What is 121Giving?
121Giving is an online platform and philanthropic marketplace that is designed to drive perpetual giving in the U.S. Charities struggle to market their programs and to engage online donors in a long-term and meaningful way. Consumers are skeptical of giving their money, and want to know where their dollars are going. 121Giving provides charities with a free way to market their programs and efficiency in acquiring the products they need, while giving consumers transparency into the impact of their dollars.
The Need
In 2009 the drop in U.S. charitable contributions from American individuals, corporations and foundations fell 3.6 percent. In 2009 the overall economy saw slight price deflation, which makes the adjusted change in giving year-over-year a decline of 3.2 percent*. While this percentage may seem very small, it represents tens of billions of dollars lost for the non-profit community, and the trend is not expected to change. The drop is most likely larger, as indicated in a 2010 report by The Nonprofit Quarterly, but it’s increasingly becoming very hard to accurately measure and the downside to this is life threatening.
Even with billions going into the non-profit sector, the amount of underserved individuals and families in the U.S. is staggering. If we don’t innovate and develop solutions in the private and non-profit sector, we are subject to government programs that create more unnecessary and unreasonable layers of overhead.
With the world moving at an increasingly fast pace, continually faced with economic uncertainty, non-profits are faced with a number of challenges. They continue to find it harder to engage younger generations and rely on traditional fundraising models to support themselves and the increasing needs of their cause. New forms of charitable giving are essential to the health and future of our nation and 121Giving provides a uniquely compelling model.
.*Source: Giving USA
