GiveASip

The Problem

Everyday donors face an array of challenges in the existing giving process.

1) They must navigate through a vast sea of causes & organizations; evidence shows that the complexity of choice can trap individuals into inaction. 2) Donors also face difficulties in identifying reliable & trustworthy grassroots locally-led orgs. 3) This issue of trust is compounded since people tend to donate in infrequent bulk amounts, rather than in regular small doses. 4) In addition to being done in lump sums, donating is also primarily seasonal or in response to particular tragedies; it is usually not a habit. 5) The seasonality of giving makes many smaller orgs dependent on the funds they raise during peak seasons; if unable to garner enough funding, these initiatives will struggle to operate and may even shut down.

The previous three issues (3-5) can be attenuated if individuals donate in frequent small doses, so why don’t they do so? 6) Some believe that donating small amounts doesn’t make a difference. 7) Research shows that this belief is reinforced when donation portals have relatively high suggested or required donation amounts. 8) Yet, even for individuals that know small donations matter, frequently donating small amounts is hard to sustain. People are busy and if donating isn’t an easy process, it is hard to do regularly.

Any durable solution to these issues must simplify the giving process and should reframe donating as a habit, like drinking coffee. *Enter GiveASip*

The End-Users

GiveASip was created for everyday donors. In fact, it was created for one specific everyday donor – me. This past summer, with the world on fire, I caught myself getting stuck in “analysis paralysis” trying to optimize my donations. To escape this trap, I decided to try donating the cost of a cup of coffee every day to different causes & organizations. Since I would only be donating a few bucks, I wouldn’t have to worry about finding the “best” org. However, I quickly found that there wasn’t any good way to donate small amounts daily to a mix of causes & orgs, particularly local grassroots initiatives. Manually donating everyday became tedious and it wasn’t a durable solution. One morning, while in the shower (where good ideas are born), I decided to create an app that could meet my needs since they aren’t unique. GiveASip’s origin story shows that end-users have always been central to its development. The app is designed to make it easier for everyday people across the world to donate small amounts frequently to global & grassroots orgs which serve a variety of causes, especially underrepresented ones. Although anybody with a smartphone or laptop could benefit from the app, this solution is especially suited for younger generations–Millennials & Gen Z–who grew up in the App economy and who tend to be more active in social issues. We will initially focus on English speaking audiences, but the app can be scaled up globally and adapted to diverse cultural contexts.

The Innovation

GiveASip was created for everyday donors. In fact, it was created for one specific everyday donor – me. This past summer, with the world on fire, I caught myself getting stuck in “analysis paralysis” trying to optimize my donations. To escape this trap, I decided to try donating the cost of a cup of coffee every day to different causes & organizations. Since I would only be donating a few bucks, I wouldn’t have to worry about finding the “best” org. However, I quickly found that there wasn’t any good way to donate small amounts daily to a mix of causes & orgs, particularly local grassroots initiatives. Manually donating everyday became tedious and it wasn’t a durable solution. One morning, while in the shower (where good ideas are born), I decided to create an app that could meet my needs since they aren’t unique. GiveASip’s origin story shows that end-users have always been central to its development. The app is designed to make it easier for everyday people across the world to donate small amounts frequently to global & grassroots orgs which serve a variety of causes, especially underrepresented ones. Although anybody with a smartphone or laptop could benefit from the app, this solution is especially suited for younger generations–Millennials & Gen Z–who grew up in the App economy and who tend to be more active in social issues. We will initially focus on English speaking audiences, but the app can be scaled up globally and adapted to diverse cultural contexts.

The Impact

GiveASip has three particular areas it impacts. 1) By framing donations in prices of common coffee drinks, GiveASip makes donating more palatable which can bring in new donors into the giving space. The app also builds users’ confidence that their small donations matter by providing them with impact reports biweekly. This confidence boost is also matched with an actual increase in the users’ total impact; by habituating giving small doses frequently, users end up donating more in total according to research. 2) More specifically, by connecting donors to curated grassroots local initiatives, GiveASip will increase the total amount donated to local & community-led groups, which heavily rely on contributions from everyday donors. Since the users’ donations don’t just come during giving seasons, they will help smooth the revenue streams for these local grassroots organizations. 3) Lastly, GiveASip will diversify the set of causes that everyday donors give towards by connecting users to different causes every two weeks. Because many of these causes may not receive much press coverage, GiveASip will educate everyday donors on a wide range of issues from around the world and provide users with resources they can share with their friends to spread awareness. Furthermore, by having users choose their drink before their blend, the app will normalize donating to causes that users may not have any direct connections to. The GiveASip team hopes that this can spark more compassion.