ChangeSA.co.za
Have you wanted to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate but not sure how and where to go about doing that?
The newly launched, Port Elizabeth developed, ChangeSA.co.za enables registered South African charities and non-profit organizations to market themselves to the broader public and receive donations online.
Created by two young local Nelson Mandela Bay entrepreneurs Ryan Haworth and Wesley Hall, they wanted to make a difference that would benefit the needy in our communities. As a result they created a website where all South African charities can market their activities on a single web site.
“There are a growing number of private and business citizens that see a need to assist those less fortunate in our communities. In many instances they either do not know how to make a meaningful contribution or which South African charities to support” said Hall.
With similar characteristics to Facebook; charities can create a profile on ChangeSA.co.za and give a description of their organization’s activities. Campaigns or projects, in which the charity needs to raise money, are uploaded onto the website and the ChangeSA.co.za donator community can decide if they would like to allocate time or money to that cause. In addition to this, events can be advertised by the charities and the donator community can search and attend an event in that area.
Similarly, businesses and donator’s can create their own profile and any donations made to the charities from their account will be tracked by using Payfast which allows EFT, credit card as well as uKash (vouchers that can be purchased from Pick n Pay, Checkers and Shoprite).
Another interesting option for a business or private individual is to advertise a fundraising campaign for a particular project or favourite charity. To do this, the user can upload their fund-raising project description and manually set a target for the amount of funding they hope to reach. The page link can then be shared with family and friends to let the fund-raising begin.
Should members not be able to donate money or fund-raise for a charity, they can volunteer their time or skills instead.
On-line fundraising overseas has raised millions of dollars for their member charities. “There is no doubt that ChangeSA.co.za can do the same for the South African organizations. ChangeSA.co.za boasts some unique functionality, aimed specifically at the South African market and it is for that reason that it has become an overnight sensation,” says Haworth.
