The platform has seen a 116% increase in new user registrations, while the number of projects achieving full funding via the platform has jumped by 70% in the last year
Newbury, 18th September 2019 – Not-for-profit, charity owned online charitable giving platform The Good Exchange has revealed significant growth figures as it celebrates its third anniversary today. In its third year of operations, the platform disbursed over 1,200 grants (with a 74% increase in total grant value to over £2.1m) and saw a 117% rise in the number of applicant registrations.
The Good Exchange has welcomed a number of funders to the platform this year including County Durham Community Foundation and Sovereign Housing Association. Sovereign Housing has launched its new Community Facilities Fund via the platform, with £60,000 available to support tenant communities in south/south west England & the Isle of Wight. Meanwhile, the County Durham Community Foundation recently launched its youth social action programme by bringing together the Government and National Lottery Community Fund-backed #iwill Fund and other donors to offer £100,000 via The Good Exchange with an additional funder in the North East adding £50,000.
The platform has also seen a 70% increase in projects that have achieved full funding in the last year including Basingstoke Voluntary Action fundraising for its 2018 homeless winter shelter. Other projects that have achieved full funding include delivery of an accredited Level 2 Diploma in Playwork for learners in areas of high deprivation in Oxford City via the Oxfordshire Play Association; and the sports and outdoor play equipment project for the children and young people at Prior’s Court school for children with severe autism. Full funding was also achieved for additional essential services to Foodbank clients in crisis, a radiotherapy centre for Great Western Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and a workshop dedicated to providing support for women who have come to the UK from Iraq.
Meanwhile, The Good Exchange has made significant updates to its online charitable giving solution during the past 12 months. Particularly important to grant-giving organisations has been the ability to seamlessly extract the information entered by charitable causes seeking funding via The Good Exchange’s single application form into their grant management/Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. This transparent sharing of data enables grant givers to benefit from a standard stage 1 application form, streamline their processes and collaborate with other registered funders whilst maintaining full control over grant-making decisions. Integration with the leading WhatsApp social messaging app allows users to add a WhatsApp ‘share’ icon to their organisation and/or fundraising project page which supporters of fundraising projects can then use to send instant links to their friends and family to drive donations and awareness. The Good Exchange has already seen hundreds of WhatsApp project shares in the few months since the functionality was introduced.
Additionally, The Good Exchange has continued to update its YouTube channel with over 40 webinars and case studies now available. These videos are free educational resources for charities and users of The Good Exchange platform, as well as being a means to showcase case studies, for example The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS). This video case study looks into how the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) gained access to new funders and match funding grants via The Good Exchange.
Also this year, The Good Exchange received two Global Good Awards – a Silver in the Special Judges Award for Innovation and Bronze in the Technology for Good category.
“Nearly 60% of charitable projects that have started fundraising through the platform since its inception in 2016 have raised some money,” said Ed Gairdner, COO of The Good Exchange. “This is a significantly higher rate than that found more generally across the charitable sector where our research found that only 41% of grant applications receive some funding. Reflecting on the past year it is encouraging to see the number of new user and organisation registrations up by 116 and 117% respectively. Furthermore, a 70% increase in the number of projects achieving full funding via our platform is a great achievement and testament to the power of technology in supporting collaborative funding and fundraising.
“We’re delighted to be welcoming new funders on board on a regular basis, and have some exciting grant announcements to come over the next few months but we are always looking for more, especially as the platform now has so many fantastic fundraising projects from across the whole of the UK. We’ve also delivered significant platform upgrades, with more to follow in the near future. It has been an excellent year and we look forward to continuing the momentum.”
About The Good Exchange
The Good Exchange is a transformational not-for-profit, charity-owned cloud platform specifically designed to match those organisations and individuals who have money to give to good causes with those who need it most; on a local, regional and national basis. As the only platform to bring together grant-making, donations, charitable projects and fundraising in one place, the automated matching system with its simple single on-line application form will revolutionise charitable giving, making it more accessible, transparent and collaborative. For the first time, those seeking to raise money for local good causes will be able to access all sources of funding including charitable trusts, corporate givers, fundraisers and public through a single process.
Media contacts
Charlotte Martin/Ella Pryor
The Good Exchange team at Finn Partners
TheGoodExchange@finnpartners.com
020 3217 7060