Givemeaning Puts Online Spin on Charities

The charity "industry" has been an enthusiastic user of the Web because it make the donation process so much easier and user-friendly. But Vancouver-based Givemeaning.com is putting a new spin on the business by creating an intriguing platform that lets groups and/or individuals to finance projects to do anything from purchasing new recreational equipment for parks in Toronto to raising money so children with cancer can spend a week at a summer camp. Each project is then linked to a charity that handles the administration. Givemeaning is the brain-child of Tom Williams, who at the tender age of 27 has been working in the high-tech industry for the past 14 years (you do the math!). Clearly a labour of love for Williams, who spent a few years working for the notorious Michael Milken, Givemeaning.com is pursuing a couple interesting business models. One of them is getting companies to "sponsor" projects so when an individual goes to make a donation, they see whose involved corporately. This generates goodwill for the sponsor, who is also given the opportunity to offer services and/or products to individuals with some of the proceeds donated to the project. Givemeaning is also exploring the idea of attracting advertisers but will not make a decision until it finishes a two-month trial this summer. The company, which was founded in December 2004, has raised a small amount of money from angel investors. Williams said he’s looking at raising some growth capital but leaning towards using debt rather than venture capital because he doesn’t "wan the pressure to do things because I have to spent the money rather than focusing on running a good business". Not sure who I’m impressed with more: Williams or Givemeaning but there’s definitely a number of compelling stories happening.