The Science of Giving: how consistent efforts add up to significant impact

At Vitality, we align with a number of charitable organisations through our MoveToGive programme, which allows our members, if they wish, to donate their Discovery Miles (our rewards currency) to important causes rather than spend them on personal rewards, like coffees, smoothies, shopping or travel.

I’m so proud that Vitality members recently reached R15 million in funds raised since the inception of MoveToGive in 2016, including a massive R1 million towards Gift of the Givers’ efforts this year alone.

Since we launched MoveToGive, members have donated towards a variety of causes: improving education, alleviating poverty and hunger, flood relief and addressing water shortages though hundreds of organisations in South Africa. These include the Dis-Chem Foundation’s Million Comforts campaign which provides sanitary material to young girls in need, the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s Each 1 Feed 1 initiative, CHOC (which supports those affected by childhood cancer), and the South African Guide-Dogs Association for the Blind, to name just a few. The Discovery Fund matches donations to amplify the impact.

The milestone is significant because it shows how powerful small, good deeds can be collectively. And it further reinforces my sense of hope and optimism.

An example of what we can do, together

What is unique about Vitality MoveToGive is that funds are raised through crowd-sourced philanthropy. It is accessed through Vitality Active Rewards, our gamified physical activity platform which uses micro incentives and instant gratification to encourage positive behaviour. Members can earn valuable rewards each week if they meet their exercise, driving and financial wellbeing goals – and these regular incentives help to build healthy exercise habits for members of the programme.  

Simply, it means your 5km run or gym workout can translate into a meal, a care pack or handwashing solutions for someone in need.

We’ve seen that when thousands of members each donate small amounts to a common cause, they create a huge impact. As a business that aims to be a force for good, Vitality partners with charitable organisations, and then enables small donations to be made with a few taps in our Discovery mobile app. Essentially, this removes many barriers to giving – including decision-making, cost (by using our rewards currency instead of cash), limitations on time and ease of use.

For example, after the devastating flooding in KwaZulu-Natal earlier this year, Vitality members were able to support the Gift of the Givers relief efforts almost immediately. Matched by the Discovery Fund we raised about R900,000 in just three weeks. The altruism is heart-warming, especially because we know that these selfless rewards could have been monetised or used for personal rewards instead.  

Shared value in action

The data-informed trends show the immense power of collective giving and how small contributions work toward a greater goal.

Recognising just how much work there is to be done in our country and in the world, perhaps the proactive approach is to innovate around how to create change and impact in whichever big or small ways that we can – including donating the rewards of your daily exercise.

At Discovery, we embrace a model that allows us to be a force for good – we call it the Shared-value Insurance model. Simply, it means that we champion efforts which benefit the individual, greater society and the business. 

This is how Vitality tackles ill health from physical inactivity: rewarding our members for moving more at an individual level and at a societal level (by creating inclusive groups that promote exercise through parkruns, our Run Series events and our running and cycling club, Team Vitality). This makes people and ultimately society healthier. It also reduces the cost of medical interventions. The combined rewards are shared value in action.

The same goes for initiatives outside our business, like Fire Force, our emergency fire response service from Anton Ossip and the Discovery Insure team. It also includes Pothole Patrol, a collaboration between Discovery Insure, The City of Johannesburg and Dialdirect Insurance, who work together to repair potholes across Johannesburg. When insurers start tackling the Herculean task of repairing road infrastructure, it makes our roads safer, assists the city with quick action and reduces pothole-related accident claims in the long run.

Shared value is an inventive model for business – and for life. I encourage you to think about how you could apply this model to drive the change you want to see in South Africa. If it starts with you donating your Discovery Miles to charitable causes, I want to use this platform to thank you. I hope you know that even a little goes a long way when we go together.