Givealittle grows hugely under Telecom Foundation ownership

Givealittle grows hugely under Telecom Foundation ownership

Online fundraising website Givealittle.co.nz celebrates its first anniversary as a “zero fees” platform under Telecom Foundation ownership this week – with more money raised in the past year than in the previous five years put together.

Since November 2012, Givealittle has facilitated $3.4 million donations to almost 1,500 beneficiaries (both charities and individual causes). In the past week all-time donations on Givealittle passed $6 million, while last month (October), Givealittle had its best month ever, with $630,000 raised.

Givealittle was established six years ago by social entrepreneur Nathalie Whitaker, as a simple solution to applying crowdfunding techniques to fundraising.

When the Telecom Foundation purchased Givealittle last year, it changed to a “zero fees” model – meaning that 100% of every donation gets to the nominated charity or individual cause. Under the previous fee based model, a 5% administration fee was charged (as still happens with most other similar platforms).

Lynne Le Gros, General Manager Telecom Foundation says: “We’re very proud to be powering Givealittle and are thrilled with its outstanding growth. It’s become a core element of the Foundation’s commitment to encourage generosity among New Zealanders. Like many Kiwi businesses, Givealittle was a start-up that had incredible potential and needed additional investment to help it move to the next stage. As with any online platform, there’s a need to keep improving the functionality and experience. We’re investing around $800,000 each year to ensure Givealittle continues to be a great place to give. And zero fees really do seem to make a difference!”

“During the past year Givealittle has powered the fundraising for charities, Kiwis fundraising on behalf of charities and individuals. Following the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan we’ve seen a number of collections set up by both charities and corporates. Because it’s easy to use and also easy for people to spread the word to their networks, we’re seeing some amazing results in very quick time periods.”

Recent examples include cancer sufferer Jared Noel, who raised $167,000 for treatment to keep alive for the birth of his daughter, and a fan-based campaign to help Team New Zealand compete for the next America’s Cup, which raised $166,000.

“Jared’s initial fundraising goal of $60,000 was achieved in just six hours through social networking, and then powered up another notch when it appeared in the mainstream media,” commented Lynne.

ENDS

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