Creator / originator

GiveIndia.

Summary / objectives

As part of the ‘Joy of Giving’ week, GiveIndia organised the India Giving Challenge, an online fundraising competition, involving both charities and companies. All organisations were invited to raise as much as possible in order to stand a chance of winning a matched grant from GiveIndia’s matching pool of fifty lakh rupees (approximately one million dollars). With this added incentive, GiveIndia were not only able to create a wide ranging fundraising campaign, they also successfully created a community approach to online giving.

Background

This event demonstrated GiveIndia’s awareness of the culture of giving within India – that donors often require a sense of urgency before they make a gift and also that charities are constantly seeking new ways to engage with their donor networks. The India Giving Challenge addressed these two important issues. The competitive element of the challenge provided charities with a new reason to communicate with their existing donors and the inclusion of companies in the challenge also opened the door to new connections and contacts.

The competition had four categories of winners, giving a greater chance of winning and more motivation to those taking part. For companies, the event was an ideal opportunity to show off their CSR policies and for employee fundraising. For charities, it was an excellent opportunity to re-engage with existing donors and find new ones. Winners from each category were promised matching grants from GiveIndia.

All registered organisations were able to create their own giving pages using iGive – an online fundraising tool provided by GiveIndia. Additionally, workshops were held for corporate volunteer groups and charities to explain the concept of online giving by providing examples of best practice.

Special characteristics

This event demonstrated GiveIndia’s awareness of the culture of giving within India – that donors often require a sense of urgency before they make a gift and also that charities are constantly seeking new ways to engage with their donor networks. The India Giving Challenge addressed these two important issues. The competitive element of the challenge provided charities with a new reason to communicate with their existing donors and the inclusion of companies in the challenge also opened the door to new connections and contacts.

The competition had four categories of winners, giving a greater chance of winning and more motivation to those taking part. For companies, the event was an ideal opportunity to show off their CSR policies and for employee fundraising. For charities, it was an excellent opportunity to re-engage with existing donors and find new ones. Winners from each category were promised matching grants from GiveIndia.

All registered organisations were able to create their own giving pages using iGive – an online fundraising tool provided by GiveIndia. Additionally, workshops were held for corporate volunteer groups and charities to explain the concept of online giving by providing examples of best practice.

Influence / impact

Approximately, 15 companies and one hundred charities participated in the competition, raising a total of 9,141,541 rupees from 5127 donors. The winning company, WNS, raised 1,278,087 rupees from 3163 donors. The winning charity, Parivaar Education Society, raised 2,045,266 rupees from 81 donors. Both organisations were awarded grants by GiveIndia for their achievements.

Costs

The main cost of this event was the matched pool of funds that GiveIndia used to motivate participants. These funds came from previous donations to GiveIndia from individual donors. Operational costs were kept as low as possible by using volunteers to work with all organisations taking part in the event, providing advice and support where needed.

Results

The India Giving Challenge raised more than nine million rupees. Following its success, GiveIndia used the same format to conduct the India Tax Saving Challenge in March 2010. GiveIndia plans to make the challenge an annual event.

Merits

By harnessing a competitive element to fundraising, GiveIndia were able to provide a new and unusual opportunity for all involved. For charities, it was an excellent opportunity to connect with existing donors and to create new networks of supporters. For companies, it provided a new motivation for employee fundraising. In most competitions, a few will win and many will lose. With the India Giving Challenge, all participating organisations stood to win from it.