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Why I'm watching Advantage Africa

Fundraising | Celina Ribeiro | 4 Jul 2012

Celina Ribeiro was impressed with Advantage Africa's tangible Facebook app idea at the Dragon's Den fundraising pitch-fest.

Sometimes big ideas come from tiny charities. Sometimes those tiny charities might have a plucky trustee otherwise employed at DM agency TW Cat, but even so.

The Institute of Fundraising's National Convention, as any conference, usually involves people explaining what they've done, but at its Dragon's Den four-way pitch for £10,000 worth of funding, it was all about what can be done - if only a little bit of funding was available to kick things into gear.

Two pitches won £5,000 each - decided upon by the Dragons Mark Astarita (British Red Cross), Liz Monks (Breast Cancer Campaign) and a representative from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. FoodCycle got funding to kickstart a food magazine which it hopes to get its volunteers to sell, resulting in greater cause-awareness as well as income.

But the one that really caught my eye was Advantage Africa and its sleek and relevant Facebook app.

The charity worked with an agency (pro bono) to develop the premise: Facebook users are invited to create a virtual plate in order to give a child in Africa a plate of food. Forty pence buys one meal, and the charity is asking for donations in multiples of 40p.

So far so quirky. But it gets better. Any gift of £40 or more results in the plate designed by the donor to be actually made and distributed to a child in need. The child then uses that plate (plastic), carries it in their bag to and from school every day and uses it to eat probably their only meal of the day. Suddenly your donation has not fallen into a bottomless pit. You are connected directly to a child, and that child directly to you.

And with no budget to speak of, Advantage Africa has gone after influencers in non-traditional media: UK's top food bloggers. To inspire the bloggers to promote and create their own plates via the app, they have brought on top celebrity chefs to design their own plates to use as prizes for the best, most creative blog promotion.

The charity also sent video cameras to the children in Africa, and the kids directly addressed those bloggers by name, asking for their support of the scheme. App donors will receive a video thanks from the kids, although not personalised.

With only 70 regular givers on its books thus far, Advantage Africa is aiming to convert those who donate via the app into regular donors.

It's a fantastic example of making the virtual real, of connecting donors to beneficiaries and apps to actual things.

The Dragons gave the £5,000 for advertising on trains - advertising which their trustee scored at a knockdown price. All signs are that the campaign should be getting off the ground in the not-too-distant future.

I wanted to talk to Advantage Africa after the pitch, but I couldn't get a look-in. Its young, convincing and passionate trustee was swamped by the dons and doyennes of the fundraising world. But I'll be keeping my eye on that one. And so should you.

Directory: Breast Cancer Campaign | British Red Cross | Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
Who's Who: Liz Monks | Mark Astarita