Innovation in Giving

Age Old Problems and Young Ideas

Helen Goulden - 21.09.2012

The report today from the Charities Aid Foundation is an important contribution to the work to increase giving amongst younger people.

Our work on this began when we launched the Innovation in Giving Fund in September 2011. As the report from CAF points out, levels of giving from that under 30s is six times less than those over the age of sixty.

There could be many reasons behind this, from a fall in disposable incomes during the economic downturn to the increase in student debts which young people now carry far into their working life. It could be because society is evolving in a way that allows us to seek out what we want to see, and quickly filter out what we don't. It might be because younger people don't trip over volunteering or giving opportunities, and when they do those opportunities don't chime and align with their availability, their interests or their skills. But, as the report points out, it is no longer something which we can be complacent about. It is a call to action to innovate and find new ways of giving skills, time and resources as well as money. We believe that the Cabinet Office's Innovation in Giving Fund can help contribute to this shift so that more young people see giving as a part of their daily lives.  

Nesta's own work in this area has shown the work that needs to be done as well as the potential that is available. Our recent survey showed that people increasingly recognise the impact that community initiatives can have as the appetite for volunteering time, skills and resources grows: less than a quarter of people volunteered to community action projects in the last year, yet a third plan to in the next year. This was even more pronounced for those aged 18-24, where over 40% of young people intend to volunteer in the community in the next year.    

To achieve this step change we have backed forty game-changing organisations that are bringing giving into the 21st Century. Timto, the service that brings charitable giving to the heart of children's birthday parties; Blue Dot that speaks loudly to a younger audience through offering rewards and 'thank yous' for social action through offering access to exclusive content, backstage passes - and other tangible rewards that are providing a critical first hook into getting younger people to give.

We think one of the biggest opportunities is to embed giving in everyday habits and routines; offering low-barrier routes to giving.  Pennies has developed electronic money box, making it easier for shoppers to give a few pennies every time they buy online. Guess2Give allows anyone taking part in an event to setup a sweepstake to raise money for charity; introducing competition, banter, fun and a bit of gaming into the act of giving.  

As budgets get tighter, it is also important not just to concentrate on the money given. We are backing a number of exciting ventures that are completely changing how we give time. The Good Gym makes it easy for people to combine exercise with doing good in their local community.  The DoNation is a new form of sponsorship that replaces cash with action, enabling people to actively engage their friends in doing social action and environmental good. And in the Autumn we'll see the launch of even more innovations that lift giving into a new cultural space; one that's less associated with giving as a passive act and more rooted in reciprocity and popular culture.

As younger people - and some not so young - increasingly share more and more of their lives online, we think there is a big opportunity to encourage the sharing of the good we do too; giving credibility and visibility to the social action we take; and through making this visible, encourage our peers to give more too. Innovations like Givey uses social technologies like sms and twitter to encourage people to support the causes they care about, track the impact they're having and connect with other people who also want to make a difference.   These are just some of the ideas that we need to promote if we want to re-engage young people with giving. A significant number of these organisations are early stage, led by young and passionate entrepreneurs. They have a strong sense of what younger people want, and how they want to give and are shouldering the risks associated with innovating on behalf of a whole sector. And the 600+ applications we have received through the fund show the massive appetite out there to bring more people into the habit of giving.