Challenge: Good AC on the A/C please

Crowdsourced fund raising platforms are in vogue right now. We've written a lot about the growing success of Kickstarter and yesterday we posted about Quirky raising a $16 million B round. Today Peter Kafka reports that ChallengePost has raised $4 million.

In a way a ChallengePost is an inversion of the Kickstarter model. The two year old start-up helps companies and non-profits run "challenges" that pay prizes to the crowd for solving problems. Investors include betaworks, Delicious’ Joshua Schachter and Mahalo’s Jason Calacanis.

The company is looking to expand from a two man operation to a 14 person team, just another sign that tech companies with venture money in the bank could be the one bright spot left in a double dip recession.

So far ChallengePost has offered more than $40 million in prizes and is being used by Michele Obama and the City of New York. Right now the MTA is offering $15,000 in prizes through the site to software developers who can use city data to create apps that will improve the transit system. But wait, that not all. One lucky grand prize winner will also receive:

• Custom 5’ Subway Sign by Underground Signs ($325.00)
• iMac and iPad Cases by NYC Subway Line ($60-$70)
• Rug of your choice from Concord Global ($40-$125)
• Subway T-Shirt by Okey-Dokey ($20.00)

Hmmm, you know what might actually attract great developer talent?A free, unlimited Metrocard. For life.