WIREDGOV

The Cabinet Office and Nesta yesterday announced the second round of the £10 million Innovation in Giving Fund, which aims to find and back innovative ideas for increasing levels of volunteering and charitable giving. 

Following the successful first round, which backed game-changing ideas to increase giving, the second round will include a search for established charities that want to use their expertise, networks, assets and capabilities to find new ways to engage people in giving. 

Over the next year, Nesta will support a group of medium and large charities with national reach to increase their impact through adopting and integrating innovations that support their mission.  Approximately 10 charities will be selected to receive a share of £1.5 million.

Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd said:

This fund is about supporting creative new ideas that will inspire more people to give time or money. I was very impressed by the quality of the first round and this next round is another chance to let some great ideas fly.

Chief Executive of Nesta, Geoff Mulgan, said:

In the first round we’ve already backed some brilliantly imaginative new ideas and start-ups. But we now also want to tap into the great strengths of existing medium and larger sized charities, that can take innovative approaches to a larger scale.  That will be crucial for our bigger goal of raising the amount of both time and money that’s given in this country.

Examples like the National Trust’s support for Landshare show the potential that comes from combining ground-breaking new models with the scale of established charities.  Landshare brings together people who have a passion for home-grown food, connecting those who have land to share with those who need land for cultivating. As part of this project, in February 2009 the National Trust pledged to create 1,000 new allotments on Trust land.

The Innovation in Giving Fund was launched in September 2011 by Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society, as part of a £34 million package to increase levels of social action. It is managed by Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency, and aims to back innovative ideas for increasing volunteering and charitable giving.

£2.45 million has already been awarded to 31 organisations that have developed game-changing innovations that have the potential to deliver a significant increase in giving and exchange of time, assets, skills, resources and money technology-based ideas. These include The Good Gym, a community enterprise that connects people who want to get fit, with physical tasks that need to be done in the community, and The DoNation, an online platform that offers an alternative to sponsoring people money, instead allowing them to donate by pledging to do socially useful tasks.  A second call for more game-changing ideas will be announced in May.