a different kind of company
A Different Kind Of Company
Helping Businesses Help the World
As a for-profit company with a philanthropic product, Benevity is a different kind of company.
Some call it "social entrepreneurship", "entrepreneurial philanthropy" or "creative capitalism". We call it trying to make a living and a difference at the same time. Because we strive to build absolute trust and credibility with our corporate partners, their membership, and the non-profit community, it is important for us to make our business model, fee structure, and operating principles as transparent as possible.
We need to make a profit as a business, but that is not our only bottom line.
Changing the Landscape
Most non-profit organizations face a daunting challenge: as government spending is increasingly focused on healthcare and larger high-profile charities, many non-profits find themselves struggling to survive in a donor-driven environment. Larger charities are typically better known, have more professional staff, and have larger volunteer and support bases. Many smaller charities in our communities rely completely on volunteers to undertake fundraising efforts, and don't have the technology or resources to engage potential donors cost-effectively. When they engage professional fundraisers, they often end up with only pennies from each dollar donated. Even when they do it themselves, each dollar raised typically costs around $1.25 through direct-mail, or $0.63 through telemarketing.
The situation faced by most non-profit organizations heightens the importance of individual donors. Many people have the perception that only the wealthy can donate and make a difference. We know this perception is wrong. Small donations have a cumulative effect and everyone can have the opportunity to experience the satisfaction of giving. The aggregation of many smaller individual donations can be far more effective than the impact of any single large donation.
See Facts Relating to Corporate Giving
Traditionally, charities have relied on a small support base to survive. The top one-quarter of donors provided 82% of the value of all donations and the top 10% accounted for 62% of all donations. (Source: Caring Canadians, Involved Canadians: Highlights from the 2004 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating, Statistics Canada, June 2006).
Individuals are a huge part of the philanthropic puzzle. Of the $300 Billion given to non-profits in the U.S. in 2007, only 5.1% came from corporations and their Foundations (Analysis conducted by "Giving USA", 2007). Canada's percentages are comparable.
Online is the place people want to be: Although still less than 3% of total giving, online giving is growing exponentially; from $250 million in 2000 to more than $6.9 Billion in 2006 (e-Philanthropy Report)
Online donors contribute more: They give in total (both online and offline) 50% more than donors who do not give online (Kinterra/Luth Nonprofit Trend Report).
Easy = Effective: In the January 2008 Keystone Report of online philanthropy markets, 92% of respondents cited convenience as the reason they choose to give online.
Matching programs increase total donations: The existence of a matching gift increases total donation response rates by more than 20% (Analysis conducted by Giving USA, 2007)
At Benevity, we envision people from all walks of life being presented with unobtrusive opportunities to give to the causes that resonate with them through all nature of on-line interactions. We envision a web where users choose the nature, frequency and depth of the relationship they have with those causes.
The Benevity embedded giving platform is the tool to effect this change. It is accessible to any charity that is registered with the CRA or IRS, and no pre-registration or other formality is required. Smaller non-profits pay the same low fundraising fee (as little as $0.07 to raise $1 donation) as the larger organizations.