Charity NEEDS Innovation!

The state of the Charity Sector

As humans, we often focus ourselves on our daily tasks way too much. Usually to the point we block out ALL other events around us. This virtue is why we have evolved into such a progressive creature, always refining our goals and in what way we deliver success of these goals. But, this focus we have comes with limitations.

We seem to fail at viewing the world around us in a macro light, rather focusing on micro equations of our lives. For this reason alone, I believe we need to stop what we are doing and give some thought to the bigger picture.

The Charity Sector is one that is guilty of this lack of macro perspective. Sure, everyone is focused on the goals at hand but what are the main goals from this industry?

1. To find aid from anywhere possible.
2. Take this aid, and distribute it amongst those that the organization believes is important.
3. Rinse and Repeat.

One could argue there are many more steps and emotions involved but simply put, this is the Charity model today.

The Industry as a whole sees over 460 billion dollars in contributions annually. Lets break that down further with what little reporting information is available.

1. Religious Organizations see over 29% of ALL Charitable contributions in the World. See here. Over 39% in the US is religious donations. Reporting by the Church is low and have seen discrepancies in the figure of donations giving back by the Church remains unseen.
2. Individual donations globally increase slightly each year to around 301 billion in 2021. However, one could argue this has NOT actually increased in real terms as inflation of the fiat currencies could also constitute the slight increase in dollar amount. The actual rate of donation has NOT changed over time but may indeed be decreasing.
3. Online giving has doubled year after year since 2017. Face to face fundraising will continue to slow as more generations start to adopt online giving. Technologies such as Charity Token are going to change the way people give.
4. Millennials contribute 11% of the total US contributions. Regardless of how you view the younger generations, they are certainly one the most charitable.
5. One third of all charitable giving by individuals is by the lower income bracket sub $50k. Step it up wealthy!

There are over 3 million registered Charities in the world yet we only ever hear of a few, why is that?

1. In the US alone, the top 400 Charities receive $1 out of ever $4. Small Charities are struggling and the big ones are NOT sharing!
2. In 1970, 200,000 Non-Profits opened up yet only 144 ever made it to 50 million in annual revenue. THIS SCREAMS INEQUALITY!

Currently, we are seeing a larger demand for services and less funding. The old model is failing. This is because people are tightening their belts and being more savvy when it comes to spending. Well almost...

Incentivization...A new approach to giving

Charity, unfortunately is the first to be cut from personal budgets when economic conditions worsen. However, we find in modern times that many still have impulses to shop and purchase items they don't even need! Just look at some of these statistics.

1. Over 60% of US citizens spend more than they make.
2. Consumer spending makes up for over 70% of ALL spending in the US.
3. The average US consumer spends more than $18,000 on items they do NOT need!

So while Charity is low on individuals priorities, they cant help but be impulsive and spend. The need to spend often comes from "feel good" chemicals like dopamine that release when you purchase. This feeling becomes addictive giving us micro hits everytime we spend. This is why donating feels so good, but the struggle people face is what they see for their dollar.

Traditionalists argue that Charity SHOULD be one way, and while I am inclined to agree, the simple fact is many are not motivated to do something for nothing these days. People are becoming more independent and reclusive. Neighbors don't talk anymore and strangers don't help you much these days. This requires a direct and personal approach to addressing, one that the traditional ways of fundraising cannot.

Charity Token - A call for change!

Charity Token aims to tackle these problems. With technology innovations within the financial industry, we now have the ability to inject money and aid right into the communities that need it most!

The platform we have built is quite unique and utilizes blockchain technology to change the way charitable money is distributed. We use the principles of decentralized finance to move value cross border without limitations set by traditional banking rails.

We use what is called a "token economy". The reason we chose to use a cryptocurrency is because of the flexibility tokens can give to the platform. For example, we are able to share the donations and transaction fees with the token holders. This incentivizes individuals to become stakeholders of Charity. The incentives comes not only from a small payment of fees but also the potential rise in price of the Charity Tokens.

Our mobile app is built to be a way to donate directly in a p2p fashion. We don't limit donating to just Charities but other individuals as well. The potential to profit has been one that has enticed people to join in since the dawn of time, why would we not try this approach with Charity?

Until recent innovations in technology, issuing a reward or incentivizing people to take part in an industry that needs as much money as it can get was tough. But today, we are seeing an adoption of digital assets that people are seeing value in and this is where Charity can truly benefit!

This is not about giving away precious donations, this is about taking the costs associated with marketing, money collections and fundraising, and using this % to incentivize a much great participation rate in the sector. Once we see an influx of "new money" within the platform, it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy in the way that a share of the new money is paying forward the incentive to participate. Simply put...why wouldn't you use 7% in the way of investment to bring in more funds, its identical to a marketing budget but instead of one company seeing all of the money, the funds are distributed to the community that will inevitably tell more people to join.

The platform is also a world stage for small charities. With over 3 million worldwide and NO central and universal place for them to fundraise. They are simply left to apply for grants which come inconsistently. We are making a simple and central place for them to to be heard!

Our company behind the platform will be working with Investors and Grant makers from private Charities and Companies to make p2p grants a reality. We will be packaging Charities together in way that can be sold to wealthy philanthropic Individuals. Grant making is made easy via our token economy. We are aiming to become a full service to small Charities including marketing, web services and grant making.

Final words

The future is not known, but one thing is certain...the economic situation around the world will continue to worsen until we reach a bottom. This will be the collapse of the USD as the world reserve currency. (another story). However, change in the greater charity model must start to take place if we want a fighting chance at success.

When I hear statistics like "20 billion dollars could solve world hunger" it makes me question the reason why it still exists! Where does the money go? I believe we need to stop, step back and think big picture for just a brief moment before refocusing ourselves.

Together we can change the world, but no without direction. The top Charities have had a long time to produce results but yet 25% of the world populous has fallen through the big fingers. Its time we empower those smaller organizations on the ground to change the world!