Social entrepreneurship has moved over to completely new levels now. It was a couple of decades ago that the book ‘The Rise of the Social Entrepreneur’, written by Charles Leadbeater detailed how dreamers mobilized business resources to help lost causes and deprived communities. Many were motivated to effect social change not be driven just by higher profits. However, it is only now that social entrepreneurship has come of age and is being practiced by many.
With deeper percolation of IT, it was inevitable that it led to the democratization of technology that empowered more people than before. The growth of mobile technology has aided this movement more than ever. This has enabled every individual to contribute their mite to a cause they care deeply about. Read on about 9 mobile apps that would help you contribute to a social cause that fancies you.
#1: Atlas Run
Atlas Run is not simply an app that helps you to set a running goal and achieve the same. It helps you to run for a cause that you want to something about.
Any organization that wants to support a non-profit organization can create a challenge with a time boundary in the app and pledge to donate an amount in case it is completed within the specified time. The app is designed to unlock a specific amount for a specific distance. When the challenge is met, the amount is donated to the organization.
Atlas Run helps to create an association of like-minded individuals who are ready to run for a cause. Runners keep up their motivation to run because it is for a valid cause.
#2: Micro Hero
Most people are known to attempt online surveys to make some money. Once the novelty dies off, there may not be any motivation for an individual to attempt to answer an online survey. Micro Hero is a survey app that allows a person to make a contribution while answering a survey. All you need to do is to download the app, choose a favorite cause and start answering a survey. You can help to earn real money for the cause.
It works like this: companies that want to contribute to a specific cause set up survey questions and decide the amount to be paid per question answered. Just like in online surveys, Micro Hero pays the money earned to the cause that the company wants to support.
#3: Fotition
Fotition is an app that helps a charity whenever you take a selfie and upload the photo using the Fotition filter. Social media campaigns can be set up by brands as well as companies. Every time a selfie enthusiast uploads a photo with their filter, a specific amount is donated for the chosen cause. As an example, Marvel Studios made a $717230 donation to provide study material to school children in Nepal, US, and Tahiti.
Charities in turn can create awareness using Fotition. They can use Fotition to help their corporate sponsors reach out to the world wide audience in a way that they want. Fotition is surely a fun way of supporting a social cause.
#4: We Day App
It is true that starting something is half the job done. However, it is not done till it is completed. The We Day app helps to complete a challenge that is started and pays money to a charity every time the challenge is completed. Any company or even a charity can set up the challenge.
#5 Forward
Forward is a very contemporary app that helps to turn any unused item into a donation. You can download the app, take a photo of the item that you are not using now, specify its worth and the name of the charity that you want to support. The money paid for the item goes to the charity. The app makes the item available within the locality of the person that wants to make the charity. People can even bid a price for the object. The finalized amount is given to the specified charity.
#6: Budge
Dare games are played to stump friends and letting them know what they cannot do. Budge is a app that facilitates micro-donations through everyday activities that are transformed into powerful tools for change.
After downloading the app in the mobile, the first thing to do is to set up a challenge and invite a friend to take up the challenge. The winner gets a chance to brag about the win and the loser donates money to charity. This is a good way to effect a social change. Both parties walk away happy. Donations are in the range $1 to $5. The creators of the app want to prove that many small donations can go on to make up a huge amount. The app is popular in the US and Australia. This app can be downloaded on iOS devices.
#7: GiftaMeal
This app helps to feed meals to those that are not in a position to buy meals for themselves. This app is designed to form partnerships with restaurants. Whenever a customer walks into a partner restaurant and takes a picture of a food item that they like, this meal is given off to another less fortunate person in the locality. Meals are usually supplied with the help of food banks that work in different cities. This app can help you to spread the message and feed more people every day.
#8: Givvr
This app helps to make better use of paid to watch videos that have been around for some time now just like paid surveys. However, there is no one that has made great money with these videos. The satisfaction quotient has also been low.
The creators of Givvr have taken this app one step beyond which enables the user to donate earnings got by watching videos sponsored by corporate companies of their choice to charities.
#9 Instead
Instead is more of an app that actively teaches you to make smarter money choices on a day-to-day basis. This, over time helps a user to set aside money for a favorite cause or charity. Ovenbits, the creators of this app, believe that little drops of water make the mighty ocean. For example, when you walk into starbucks, ‘Instead’ may request you to forgo your latte or espresso and instead donate the money to WWF. The app will ask the user to make donations in the range of a dollar. The user decides this when he/she signs up. It also helps you to track all the donations that you have made giving you an idea of how much you have donated in a period.
Essentially, the apps listed above have managed to make games that help to make micro-donations to help out a charity. The best part is that anyone that owns a mobile can join in. so many people doing little things can end up having a massive positive effect.