Donate by action, not money, urges The DoNation
Howard Lake | 12 May 2011 | News
Giving money is not the only way to show your support for a friend who is running a marathon or another event in aid of a charity. Online environmental organisation The DoNation now encourages people to show their support not by making a financial donation but by committing to take environmental action.
Their site takes the model of online sponsorship that is now well established in the UK with sites like JustGiving, Bmycharity, VirginMoneyGiving, and the new BT MyDonate. But it adapts it by using the social and viral nature of sponsorship to reach and motivate the widespread public to make simple steps towards more sustainable lives.
It suggests a range of core green actions that people can take to reduce their carbon emissions. These range from eating less meat, cycling to work, or washing your clothes at 30°C, to installing solar panels.
Hermione Taylor, founder of The DoNation, said: “The DoNation is about making things happen by socialising green issues and supporting friends with meaningful action. CO2 is our currency, rather than cash, so people raising sponsorship can set targets and their friends can see what tangible contribution their supporting action is having, both individually and collectively. But our overall aim is broader than just carbon, as the actions offered address wider sustainability, not just carbon dioxide.”
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The DoNation provides motivation and encourages permanent change of habits, and the social nature of the site is designed to add gentle peer pressure, encouraging users to keep their commitments.
Taylor’s aim is for The DoNation to become the principle environmental sponsorship tool, providing users with an engaging voice through which they can motivate friends and family to adopt proactive solutions to climate change.
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.