Serving the greater good while allowing users to feel good about themselves and connect with like-minded individuals.
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The biggest problem nonprofit organizations have is finding new donors and retaining them. Charities depend on a large donor base because every penny adds up. Most people only donate once, but the goal is to get them to donate multiple times on a reoccurring basis. As a nonprofit in and of itself, this app will increase nonprofit organizations' user awareness by serving as a third-party donation processor, research source, and social networking platform.
People are careful about how and to whom they give their money. They want to know their money is going to a good cause and their financial data is secure. GivingPool features a searchable database of participating organizations. Searches can be filtered by keyword, category, location or rating. Each organization will be certified by GivingPool as a bonafide nonprofit.
Additionally, users will have access to in-depth information on the organization's mission, resources and financial reports. An accompanying feature is a rating system of organizations based on their financial health, transparency, and overhead ratio. GivingPool uses state-of-the-art e-commerce payment systems with stringent authentication and confidentiality rules.
The user of the app creates a profile with secure personal data, including payment methods. Organizations can be stored in "favorites," making donating as simple as a couple of clicks. This process makes it easy to give small amounts regularly to different nonprofits or set up reoccurring donations to one or multiple organizations. Not sure how much to donate or how it would help? An added feature would compare commonly purchased items to contributions. An example would be, "One large latte = feeding a family of four for a day."
A social networking feature is available for users to share their donation history and participate in giving contests (most money or amount of times money is given in a specified period). Users can create challenges, reviews and testimonials.
The user of GivingPool is an individual who is a busy professional, budget-conscious, and has little discretionary income or time to devote to anything outside of work and family. They are shrewd about getting scammed and enjoy researching topics of interest. However, they yearn to make a difference in the world and, perhaps, be recognized for their generosity.
How might we convince people and organizations of the shared value GivingPool will have? What if people's preference for donating directly to their charity of choice outweighs the convenience of using the app? What if nonprofit organizations don't see the added value of being a part of the GivingPool network? Or worse, if they believe it will hinder their goals? These are questions regarding perception and credibility. A solid marketing plan would go a long way in addressing these possible challenges.
One marketing strategy would be to partner with a well-respected organization's advertising efforts. Such as co-op advertising where the nonprofit would include the GivingPool logo and a statement about "proudly accepting donations through GivingPool."
Another way to overcome the "value-added" question for users is the social networking aspect. From a psychological perspective, the biggest reason why people donate money is to feel good about themselves. Therefore, it would be a priority to make GivingPool a "safe space" to receive recognition and adulation for users' charitable giving.
GivingPool would be financially supported in two ways: First, it would be a freemium with advertising. Second, a percentage would be deducted from all donations received through the app. Thus, there would be no up-front money from the user or the organizations.
How might we raise capital to fund the GivingPool? Considering the app is a nonprofit for nonprofits, it's conceivable that funding would come from grants, angel investors, or from the nonprofit organizations themselves. Also, from a research perspective, universities could be interested in providing technology.
This app would be a viable endeavor because I have a marketing background and an innate ability to think through processes from inception to conclusion. I'm not concerned about the technical aspects – I'll leave that up to the developers. However, I would need to research and understand how nonprofits operate at an administrative level.
There are many very nice apps available for individual nonprofit organizations. Additionally, there is a website, Charity Navigator, that serves as a charity "evaluator" and utilizes a rating system. This gave me the inspiration to include a rating system. However, they don't offer direct donating to organizations, the website is antiquated, it does not provide social networking, nor is it available in a mobile app.
In summary, this is a viable app serving the greater good while allowing users to feel good about themselves and connect with like-minded individuals. This app's idea came from frustrations of trying to keep up with donations made throughout the year when doing taxes. Significant contributions are easy to see; however, small contributions of $5 here and $10 there are not easy to track. Additionally, nonprofit experts are genuinley excited about the release of the GivingPool app. They have offered expertise in nonprofit administration and locating funding sources.