Blockchain for social impact and reaching the Sustainable Development Goals
At the 2016 United Nations General Assembly meeting, the world’s leaders adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs provide a shared set of objectives and common measures for attaining economic and social progress, broken down by thematic area and geographic region. The goals will run until 2030 and they cover many of the most pressing issues of our age including: poverty; climate change; gender justice and food security. Since that historic meeting in September 2016, governments, business and not for profit organisations have all aligned their impact and development activities with the SDGs.
This is an unprecedented level of collaboration and shared progress on social impact. For the first time there is a common language and benchmark for assessing progress on sustainable development issues. What this enable is more effective long term planning, greater co-operation and transparency.
Within the not for profit sector in particular, organisations of all sizes, from international NGOs to grassroots community groups, have launched new strategies that are closely linked with the SDGs. The focus now shifts to fundraising and then to implementation. Fundraising keeps most not for profit leaders awake at night. In a for profit company, revenue generation is pretty straight forward in that it is driven by market forces and sales of the product or services on offer. In contrast the market price for not for profits is not so obvious and often times sales revenue is zero or does not cover the costs of running the organisation. This means that the not for profit needs to solicit donations through fundraising activities. These activities would be akin to sales and marketing activities in a for profit company.
Many not for profits face great scrutiny over what they spend on marketing, yet they are under substantial pressure to meet very ambitious fundraising targets. For profit businesses can justifiably spend up to 50% of their revenues on sales and marketing activities, while not for profits need to justify every dollar spent to their donors and in some cases face restrictions from regulatory bodies. There is therefore a strong requirement for effective fundraising, with a necessary focus on activities that have the highest return on investment for every marketing dollar spent.
Social impact fundraising made easy with Impact Geons
GEON Network is a new blockchain based augmented reality and location application that allows anyone to create virtual objects called Geons. These Geons can be placed anywhere in the world and used to receive and store a virtual currency — the Geon coin. There are multiple use cases for this platform, for example restaurants can structure location based marketing campaigns that attract new customers to their site. The GEON network has a bespoke offering for not for profits and other organisations championing social causes, Impact Geons.
Verified and registered non-governmental organisations can access the GEON Network and set up localised beacons that people can deposit virtual coins in. Imagine a fundraising campaign for an environmental not for profit that engages members of the public in a fun game where they can learn and donate.
Through GEON Network, an NGO that educates children in third world countries can reduce their fundraising cost by setting up a GEON at each partner school, in this way donors from anywhere in the world can donate directly that school’s GEON. Currently, people donating to such an organisation would need to first give the money to the NGO or another intermediary, often located in a different country, this contribution is then pooled with other donations before being transferred to the beneficiary’s school.
Measuring impact
Blockchain increases efficiency and minimises the chance for fraudulent behaviours and practices with any number of business activities including not for profit fundraising, service procurement and stakeholder engagement. Trust is a critical factor that is directly correlated to a not for profit’s fundraising potential. By leveraging blockchain based solutions like the Geon Network, not for profit leaders can increase the transparency of their fundraising activities and increase their public trust.
There are very low transaction costs associated with impact Geons. In conventional fundraising, there is a cost linked to every step of the activity chain. This includes setting up the fundraising activity, paying service providers and the bank fees associated with moving money across borders and currencies. These costs dilute the effectiveness of every dollar that is donated. With GEON Network, the chain from giver to beneficiary can be as little as one step, maximising the utility of the donation.
Unleashing creativity
Augmented reality has unlocked creativity in gaming, in social media, and in motion picture production. Impact Geons extend this avenue for amplifying creativity to the social impact space. Virtual reality can be used to gamify fundraising activities, to heighten urgency in a way that reduces lag times, and to foster bonds between donors and beneficiaries.
A 2017 study on the motivators of charitable giving identified eight factors that propel individuals to give money. One key motivator was evidence of the credibility of the beneficiaries of the donation. Thus, not for profit fundraisers can use GEON Network to powerfully demonstrate the causes they support, giving donors a direct link to beneficiaries in a way that engenders trust and increases funds raised.
The global adoption of the SDGs is heartening and unprecedented. Savvy not for profits can leverage this shared impact measurement approach to significantly enhance their operations including program impact monitoring and fundraising. Platforms such as GEON Network present the most creative not for profit leaders with the opportunity to deliver compelling, engaging and successful brand building and fundraising campaigns.
We will need greater adoption of platforms that increase efficiency, enhance collaboration and increase impact will be vital to ensure that the world attains its goals by 2030.
*Wadzi Katsidzira is an MLG contributor, writing educational content on the blockchain industry. Opinions expressed are entirely my own and in no way an endorsement of the companies or products referenced.
