Crowdfunding: CSR’s New Frontier

An online crowdfunding initiative providing seed funding for 11 Australian social impact projects has been launched by online bank ING Direct.  

The company will match up to 50 per cent of each project’s nominated minimum funding requirement or ‘tipping point’ and will aid them in enlisting the support of the broader community on social media to raise the remainder.

The 11 projects were selected based on a range of factors including likely social impact, likeliness of campaign success, originality and X-Factor.  

"ING DIRECT developed Dreamstarter because we believe each and every one of us has the power to help our communities get ahead. We’re keen to enable people to bring to life their own vision for a better future and we’re really passionate about playing our part in that,” Vaughn Richtor, CEO of ING Direct said.

“As Australia’s first online bank, we want to make it simple for people to connect with the causes that they truly value – crowdfunding is a great way to do this. Quite simply, the combined contributions from lots of people can make big things happen.”

Dreamstarter 2014 is based on a 2013 pilot program and will be run in partnership with crowdfunding platform StartSomeGood.

Current participant Digital Storytellers is a digital production company focusing on social change and social impact.

Their project, Stories For Impact will distil best practice digital storytelling practices into content, tools, resources and workshops held during the National Changemakers Festival in October 2014.

"We believe that powerful stories can affect positive change and want to share stories that matter. We’re inspired by changemakers who are innovating and championing a more sustainable way of living.

“There are an infinite number of stories that need to be told and that, to tell as many as possible, we need an army of inspired social change storytellers. We are delighted to have the support of ING DIRECT and StartSomeGood." said Mr Mikey Leung, Director of Digital Storytellers.

View the 11 projects here.

Click here to read Pro Bono Australia’s interview with international crowdfunding expert Liz Wald, where she discusses the increasing frequency of crowdfunding projects in CSR programs.