A new app that allows like-minded people in the same area to organise charity fundraising events based on their hobbies launches the UK this week (18th of July).
Incorporating elements of JustGiving and Meetup, Chatraise is a community platform that helps users looking to turn their hobbies into fundraising events – whether it’s by setting up an event or joining an existing one. Chatraise connects those who want to raise money with those who are looking for fun activities to take part that also helps their favourite charities.
The platform allows users to explore and join fundraising experiences that fit their lifestyle, including activities they may have always wanted to try.
Founder Emmanuel Linardatos refers to this as Lifestyle Fundraising® – the process of raising money for charity through everyday activities. Linardatos was inspired to create the platform after finding a lack of variety in charity events, with the majority catering to a select few interests.
“Fundraising is currently dominated by one-off events or challenges such as skydiving, distance runs and exotic treks,” explained Linardatos. “As these events don’t fit everyone’s lifestyle, they discourage many people from raising money for good causes.
“Those who like to raise money through these types of events also struggle to reach their target. This makes sense, considering that they’re asking people to sponsor them without giving them the chance to be part of the experience. Only the fundraiser has the fun.”
This perceived lack of diversity in donor-led fundraising events limits the potential income of the charitable sector and its ability to solve big issues.
“Chatraise brings people together to make friends, have fun, and change the world in the process.”
Chatraise allows fundraisers to create almost any type of event to raise funds for a chosen charity. These can include yoga sessions, workshops, short runs, or even music festivals. Other users in their area are then able to browse events on the platform and donate to the charity in order to join them. The platform connects those who want to raise money with those who are looking for fun activities to take part that also helps their favourite charities.
Last year, UK charities received more than £10bn[i] from individual donors. However, as Linardatos notes, while this number is massive, it does not come close to solving the issues that charities are trying to tackle.
He believes that the UK launch of Chatraise, which also coincides with an equity crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube, will help to kickstart a global Lifestyle Fundraising® movement.
“Individual fundraising and donations play the most important role for most charities,” he said. ”So, if we want to seriously address issues that we care about, individual fundraising should get the attention it deserves.”
Linardatos added: “Individuals should not have to go out of their way to fundraise or make a donation. The fundraising sector should put the donor first by making it as easy as possible to create and join genuinely fun activities that fit into many different lifestyles, rather than those happy to go for a run or jump out of a plane!”.
Following the successful soft-launch of its pilot app, Chatraise will launch in the UK an[ii]d Switzerland with more than 100,000 charities on the 4th of July.
Chatraise was founded in 2017 by Emmanuel Linardatos, a Lancaster University business graduate and COO of Linardatos Publishers for six years. He helped to turn the publishing company to profitability and make it the sector’s second-biggest firm in less than two years.
About Chatraise
Chatraise is a Lifestyle Fundraising platform which combines JustGiving and Meetup in one app, allowing its users to create and join events based on the activities they love.
https://www.instagram.com/chatraise/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/linardatos/
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