Localgiving.com: philanthropy for everyone
60 and counting. That’s the number of North East voluntary and community groups live on Localgiving.com in the first week of May. Seeing them on line, endorsed by us and now showcased to the public, is a timely reminder of why we’re here.
Localgiving.com is brilliant because it gives everyone the chance to experience how inspiring it is to be a supporter of these groups. Ever since I arrived at the Community Foundation, I have been pushing the line that we must help anyone be a philanthropist. With Localgiving.com’s launch, I think we are there: this website opens up the rewards of philanthropy to just about everyone. Through it, members of the public can now plan a portfolio of local causes to support and start giving to them straight away.
Localgiving.com is the brainchild of Marcelle Speller, who, after a career in advertising, marketing and management, co-founded Holiday-Rentals.com, which became Europe’s leading website for advertising private holiday homes. The company was sold in 2005, at which point Marcelle decided she wanted to put her money and her mind to some charitable use.
She describes her ‘lightbulb moment’ at an Institute for Philanthropy workshop when she realised she could use her web experience to help local voluntary groups. On that course, she met Matthew Bowcock, chair of our national umbrella body, the Community Foundation Network. Matthew told her about the thousands of local vetted charities that community foundations across the UK have on their databases. This inspired her to set up Localgiving.com, realising these smaller charities needed to have an online presence to compete with the big players.
Marcelle appeared on Channel 4’s The Secret Millionaire in October 2010, where she went undercover in Plymouth. During the show she gave away almost £100,000 to five local groups. Describing the experience, she says the show didn’t change her life, it did something much more important: it was the best possible affirmation that not only had she made the right choice in setting up Localgiving, but that it would work.
And now everyone out there has the opportunity to find out what we at the Community Foundation already know: there are important causes and great groups right here on our doorstep, and they need support. Of course, we still want those with a greater capacity to give to work with us one-to-one to define and determine their philanthropy – perhaps by contributing to one of our theme funds or even setting up a charitable fund with us in your own name. But here is a way for people to get started.
But the main message about Localgiving.com is that it is a tool, so it needs to be used. We will do our bit, directing those donors for whom simple, on-line giving mechanisms are the best model for their philanthropy. And nationally, the localgiving team will be working hard to raise awareness that if you want to help a group on your doorstep, you should do so through this site. But if your group is on Localgiving.com and your page URL doesn’t appear on every publication, business card, email and letter you send out, and there aren’t links on your own websites, you’re missing a trick.
Rob Williamson
