About
IDEO.org is the philanthropic arm of the innovative design firm IDEO. Their mission is to improve the lives of people in poor and vulnerable communities through design. Through partnerships with NGOs, governments, foundations, and nonprofits, the interdisciplinary team of creative thinkers at IDEO.org aspires to design solutions to the world’s most difficult problems.
IDEO.org created a CauseVox campaign to raise funds for their upcoming fellowship class. As part of the Global Fellowship Program, the fellows take a human-centered approach to design solutions to the world’s most difficult problems.
The Challenge
IDEO.org started in 2011, a relatively new organization. Since then, the organization had been fostering social sector leaders through the Global Fellowship Program. The team needed a way to raise funds specifically to support their fellowship class for 2013-2014.
Funding for projects at IDEO.org previously came from two sources: project fees paid by various partners that work with IDEO.org and philanthropic contributions.
Previously, contributions have been obtained through traditional methods, such as a “Donate” link on the main webpage, social media campaigns, snail mail solicitations, email newsletters to regular supporters, and fundraising events.
But for the most recent campaign, IDEO.org wanted to try a new method of fundraising.
How CauseVox Helped
When Cris Valerio, Innovator in Residence at IDEO.org, found CauseVox, she knew she found her fundraising solution.
IDEO.org aims to tackle the world’s largest problems through design, and Cris tackled this fundraising challenge the same way. She was immediately attracted to the simplicity of design in the CauseVox platform.
She also appreciated the various features available in the platform, such as video integration. The “tipping” function also made CauseVox affordable, since the fee can be easily mitigated through “tips” from donors.
The Results
This campaign raised over $27,000. The proceeds from this effort went to support the 2013- 2014 Global Fellowship Program. The Program brought together seven creative thinkers across various disciplines.
These Fellows designed solutions for social problems in India, Zambia, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Kenya, Senegal, and Chicago.
