One sentence: CityByApp^™ is a verified civic publishing platform, one trusted place to find your local agencies, nonprofits, businesses, and events, and HeroByApp^™ is the nonpartisan recognition program that activates it, one state at a time, by honoring one community Hero from each state.

If you’re a citizen: use CityByApp^™ to find real, current information about your local civic agencies, nonprofits, and businesses. No ads. No engagement algorithms. No social-media noise. Trusted, always.

If you’re an elected official (mayor, governor, council member): the program is nonpartisan, voluntary, sponsor-funded (no taxpayer dollars), and has no procurement implications. Participation is at the discretion of your office. Sponsor names never appear on the Certificate of Honor, it remains pure civic recognition.

If you’re a civic agency or nonprofit: claim a verified profile once your state is activated. You control what you publish, events, notices, jobs, services. No subscriptions. No expirations.

If you’re a business owner: claim a verified profile that puts your real information in front of citizens, without buying ads, bidding on keywords, or competing with fake reviews on platforms you don’t control.

If you’re a sponsor: make verified civic-platform access possible for an entire state, region, or the full Founding 50. Recognition lives on every program surface (ceremony program, state activation page, statewide press release, entity-claim onboarding, Member Badge widget), never on the Certificate of Honor itself, by design, for full ethics compliance.

Verified means the publisher has been checked as an accountable organization, such as a public agency, nonprofit, licensed business, or civic organization, before they can publish.

CityByApp^™ verifies the publisher/source, not the ideology. Publishers are accountable for what they publish, and residents can see where information comes from.

Because most U.S. municipalities still lack a unified digital platform connecting local government, nonprofits, businesses, and citizens, and most community heroes are forgotten outside their block. HeroByApp^™ solves both at once: one nomination honors someone permanently, and after the ceremony, makes verified civic technology available across their entire state. No ads. No surveillance. No social media feed. Just verified civic infrastructure, funded by sponsors, built for trust.

Any U.S.-based individual can nominate a community Hero in any U.S. state. You provide your name and contact information, verify your email and phone, describe your relationship to the nominee, and submit the nomination in good faith.

No. A nominator does not need to live in the same state as the nominee.

Generally 5+ years of documented service or community impact. Founding 50 honorees (recognized at a state capital or official civic setting as part of a state activation model) typically show 10+ years of sustained service, and 20+ years receives special consideration. Rarely, a nominee with fewer than 5 years may be considered when the impact is extraordinary and clearly documented.

We may verify nominee identity, organization affiliations, service history, public records or media references, and community references. No honoree is announced publicly until the nominee is contacted directly, identity-verified, and has given consent. Recognition is nonpartisan and implies no government endorsement or authority. See “View Nomination Guidelines” near the nomination form for the full standard.

Open to any resident, and funded by HeroByApp^™ Sponsors. Your nomination is what starts the process. Fill out the nomination form, then send the prepared email to herobyapp@citybyapp.com to begin the official intake, your email is required so we can follow up. For now this is a simple email-assisted intake while our secure online submission is being finalized. Nominations are private: we don’t publish who’s nominated, and the nominee isn’t automatically notified. Selected honorees are contacted for identity verification and consent before any public recognition.

Every nomination is reviewed by the CityByApp^™ Inc. team. We look for people who are actively serving their community with meaningful, verifiable impact. We contact both the nominator and honoree before issuing any certificate. Not first-come, first-served, the strongest story of active community service for each state wins.

No. HeroByApp^™ honors one Hero per state, 50 total nationally. That single ceremony activates CityByApp^™ for every community in the entire state. We don’t need 60,000 heroes, we need 50. After the Founding 50, the company’s focus shifts entirely to platform growth, municipal adoption, and building Platform 2.0 revenue features.

Every nominee is vetted against public records, community references, and verified impact. Selection criteria include documented community service history, breadth of impact, statewide significance, and leadership reputation. This is not first-come, first-served, the strongest story of sustained community impact is selected. Once selected, a Founding 50 hero is permanent.

The hero receives a framed Certificate of Honor (signed, with QR verification), a Community Hero Medal, and a Letter of Honor from the CEO. The hero’s affiliated nonprofit organizations receive a Recognition Certificate and Virtual Key. The state governor receives a State Certificate and Virtual Key. One host or key dignitary receives a Certificate of Civic Partnership. All certificates are permanently published and verifiable on CityByApp^™.

A credential issued with each Certificate of Honor that activates CityByApp^™ access across four scopes: State (the entire state), Primary City (the state capital), Legacy Cities (the hero’s personal hometowns or places of significance), and Sister Cities (all international sister cities of the state capital). The governor’s office also receives a State Certificate and Virtual Key. Hero-affiliated organizations receive Recognition Certificates with their own Virtual Keys. One hero. Multiple Virtual Keys. One entire state and beyond.

After a hero is selected and the ceremony takes place, the Virtual Key opens statewide eligibility for CityByApp^™ verified-listing access, every municipality, nonprofit, business, and citizen in that state can voluntarily claim a verified profile and publish trusted civic information. Real, functional digital infrastructure, funded by sponsors, initiated by one ceremony.

State capitals have official international sister cities. When a hero is honored and the ceremony activates a state, Virtual Keys auto-provision for those partner cities too. Indianapolis alone connects to 11 cities across 5 continents. Apolitical, automatic, and grounded in civic values.

Indiana is the inaugural state, the ceremony is Wed July 29, 2026, 2:00–3:00 PM ET, at the Julia M. Carson Government Center in Indianapolis. 49 remaining states are open now, no waitlist. Nominate a hero today.

The Founding 50 is the program that recognizes one Hero per state over time, opening CityByApp^™ access state by state. Indiana begins first; other states can nominate a Hero. Think of them like the signers of a founding document. Their names are permanently woven into the platform’s origin story. They do not get replaced, they do not rotate, and they are not an annual selection. They are the individuals whose honor and recognition built the foundation for America’s civic platform.

No. HeroByApp^™ is a one-time activation program, the Founding 50. One Hero per state, permanently honored. There is no annual rotation, no replacement, and no second round. As states activate over time, the Founding 50 become the permanent origin story of CityByApp^™.

HeroByApp^™ becomes the origin story of CityByApp^™. The Founding 50 are permanently honored. The company’s full resources shift to platform growth: municipal adoption through CivicByApp^™, sponsor revenue, Platform 2.0 paid features (fundraising management, ticket sales, membership billing, enhanced analytics, ShopByApp^™ commerce), and ByApp.ai development. The heroes built the bridge, now we cross it.

The Civic Trust Flywheel describes how HeroByApp^™ creates a self-reinforcing cycle: Honor → Activate → Engage → Trust → Scale. Each ceremony activates platform access statewide. As organizations claim verified profiles, engagement grows, building trust that attracts more nominations and sponsors.

No. General Users are citizens with a private profile for reviews, messaging, and local search, not a public listing. Only government agencies, nonprofits, and businesses have public verified listings. CityByApp^™ is not social media. No public feed, no followers, no engagement-ranking algorithms, just personalization you control. Built for civic discovery.

CityByApp^™ is a separate, trusted platform, we don’t claim or guarantee any effect on external search engine rankings. The value of a verified listing is that citizens find your real, current information directly on CityByApp^™, without the noise of the open web.

Reviews are supported on listings where available. Listing owners can approve and manage reviews on their profile. General Users can leave reviews and likes through their private profile.

Yes. Government agencies can add sub-accounts for individual departments, enabling role-based publishing. Each department can manage its own content (events, notices, job postings) while the parent agency retains oversight of the full listing.

The CivicByApp^™ OS (opening Q4 2026 / Q1 2027) will include 9 purpose-built civic modules: CommanderByApp^™ (AI city control center), AuditByApp^™ (municipal diagnostics), ReportByApp^™ (civic data reporting), WalletByApp^™ (digital ID & credentials), SecureByApp^™ (infrastructure security), RealtyByApp^™ (public land & property), GridByApp^™ (resource optimization), AnalyticsByApp^™ (civic intelligence), and MapsByApp^™ (spatial civic data). All modules are included in the pilot sandbox.

Neither. The pilot is a private, sponsor-backed sandbox for municipalities to evaluate the platform before the full national launch. It is not a public-facing launch or production deployment. It does not require software migration or system replacement. There is no contractual obligation, pricing is offered only post-evaluation. It’s a full-access evaluation environment, not a limited trial.

No. Your sponsor-funded BETA 1.0 listing is yours to keep, permanently. When CivicByApp^™ OS is ready, you’ll be invited to migrate, it’s optional, never required. Stay on the platform you have today as long as you like.

No. Every nonprofit in an activated state receives a verified profile, whether they are affiliated with the hero or not. Hero-affiliated organizations additionally receive a Recognition Certificate and Virtual Key. Your verified listing is yours to keep. Optional upgrades with additional tools and features are available as the platform grows.

HeroByApp^™ Sponsors underwrite the program in the region they serve and receive named recognition, a verified profile, and visibility tools. We customize each sponsorship to align with your goals and community. Become a sponsor →

Local & Regional: Support a municipality, county, or region. Named HeroByApp^™ Sponsor recognition, verified CityByApp^™ profile with SEO & lead gen, and placement alongside the hero in all local program materials.

State Sponsor: The flagship tier. “Presented by [Your Brand]” appears across the ceremony program, state activation page, statewide press release, entity-claim onboarding flow, and the embeddable Member Badge widget, recognition across every county and community in your entire state, with annual renewal and first right of refusal.

National & Global (Founding Partner): Founding-partner status across state activations, non-exclusive, and international sister cities. 3-year commitment with built-in legacy clause (permanent “Founding National & Global Partner” recognition in the historical record, in perpetuity) and Right of First Refusal at the end of Year 3. National media opportunities, co-branded content, and executive-level strategic partnership that scales as each new state launches.

By design, the Certificate of Honor itself remains unbranded, preserving full ethics compliance for participating federal & state officials. Sponsor recognition lives on every other program surface, making it more permanent and defensible.

The Founding National & Global Partner is the flagship sponsor tier, founding-partner recognition across state activations, non-exclusive, and the international sister-city network. The structure has three pillars:

1. 3-year commitment. Recognition scales as each new state launches, named placement across every program surface (ceremony program, state activation page, statewide press release, entity-claim onboarding flow, embeddable Member Badge widget). National media opportunities, co-branded content, and executive-level strategic partnership.

2. Legacy clause. The Founding Partner remains permanently named as the inaugural cohort’s founding partner, on the historical record, in perpetuity, even if the partnership doesn’t renew at Year 3. Founding-partner status is durable; there is no downside risk.

3. Right of First Refusal at Year 3. At the end of the term, the Founding Partner has first option to renew before any other organization is offered the role. Future ceremonies after Year 3 would feature a renewal partner alongside the permanent founding designation.

The Certificate of Honor itself stays unbranded by design, preserving full ethics compliance for participating federal & state officials. Sponsor recognition lives on every other program surface, making founding-partner status more permanent, more reach, and zero ethics risk.

By design. The Certificate of Honor is presented at ceremonies attended by elected officials and dignitaries as invited guests. Federal House Ethics Manual rules and parallel state ethics frameworks restrict participating officials from appearing in events where corporate sponsors are named on the recognition itself.

So we keep the Cert as pure civic recognition of the Hero, and we route sponsor recognition to every other program surface: ceremony program, state activation page, statewide press release, entity-claim onboarding flow, embeddable Member Badge widget, sister-city activation pages, annual report, ceremony video, social content, and white paper attribution.

Net result for sponsors: more surfaces, more permanence, zero ethics risk, a defensible, durable founding-partner designation that protects the recognition, the officials, and the sponsor brand all at once.

CityByApp™ has no integrated AI tools — the platform itself doesn’t write or generate content. What we do is verify the publisher. Every organization is identity-verified before it can publish, so you always know exactly who is accountable for what you read — no matter what tools they used to create it. We’re not against AI. We’re against unverified AI from anonymous sources — content with no accountable person or organization behind it.

What that means in practice:

• Every publisher is identity-verified (gov agency, nonprofit, business, civic leader) before they can publish.
• Every action is logged for accountability (AuditByApp™ · Planned 2.0).
• We don’t use engagement-ranking algorithms that optimize for outrage, dopamine, or time-on-screen. Civic, nonprofit, and emergency content stays always-on and cannot be displaced. Posts are sorted chronologically and by relevance to the community.
• Personalization is coming, and will be user-controlled. A planned “Recommended for You” layer will let citizens opt in by the categories and neighborhoods they care about — set it, change it, turn it off, or export preferences anytime. We will never personalize based on tracking you across the open web.
• Sponsor placement is always clearly labeled (“Sponsored” / “Founding Partner” / “State Sponsor” / “Local & Regional Sponsor”). Sponsors cannot displace verified civic, emergency, or nonprofit content, and they cannot influence the verification of any other entity.

NewsGuard tracks 3,006+ unreliable AI-generated news sites. Every one of them has the same flaw: no identity-verified entity behind them. On our platform, the entity is always known.

ByApp.ai, our AI infrastructure layer, is in development — designed to help make civic content trustworthy as AI grows, such as clearly labeling and disclosing AI-assisted content.

In short: We don’t generate content. We verify the publisher before they publish.

Yes. Platform 2.0 will introduce optional tools including fundraising management, ticket sales, membership billing, and enhanced analytics. These are paid upgrades that solve specific operational needs. Your baseline access is permanent and fully functional, it is never reduced to encourage an upgrade. What you receive at activation is yours to keep.

CityByApp^™ Platform 2.0 introduces: CommanderByApp^™ AI (civic assistant), CoinByApp^™ & WalletByApp^™ (digital credentials & rewards), AR Street View, Auto-Built Itinerary, and Real-Time Alerts. These are optional paid upgrades, baseline access remains sponsor-funded and permanent.

All public-facing marks, HeroByApp^™, CityByApp^™, CivicByApp^™, CommanderByApp^™, AuditByApp^™, ReportByApp^™, MapsByApp^™, WalletByApp^™, PayByApp^™, SecureByApp^™, RealtyByApp^™, GridByApp^™, AnalyticsByApp^™, DataByApp^™, ShopByApp^™, carry the ™ designation. CityByApp^™ has been in continuous commercial use since March 27, 2013 (13 years), available across all 50 U.S. states and 160+ countries and territories (management-reported, see /press#facts-traction). Federal trademark applications are pending across multiple Nice classes covering verified civic publishing, identity verification, recognition programs, and platform infrastructure.

Management-reported figures as of May 2026 (independent verification in progress):

· all 50 U.S. states (beta-tested in 25 markets)
· 277,602 verified members across 160+ countries and territories
· 146,701+ business listings claimed in communities across the country
· 2 multi-year contracts (Southern California, Southeast Colorado)
· Recognized by 4 consecutive U.S. presidential administrations (Obama 2017, Trump 2019 & 2020, Biden 2022, Trump 2025)

These are management-reported figures, not independently audited. See receipts → /press#facts-traction · presidential recognition documentation → /press#leadership.

The HeroByApp^™ program and every verified CityByApp^™ listing are fully funded by local and national sponsors, businesses and organizations that invest in civic infrastructure for their community. Sponsors underwrite access for a defined area (city, county, or state), which means every government agency, nonprofit, and business in that area receives a verified profile, funded by sponsors. No credit card, no trial period, no strings attached. The sponsor model is what makes universal civic access possible. Learn more about sponsorship →