Dive Brief:

• The American Institute of Architects says that letting small, startup projects sell stock through crowd-funding websites may be a boon for construction.
• Putting a project out for public examination and contributions may be a way to move small projects from the drawing board to the construction site.
• AIA had asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to move ahead with such a plan, a step it took by voting 5-0 to issue proposed regulations.

Dive Insight:

Crowd-funding has been the province of individuals or small groups that have an idea, but need capital to get it rolling. Often, it's something that is too far outside the box to attract conventional investment capital or is just too small. AIA said it's "ready to help educate the design and construction community about the tremendous potential of this innovative fund-raising tool."