Energy Pledge’s Innovative Model Helps NFPs Raise Funds At No Cost
10 January 2017 at 8:10 am
An innovative fundraising model, developed by recently launched social enterprise, Energy Pledge is proving effective in helping not for profits such as The Tipping Foundation, Sands and Starlight Children’s Foundation to raise funds at the same time as saving money for their supporters.
It uses an existing energy brokerage model where the experts at Energy Pledge conduct the research to find people participating the best energy deal. Those who change providers using Energy Pledge, will save money and generate a free donation that they can gift to their charity of choice.
This approach, referred to as “no-cost fundraising”, complements NFPs’ existing fundraising efforts, while also rewarding their supporters and organisations with savings and a reduction in their carbon footprint. It is particularly effective with loyal supporters and people who would like to donate, but are not in a position to do so.
The most recent initiative funded by Energy Pledge’s model was for The Tipping Foundation, a not for profit that supports people with disability. Their goal of raising $1,500 was successfully achieved in two months as a result of people switching to a better deal with Energy Pledge.
The funds raised went to buy two lawn mowers and garden trimming equipment that The Tipping Point’s volunteering centre in Morwell will use to maintain their gardens. Previously, they were contracting out this work, however with the purchase of the equipment, the centre will save $3,500 annually. Furthermore, this will enable a group of people with intellectual disabilities, who might otherwise be isolated, to participate in helping their community while growing in confidence and independence as a result of learning how to use the equipment.
“We have been working towards raising funds for this initiative for a while, however Energy Pledge’s approach helped us to fund this requirement quickly and with little effort. We were very happy with this result and look forward to working with Energy Pledge on the next initiative,” Michael Smitheram, senior fundraising manager of The Tipping Foundation, said.
Dinesh Arasaratnam, managing director of Energy Pledge, said: “We were excited to work with The Tipping Foundation to fund this great project. It was extremely special spending the day with an amazing group of individuals that benefitted from the purchase of the gardening equipment. We appreciate the support of The Tipping Foundation and we hope this is the start of many more successful pledges to come.”
While Energy Pledge is working with a number of NFPs, they welcome the opportunity to help others to raise additional funds for their cause using this innovative model. If you would like to set up a campaign with Energy Pledge, you can email Dinesh on dj@energypledge.com.au.
To see the outcome of the day, Energy Pledge worked with The Tipping Foundation to put together this video.
Energy Pledge funding The Tipping Foundation initiative from Group42 on Vimeo.
About Energy Pledge
Energy Pledge is a social enterprise that empowers people to fund community and charity projects while saving money on their energy bills. They exist to raise funds for the community using an existing energy brokerage model where they share their commission with the charitable causes.
Energy Pledge was founded by four seasoned executives experienced in energy, marketing and technology. They started the social enterprise with the goal of applying the skills they have learned over their career to give back to the community.
