#GivingTuesday: a Chance to Use Tech to Give Back

Posted on November 28, 2017October 25, 2018 by Case Foundation

Some time ago, the idea of putting your credit card number on the internet seemed unthinkable, but today almost 80 percent of Americans shop online. And with the holidays coming up, online marketplaces are seeing an impressive spike in both traffic and orders. In fact, this year, more people are expected to shop online than in-store.

While e-commerce has forced traditional brick and mortar retail to evolve, the convenience of online shopping for consumers has been advantageous for online giving. This summer, we talked about how tech trends like the emergence of online payment platforms have made it that much easier for everyone to jump into philanthropy. Millennials are key players in that trend too; the Millennial Impact Report found that 80 percent of Millennials made donations last year, and 62 percent have expressed interest in using mobile as a giving platform.

In 2012, we helped support the first official #GivingTuesday campaign, founded by the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation. We were very excited to play a part in #GivingTuesday’s transformation from a campaign to a movement, both through our own donation matching campaigns and by supporting the overall tracking of fundraising activity each #GivingTuesday.

Five years later, it’s more convenient than ever to give. New platforms allow users to search for charities that match their interests, donate by shopping for things they’d already buy and use social media to donate and fundraise.

Here are some easy ways you can use tech to give on #GivingTuesday.

Donation Platforms

If you’re not sure where to start, there’s a variety of platforms that can help you find a cause you’re passionate about and verify the credibility of the organization behind it so you can donate with confidence.

If you shop online, you’re already familiar with PayPal, but did you know that you can also use the payment service for donations? The Paypal Giving Fund lets you browse charities and donate to them online through your PayPal account.

If you’re searching for a specific charity, or already know which issue you want to support, Network for Good* has an online database of over a million charities of all sizes and issue areas. You can also purchase Good Cards on the site if you want to give someone else a gift card that they can use to donate to the charity of their choice.

Interested in taking a more international approach to your giving? Global Giving allows you to donate to vetted projects from around the world and will send you updates on how your money is being put to work.

And if you’re interested in helping educators in the U.S., Donors Choose can connect you to a public school in need. Teachers use the site to share the projects for which they need funds, and how much they need to reach their goals. You can use the site to donate to the classroom project of your choice.

Crowdfunding platforms

Donating to a crowdfunding campaign is a great way for people on a wide range of budgets to work with others in the online community to help someone in need, and there are several platforms you can use.

GoFundMe allows online donors to contribute to individuals or groups taking on a wide variety of projects and problems. And it’s making a real difference—more than $4 billion has already been raised through the site. If you’re looking to contribute to an individual or a new organization that hasn’t registered as a charity yet, GoFundMe provides that flexibility.

Crowdrise is a social fundraising tool that supports corporations, nonprofits and events. Nonprofits and individuals can set up fundraisers for their favorite cause with specific goals and timelines. Do you want to use your network to expand your impact on #GivingTuesday? Crowdrise can help you do that. The website also allows users to explore trending fundraisers and look for ones in the categories they’re interested in.

A different type of online crowdfunding source is Kiva. Kiva gives users a chance to lend as little as $25 to help people across the globe with everything from going to school to launching a business. Kiva donors get their loans repaid, and then can reuse the repayment for another loan, or withdraw it.

Purchase roundups

When checking out at a brick and mortar store, you’ve probably been given a chance to round-up your purchase to the nearest dollar or more and have that extra change go to charity. Now you can do that online, and you can choose which charity receives that extra money.

We micro give is an online platform that rounds your online and in-person purchases up to the nearest dollar and donates the change to the charity of your choice. The site allows you to set monthly maximums and provides users with an online dashboard to summarize their giving activity.

Similarly, Coin Up offers a website and an app that donors can use to have their credit and debit card purchases rounded up and donated. The site tracks your donations over time and sends a year-end donation total so you can see your yearlong impact.

Network for Good* recently launched Hippo Give, an app that also helps you make secure donations through purchase roundups. You can support multiple organizations with your spare change and see your donation activity tracked in real time. Hippo Give even makes a donation on your behalf when you get started. It should be noted that this is still in minimum viable product development stage (MVP), but it’s an exciting new platform that shows promise.

And finally, if you use Amazon.com, you can give back without spending an extra dime just by changing the URL. If you use https://smile.amazon.com/, 0.5 percent of your purchase total will go to the charity of your choice.

#Donate Using Social Media

Organizations and individuals often use social media to give their fundraisers a promotional boost, but now there are ways to donate directly though the social media sites themselves.

Facebook has a donating platform that organizations can use year-round to give their followers an easy way to donate and share. And this #GivingTuesday, the site is stepping up its commitment to support online giving through an up-to-$2 million matching campaign in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

You can also donate instantly across social platforms with Goodworld. All you have to do is comment or reply #donate on a participating cause’s Facebook or Twitter post, and you’ll be sent a secure, one-time link you can use to apply your donation.

Last year, #GivingTuesday saw a record $168 million in charitable donations, and we expect to see similar results from today’s activity. Every year, online platforms like these make it that easier, more interactive and more fun for users to donate to causes close to their hearts. Charitable giving is truly just a click away. We hope you’ve been inspired to give to a cause you care this #GivingTuesday (November 28 this year) and throughout the year.

*Brian Sasscer is on the Board of Trustees for Network for Good

Charitable Giving 3.0: Tech is Changing the Way We Give and Give Back

Posted on November 29, 2016October 30, 2018 by Case Foundation

We have long been enthusiastic champions of democratizing philanthropy at the Case Foundation. In the same way that technology has leveled the playing field to allow all voices to be heard, we believe technology has proven its potential to empower anyone to become a philanthropist. Indeed, as the nation sets its sights on another #GivingTuesday, it is important to remember that online giving was just a nascent movement not that long ago.

Our early work in experimentation with social media platforms included America’s Giving Challenge (AGC), dating back to nearly a decade ago. At the time, we were concerned that both donors and nonprofits weren’t fully prepared for the potential of the brand new world of social media, and we knew we needed a bold step to move people toward the online tools we knew could transform the future of online giving.

AGC called on citizens everywhere to use emerging social media platforms to get engaged and give to causes they cared about. Incentives were established to encourage the greatest number of donations, not necessarily the largest, and donations of all sizes were welcomed. As part of the campaign, our “Gear Up for Giving” helped train thousands of individuals and nonprofits so that they could best leverage social media to reach their networks. We also invited people everywhere to be champions for their own causes, instead of curating a list that were our favorites.

Back then, online philanthropic competitions of this kind were relatively unheard of, and I’ll admit that we weren’t sure what to expect at first. There were so many unknowns. Would the big organizations dwarf the little guys? How would social media be activated to spread the word and reach new audiences? Would organizations be nimble enough to effectively mobilize their networks? To our surprise it was the small organizations that had the most success, and taken together, microdonations from across the nation represented significant sums for the winning causes.

Along with partners like Causes on Facebook, PARADE Magazine, Network for Good, and GlobalGiving, over the course of these two Giving Challenges we were able to mobilize nearly 200,000 people and nearly $4 million was raised for thousands of causes. Both Challenges were effective in helping the nonprofit sector become more skilled in its use of social media and they inspired other corporations and foundations to launch similar online contests. Following this work, the Case Foundation published findings and lessons learned, and worked closely with follow-on campaigns such as the Pepsi Challenge and days of giving that were popping up across the nation.

Ever since those early pioneering efforts, we have remained captivated by the idea that emerging technologies and tools can be leveraged to democratize philanthropy and provide new significance to the individual donor.

Over the years, both through the Case Foundation and through individual investments, we have encouraged “good” giving and have supported different ways to leverage technology to drive a social mission—including the very first DC Give to the Max Day, Causes on Facebook, Network for Good and MissionFish. Combined, Causes, Network for Good, and MissionFish alone represent more than $2 billion in crowdsourced contributions to the nonprofit sector.

These early online platforms and technologies provided a new way to increase opportunities to give by uniting people around causes that were close to their hearts and deepening their civic engagement. This was game-changing and has led to many innovations that have changed the way we give and give back.

In a few short years, online platforms like Network for Good, Crowdrise, Indiegogo, Razoo, Classy, and GlobalGiving have gained in popularity and have been instrumental in raising billions of dollars. Through these platforms and others like them, individuals could fund all kinds of inspiring causes and needs and, perhaps most importantly, catalyze civic action one donor at a time.

This is why we were intrigued to answer the question, “what’s next in online giving?”

At its Social Good Forum just a couple weeks ago, Facebook announced that users can now build their own fundraising pages that link the donate button to Facebook Live videos. Imagine being able to show, via live stream, your support for a cause while viewers donate in real time. The possibilities seem almost limitless. What’s nearly as exciting to us is that Facebook collaborated with our longstanding partner, Network for Good, to make this happen. It stands to reason that we will soon see fundraising on other social media platforms like Snapchat, which recently introduced Snapcash, and Twitter, which already allows for direct payments using $Cashtags.

And there may be no better example of the growing and transformative power of social media and the spirit of collaboration in philanthropy than #GivingTuesday. In 2015 alone 698,961 online donors raised $116.7m on #GivingTuesday, and #GivingTuesday continues to grow in size with a 52 percent year-over-year increase in online donations.

We’ve had the pleasure of being involved with #GivingTuesday from when it was just a concept being formulated by our friends at 92 Street Y and the United Nations Foundation. Since its inaugural year in 2012, we have been vocal supporters of the #GivingTuesday movement because it reflects our long-held belief in the importance of collective action.

While many look towards foundations, corporations and the government for resources, they often forget that 72 percent of giving in this country comes from individuals—and, if we’re ever going to see tipping points in addressing chronic and significant social problems it will require mobilization of the masses.

The good news is that online giving grew 9.2 percent in 2015 compared to 2014—we are seeing growing momentum in the mobilization of online donors. But I believe we have only scratched the surface. Just 7.1 percent of overall fundraising dollars are raised online. And when looking at the next generation of 80 million Millennials, we know that they primarily use digital technology such as websites, social media and mobile platforms to access information about and donate to causes and nonprofits, and that each platform plays a distinct role. And while giving offline will likely remain an important way to give for some time to come, we also must continue to leverage new technologies and data to make the process of giving even more convenient and rewarding.

If the past is any indication, we have an extraordinary opportunity ahead of us to further connect the passion of individuals ready to make a difference with new platforms, technologies and innovations that can help them do just that. This #GivingTuesday, each and every one of us has the opportunity to donate to the causes that matter most to us. Our hope is that the democratization of giving will be further strengthened in the days ahead and our communities made stronger as a result.

15 Blogs That Defined 2015 at the Case Foundation

Posted on January 6, 2016October 30, 2018 by Case Foundation

In 2015 we witnessed some dramatic events that drove the world to new heights and also brought the world closer together. The U.S. Embassy in Cuba was reopened, water was discovered on Mars and historic global agreements were reached on climate change and sustainable development goals. It was also a year of confronting some dramatic challenges — deadly earthquakes in Nepal, a refugee crisis from the Middle East and ongoing debates on race relations. The events that drive us forward, and those that hold us back from our full potential, remind us of the power of innovation, inclusion, compassion and civic engagement to build a better world for all. And while the tragic events of 2015 weigh heavily on our hearts and minds, the world we live in today is actually better educated, better fed, healthier and more free. One bright spot is that global poverty has more than halved since 1990 — change is happening! 2015 was a transformative year, and it helped each of us define how we could boldly make a difference in our world and remember the power of collective action in advancing social progress.

To cap off such a momentous year, we at the Case Foundation reflected on some of our own defining moments and the power of partnerships that enabled us to advance our goals. We reviewed the more than 100 pieces written by the Case Foundation team and identified the 15 posts that best define the past year for the Foundation. This list includes pieces that captured milestones, highlighted issues about which we care deeply and championed innovative solutions — all of which reflect our mission to invest in people and ideas that can change the world.

We kicked off the year with a bang, sharing a new look for our website and a wonderful video to inspire us to great things in 2015:

Welcome to Our New Website! By Allyson Burns and Brian Sasscer
Are You Ready to Change the World in 2015?

We also reimagined the mission of the Case Foundation through three pillars — Revolutionizing Philanthropy, Unleashing Entrepreneurship and Igniting Civic Engagement — which are the heart of everything we do and where we believe real impact can be made.

Introducing the Three Pillars of the Case Foundation By Jean Case

2015 was also a year for catalyzing movements, seeing momentum build in some areas and transitioning our involvement in others.

We saw great strides in Impact Investing:

A New Inning For Impact Investing (UPDATED) By Jean Case
Social Impact Bonds: Investing in Public-Private Partnerships at the National Level By Sean Tennerson

And worked to catalyze movements in inclusive entrepreneurship, kicking off our Myth of the Entrepreneur series, examining the stories and myths told about entrepreneurship in today’s startup culture:

Celebrating Inclusive Entrepreneurship at White House Demo Day By Jean Case
The Myth of the Entrepreneur By Sheila Herrling (And for a bonus, check out the complete series including posts by Sarah Koch, Allyson Burns and Erich Broksas)

Over the summer, we headed to Africa to meet and support incredible social entrepreneurs across the continent:

Unleashing Entrepreneurship in Africa: Solutions for the World By Allyson Burns, Sheila Herrling and Erich Broksas

And we closed a chapter as we saw UP Global become a part of Techstars:

A New Path for UP Global By Steve Case

2015 was also a great year to Be Fearless. We launched an updated version of the Be Fearless Action Guide, and we saw so many practitioners embracing the Be Fearless principles this year — taking risks, being bold and failing forward in pursuit of transformative impact in the social sector:

We sought to empower young changemakers and unlock the power of Millennials to do good:

Millennials And The Power Of Influence By Jean Case
Authenticity, Relevance and the Power of Business as a Force For Good: Inspiration For the 37,000 Changemakers at MCON 2015 By Sean Tennerson

And we closed out the year by celebrating the most generous #GivingTuesday on record:

116.7 Million Reasons to Celebrate #GivingTuesday By Jean Case
This #GivingTuesday, Give the Gift of Listening By Emily Yu

With 2015 now closed, I am keenly aware of the fact that even with all of the strides we have been able to make together over the course of the last 12 months… there is much, much more to be done. That together, we can Be Fearless and build a better world for each other. As we look to the start of a new year, I remain optimistic about the challenges and opportunities that we will face and know that our accomplishments together will reach even greater heights in the coming months. Thank you for coming along with us throughout 2015 and I look forward to sharing more moments of fearless change with you in 2016. Onward and upward!

116.7 Million Reasons to Celebrate #GivingTuesday

Posted on December 2, 2015October 30, 2018 by Case Foundation

Four years ago, a simple idea started circulating around the world — join with friends, family, colleagues and your community to give back during the holiday season. As a complement to the “spend, spend, spend” messages of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, could we set aside a day dedicated to giving your time, dollars and skills to organizations making a difference in communities at home and across the globe? Today, this idea — #GivingTuesday — has taken off and become a movement embraced by millions of people looking to expand the “season of giving” to include charitable causes. This movement has mobilized tens of millions of dollars toward deserving nonprofits, bringing together the powerful combination of everyday givers, countless organizations and major brands and celebrities.

Last year at the Case Foundation, we challenged ourselves — and the sector — to measure the collective reach of #GivingTuesday — starting with an estimate of total dollars donated to nonprofits during the 24-hour period. We recognized then, that while we couldn’t immediately measure the full impact the day had on nonprofits and their programming, we could bring increased awareness to the movement and the amount raised over the 24-hour period. Working in partnership with Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and five leading online donation platforms — Blackbaud, DonorPefect, GlobalGiving, Network for Good and Razoo — we estimated that nearly $46 million in donations were processed on #GivingTuesday in 2014.

With thanks to this pioneering set of partners, we learned a lot about the process of measuring this new, influential holiday and movement. We were pleased to take those learnings to a new level this year and partner with 92nd Street Y (92Y), the founders of #GivingTuesday, to expand this year’s measurement of the total dollars donated online and related activities on December 1, 2015. And we are pretty excited about the numbers we’re seeing.

Working with data from 24 online donation platforms, 92Y estimates that total online donations processed on #GivingTuesday more than doubled from 2014, to a staggering $116.7 million given by 698,961 online donors. These growing numbers are the cherry on top of a mountain of evidence that #GivingTuesday is a movement that is here to stay. The data found that the average amount donated by individuals was $107.47.

The success of #GivingTuesday is driven in large part by the huge social media effort and online giving campaigns from nonprofits, media partners, individuals and more. Over the course of the day, more than 1.3 million tweets mentioning the #GivingTuesday hashtag were shared. This was an increase of 86 percent from 2014. And the leading issues shared on social channels included education, environment, animals, healthcare and international affairs.

This year, several of the data providers also launched their own online challenges encouraging individuals to support a cause they cared about. PayPal matched one percent of every donation of $10 or more made through the PayPal Giving Fund and is currently running for the Guinness World Records™ title for the most money donated online for charity in 24 hours. GoodWorld, which facilitates donations directly on Facebook and Twitter with a hashtag, announced a $1 million match to charities. And the CrowdRise Giving Tower used virtual reality to show the collective impact of everyone giving back on #GivingTuesday reaching heights of more than 4,359 feet tall.

At the Case Foundation we have been long-time champions of the collective power of small gifts to make meaningful change in communities. We are thrilled to see the tremendous growth of the #GivingTuesday movement both online through donations shared and through the overall awareness the day raises for global issues. We are proud to partner this year with 92Y and share with you the making of another big bet that is revolutionizing philanthropy.

We invite you to check out our infographic below detailing highlights from the day. We hope you will share the results in celebration of the global movement that has united tens of thousands of partners and millions of individuals, businesses, communities and nonprofits in a day of giving back across the globe.

This #GivingTuesday, Give the Gift of Listening

Posted on December 1, 2015October 30, 2018 by Case Foundation

Happy #GivingTuesday! As we kick off this season of giving we invite you to join millions of other changemakers around the globe who are celebrating generosity and giving in support of the causes and organizations they care about the most. Now in its fourth year, #GivingTuesday shines a spotlight on the “gift of giving” and inspires charities, families, businesses, community centers and students alike to join together to give of themselves.

At the Case Foundation, we believe that there are enormous opportunities to give through time, talent and dollars, to accelerate social impact on this day, and every day of the year. In honor of #GivingTuesday 2015, we are excited to share with you a new type of “gift” designed to bring people together this holiday season to explore the power of giving—the gift of listening.

This year, the Case Foundation has teamed up with NPR Generation Listen to launch the first ever NPR Listening Party Kit: Giving Edition. This free kit is designed to empower any number of people, from two to fifty, to gather in a more intimate setting, listen to public radio storytelling and discuss ideas surfaced through these stories. This special Giving Edition includes a curated collection of NPR stories that inspire dialogue around why people give, the future of philanthropy and people’s personal stories of giving.

Here’s an example of one of the stories specially curated for this kit:

Research Suggests Generosity Is Hardwired Into Our Brains
David Greene,
Morning Edition

You’ll find everything you need to plan and host your own NPR Listening Party—we’ve even included conversation prompts, food and drink recipes and more to make sure you and your guests have an enriching and entertaining experience.

NPR Generation Listen focuses on the next generation of younger public radio listeners, but anyone who values being informed, conscious and curious about the world around them will be sure to enjoy this special edition listening kit. We hope you will embrace the power of storytelling and connect with friends, family and colleagues around the theme of giving. Together you can take action and find new ways to give of yourself—whether through a donation, volunteering or listening and sharing this kit with others.

Download the free kit now: https://bit.ly/NPRListeningKit.

We hope you’ll share your stories, photos and videos from your own listening party with us on Twitter using #NPRListeningParty.

And… stay tuned on Wednesday, December 2, as we will share how many millions of dollars were donated online on #GivingTuesday! Last year we released the first ever tally of the total dollars donated by five major online giving partners. We estimated that nearly $46 million in donations were processed on #GivingTuesday in 2014. Tomorrow, we will take those learnings to a new level as we partner with 92nd Street Y (92Y), the founders of #GivingTuesday, to fund this year’s measurement of the total dollars donated and more on December 1, 2015. So be on the look out for our infographic and data from 50 online data partners.

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