Donations: the new ways to give

New technologies are changing the way people give. Although cheques and charitable collections are far from having bowed out of giving, the France Générosités union has identified new ways of giving that are full of promise. While until recently donations were mainly made by older, qualified people and believers in religion, this no longer seems to be the case. Half of all donations are now made by people under the age of 35. For most of these donors, donations are made on the Internet via crowdfunding sites or online kitchens to finance various projects or social structures.

Focus on six of these (re)inventions.

The growing popularity of cashless
This technology, which arrived on some smartphones a few years ago, is set to change the payment lines. As a result, a number of ATMs are closing every day around the world. In France, an average of three are affected each day.

So the question arises: if the circulation of banknotes decreases, what will happen to informal street donations? In the Netherlands, initiatives by social economy organisations are also innovative. In Amsterdam, a cashless donation system has been set up to help people experiencing homelessness. It remains to be seen whether this initiative will help these people more than the previously conventional forms of donation.

Voice assistants and fundraising
In 2018, the Telethon offered to make donations via Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant. In short, by making a request to this object (or sometimes even to a smartphone), it is possible to make a donation quickly. This is a recent initiative, but one that broadens the possibilities for donations, although the majority of households are still far from having a voice assistant, both for ethical reasons and because of their limited usefulness. Nevertheless, these new forms of donation seem to have already borne fruit, since this practice seems to have been perpetuated over time by the organisations using it.

A supermarket alley in the city of Recife, Brazil (illustrative photo) 

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Social networks: influence and donations
The recent introduction of donation buttons on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok have raised several billion euros. This money will then be donated to associations working for an emergency fund in the fight against Covid-19, in vaccine research or in the financing of hospitals.

Nevertheless, although installed in 2015, the donation buttons on these networks have especially gained ground in 2020 following the various crises. Thus, many influencers have used their fame to benefit oppressed minorities, the fight against deforestation or to help the Red Cross.
The networks also offer other original formats such as free donations. Surprising as it may seem, the principle is simple: watch a video ad to fund a social action.

A donation through video games
Video games were a way to mobilise during the 2020 confinements. Indeed, millions of euros were raised by the mobilisation of professional gamers via the Twitch platform. The donations raised were then donated to charities such as the Pasteur Institute. In 2020, Twitch raised nearly 80 million euros in donations through non-profit gaming sessions.

Gamers talking at a conference during the Gamescom,

a event focused on video games in Cologne, Germany

Source: Wikimedia Commons

These are many innovations that prove that donation will be more than ever as local as it is rapid in its form. Other innovative forms also create a more personal and playful link in giving, such as video games. In short, donation still has a bright future ahead of it.

This article is not intended to be an editorial promoting the platforms and organisations mentioned here. The values of the Social Good Accelerator are in fact the very opposite of those of some of the platforms mentioned here. Nevertheless, in the interest of plurality and the promotion of innovative tools that these platforms can put in place, SOGA hopes that these innovations will allow even more social and revolutionary initiatives to take root.
In its vision of digital transition for social and solidarity organisations, the association wishes to make donations accessible via other existing and innovative means, making philanthropy accessible to all, and on various scales.

Sources:

– Usbek et Rica, Chaise à don, caritative gaming, crypto-philanthropie… : 6 manières d’être généreux qui ont de l’avenir, France Générosités, 2021

First renewed board of the Social Good Accelerator

On August 25th, the newly elected Board of Directors was unanimously elected on June 30th at the Ordinary General Assembly. This first meeting came at a real turning point for the association. It was an opportunity to discuss these key issues for the SOGA and its busy agenda.

Plural, complementary and militant
This is how the new SOGA Board of Directors sees itself. The 20 directors all have a unique profile based on diverse and committed backgrounds and experiences. Some of them were members of the last Board of Directors, while new faces have joined this diverse team. This was also highlighted during the individual presentations of each Board member.

Indeed, between more legal profiles, others more focused on associative activism or CSR and cooperativism, the board of directors of the association wants to be more diverse than ever in order to pool all its strengths and what its members have to offer.

A brand newly elected executive board
After this time of presentation given to all the members of the board, a new bureau was proposed and elected. Laura Frantz and Sylvain Reymond did not renew their candidacies for the respective positions of treasurer and vice-president in view of their already numerous commitments. As a result, Jeanne Bretécher was re-elected as President and Gabriela Martin as Vice-President in charge of public affairs. Lila Senta-Loÿs was elected to the position of treasurer, to be replaced by Jérôme Giusti, who will take over as secretary. The positions that were up for grabs were filled by the new board, which was elected unanimously and now consists of four members in total.

The Board of Directors then unanimously approved the hiring of two. This decision marks an important step for the association, as it now has its first salaried team, almost three and a half years after its creation. The two former interns will be in charge of community and public affairs respectively, and will be active in the association’s future projects.

Finally, a restructuring of the functioning of the association has been decided. Firstly, five working groups will share the work of the organisation (Public Affairs, Research, European Community, Development and Partnerships, Skills). Within each of these groups, a college of administrators will be formed, which will steer and focus the work of the working group if necessary. This new way of working would allow a more important place to be given to the administrators, who will be able to bring a certain expertise in their preferred fields. In addition to this, this restructuring will create an even stronger dynamic through the collegial functioning of the working groups, which, it should be remembered, any member of the association can join.

Relevant links:

– The details of the executive board and the board of administrators