I’ve recently been working on a funding application for Bright One and Bright Works to Nesta’s Innovation in Giving fund, which aims to invest in, support and grow innovative ideas that bring about a step-change in levels of giving and exchange and which have a credible route to being self-sustaining in the longer term.
Part of the application required a 2-3 minute video outlining your idea, how it meets the fund’s criteria and why it is innovative in the giving and exchange of time, money, skills and resources.
The great thing about this part of the application is that you’re able to see all of the other applicant’s videos up on Vimeo by following the Innovation in Giving fund tag. Not only do you get an insight into how other organisations are solving the challenges set out by the fund, but also it’s an inspirational overview of philanthropic innovation across the UK.
So it’s daunting being in the running for a fund against some of the most innovative ideas I’ve seen for a while, but also encouraging to see that others care as much about the challenges that we face as a society as we do and view how they are tackling them.
I’ve spent a bit of time looking through some of the videos and here are some of my favourites:
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Simpl:Local
Simpl:Local, derived from Simpl – the social innovation marketplace – will allow councils to personalise the Simpl platform to their own needs,creating a space where they can offer and exchange public sector resources, call for ideas to solve local issues, and run innovation fund challenges. We’ve uploaded Bright Works to Simpl and have made some great connections from it. Would be interesting to see how the concept can develop further, especially as Dominic Campbell and the FutureGov team recently secured funding for their Patchwork service.
The DoNation
One of Bright One’s clients, Hermione and her team at The DoNation have hit upon a great concept and have the passion and determination to make it happen. The first version of their platform is nice, so it will be good to see them develop.
Wowsociety
I’ve had the privilege of working with Wahome on a separate project and he’s let me know about him and his business parter Ben’s plans for Wowsociety. It’s an ambitious project and if executed well could change the face of how we share offers and get help for our needs.
Do a Bit App
Andy’s pitch sets out a problem that we at Bright One experience. Namely, managing volunteers. I agree it can be frustrating for people who are willing to give their time and expertise not to have that need reciprocated due to the seemingly slow response from the organisations they’re trying to help. While some of this is down to lack of capacity and resources, a technical solution would really help. I look forward to talking about Do a Bit with Andy and seeing if Bright One could use it.
Spots of Time
Another Bright One client, I love the passion and enthusiasm that Anna puts into her pitch. It’s been a pleasure to work with her to get Spots of Time more awareness and I’m sure that there’ll be hundreds of organisations across the UK who will really value the support of her project. Also great to get a sneak preview of the new platform!
Givey
David has a solution that, while not original, has been executed well in the first version of Givey, his mobile giving app. David is also a great entrepreneur, reaching out to people and projects he finds interesting. I’ve been in touch with him about what we’re up to with Bright Works, so we may well find something to collaborate on in the future.
Bright Works
And in case it’s of interest, here is our video application for Bright Works, the micro-volunteering app for charity projects that lets volunteers create tasks, allows others to claim them and helps track the community’s progress:
Bright One
And the video for Bright One, the volunteer-run communications agency for the third sector that I run:
You can take a look through the Innovation in Giving Fund videos over on Vimeo. which ones do you like the look of?
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