier precedents like Knightscope and Monogram Orthopaedics moving from Reg A to Nasdaq listings. The punchline: public-market style fundraising is no longer reserved exclusively for the already-huge. (SEC)
For builders and operators: when other doors close, this one is often open
If you’re building climate solutions—or greening a carbon-intensive sector—access to capital is oxygen. Bank underwriting may balk at novel tech or thin collateral. SBA loans can be a great fit, but not every solid business qualifies. Community debt crowdfunding has emerged as a real alternative: local customers lend to the businesses they know, and those businesses repay principal and interest monthly. It’s not hypothetical; when a Chicago bakery couldn’t secure a bank loan, it financed growth through a Reg CF loan on Honeycomb. Stories like that are increasingly common—and they keep ownership and interest payments local. We’ve featured countless examples on our pages!
At the idea stage, a community equity round can validate demand and fund early milestones. With traction, Reg CF can provide up to $5 million to scale. If you’re really ready to swing for it, Reg A can take you further—up to $75 million in 12 months—while building a large base of customer-investors who become your evangelists. None of this is easy. It is possible.
What to invest in? Follow the pain points
If you’re allocating a portion of your portfolio to climate solutions, look for innovations that reduce sacrifice while attacking big emissions buckets:
Clean mobility: Fast, reliable charging; vehicle-to-grid; electrified heavy transport. (Watch the infrastructure—not just the car.)
Clean heat: Heat pumps and the ecosystem around them—installers, smart controls, financing models that crack adoption barriers.
Heavy industry: Cement and steel platforms pursuing lower-clinker materials, hydrogen DRI, and targeted CCUS where it’s truly economical.
Project finance at community scale: Solar + storage, efficiency retrofits, and community energy that can be packaged as revenue-generating loans or bonds. (Platforms like Climatize and Raise Green/Honeycomb fund climate projects.)
Diversification and diligence matter. Many Reg CF and Reg A portals publish financials, risk factors, and impact narratives publicly—use them. Aggregate sources like Superpowers for Good, KingsCrowd and SEC data dashboards can help you understand market volumes and structures, too. If you’re not already an Impact Member of the SuperCrowd, join today to get my pick of the week, to get 50 recommendations, complete with detailed due diligence reports every year, including instant access to the archive.
SuperGreen Live
On January 22–24, 2026, we’ll gather virtually for SuperGreen Live, a three-day televised conference and festival celebrating real climate solutions, produced in partnership with Green2Gold, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It’s designed to be practical: founders demo tech and business models, investors learn how to evaluate opportunities (including regulated crowdfunding), and community leaders share playbooks for local deployment—from heat pump accelerators to main-street lending circles. Our VIP virtual networking space will work better for developing contacts than expensive in-person events—for just $25. Register today.
Closing: we’re the crew—and there’s upside in the work
I don’t believe we’re passengers on this planet. We’re the crew. Crews don’t wring their hands; they check the charts, assign roles, and get to work. The beauty—and the responsibility—of this moment is that our moral agency and our economic agency can point in the same direction. We can cut emissions in our homes and habits. We can also make money by investing in solutions and make money by creating them.
If you’re an investor, pick a thesis (charging reliability, clean heat, low-carbon cement/steel, community energy) and start with one small, well-researched position via a regulated portal—then another. If you’re a builder, map your milestones to the right exemption and bring your community into your cap table or loan book. And if you want a place to connect the dots, join us at SuperGreen Live. The ship needs all hands—and there’s meaningful, measurable upside in keeping it afloat.
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Upcoming SuperCrowd Event Calendar
If a location is not noted, the events below are virtual.
SuperCrowdHour, October 15, 2025, at 12:00 PM Eastern. Devin Thorpe, CEO and Founder of The Super Crowd, Inc., will lead a session on “The Perfect Pitch: Creating an Irresistible Offering.” As a former investment banker and author, Devin will guide entrepreneurs through the process of crafting a regulated investment crowdfunding offering that aligns with investor expectations and captures attention. In this session, he’ll share what makes a pitch compelling, how to structure terms that attract capital, and practical strategies for presenting your company’s story in a way that resonates with investors. Whether you’re launching your first community raise or refining a current campaign, this SuperCrowdHour will equip you with the tools to stand out and secure investor support. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to transform your vision into a pitch investors can’t resist.
Impact Cherub Club Meeting hosted by The Super Crowd, Inc., a public benefit corporation, on October 28, 2025, at 1:30 PM Eastern. Each month, the Club meets to review new offerings for investment consideration and to conduct due diligence on previously screened deals. To join the Impact Cherub Club, become an Impact Member of the SuperCrowd.
SuperGreen Live, January 22–24, 2026, livestreaming globally. Organized by Green2Gold and The Super Crowd, Inc., this three-day event will spotlight the intersection of impact crowdfunding, sustainable innovation, and climate solutions. Featuring expert-led panels, interactive workshops, and live pitch sessions, SuperGreen Live brings together entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and activists to explore how capital and climate action can work hand in hand. With global livestreaming, VIP networking opportunities, and exclusive content, this event will empower participants to turn bold ideas into real impact. Don’t miss your chance to join tens of thousands of changemakers at the largest virtual sustainability event of the year.
Community Event Calendar
Successful Funding with Karl Dakin, Tuesdays at 10:00 AM ET - Click on Events.
Regulated Investment Crowdfunding Summit 2025, Crowdfunding Professional Association, Washington, DC, October 21-22, 2025.
Impact Accelerator Summit is a live, in-person event taking place in Austin, Texas, from October 23–25, 2025. This exclusive gathering brings together 100 heart-centered, conscious entrepreneurs generating $1M+ in revenue with 20–30 family offices and venture funds actively seeking to invest in world-changing businesses. Referred by Michael Dash, participants can expect an inspiring, high-impact experience focused on capital connection, growth, and global impact.
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