The venture-backed UK startup Believe.in has launched.
Co-founded by .net Awards ‘New Entrepreneur of the Year’ nominees Matthias Metternich and Will Cookson, the platform offers a, “new way for charities and supporters to connect and raise money”, according to a press release.
The primary difference from competitors is that Believe.in’s model ensures the entirety of a donation (and GiftAid) goes direct to the intended causes, with no percentage retained for profit. Additionally, a partnership has been formed with PayPal Giving Fund, which means credit card charges will also not apply.
According to Metternich, charities lose up to £750 million every year due to middlemen taking a cut of the donations they help process.
“Believe.in provides a solution to this that does not tax people’s generosity and enables people to give and fundraise for the charities they care about without a penny lost along the way,” he explained, adding that while the organisation’s first focus has been on evolving how charity-giving operates online, the team is already working on a “series of other disruptions to major issues affecting the sector”.
Along with enhancing the manner in which donations are made, Believe.in also enables individuals and charities to have permanent profile pages, said the organisation. This provides scope for greater online interaction; individuals can share, track and celebrate fundraising activities more easily, and charities can grow communities and engage with followers. Activity can be further shared across other social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, to gain support and awareness.
