Welcome at "The case of idonaid.org"

Mid 2009 four Belgian software developers saw a chance to offer charity organizations an alternative way of fundraising. To accomplish this they founded the non-profit organization "iDonAid".

Its mission:

Facilitating the fundraising efforts of humanitarian organizations

This resulted in the iDonAid system and the first fully developed App called "Damien" which was rejected by Apple mid November 2009.

The purpose of this blog is to illustrate the making of and explain why Apple should reconsider banning charity apps from making full use of the iTunes AppStore.

1. Analysis: the problem with e-donations
2. From opportunity to idea
3. Concept: the iDonAid system
4. Getting cleared: the precondition for selling the idea
5. "Damien": the first iDonAid App
6. The rejection
7. How Apple could change its charity application policy

Analysis: the problem with e-donations

Financial crises shows no mercy. Charity organizations are also facing the consequences. Unfortunately the first to stop funding charity organizations are the big corporate sponsors. That's why charities have to fall back on the help of individuals: you and me, ordinary people that have a lot of empathy and realize that in difficult times the weakest are always the first victims and need support more then ever.

The old fashioned "door to door"-way of collecting money is still a great tool for charity. Although it requires lots of human resources and its ROI is low, the social mobilization has a very positive effect. Volunteers actually do a very good job in selling their cause and in convincing others that their organization needs support. The emphasis of this collection method lies on local and small money donations.

Nowadays a lot of (larger) organizations offer online credit -card driven donation possibilities.

Although donating online is quite anonymous, it enables the charities to break out of their regional context. However online donations are not really taking off especially for the small and mid-size charities.

The biggest hurtle here is the payment procedure. In order to donate one needs to pull out a credit card and go through an online procedure which isn't always that user-friendly. Pulling out your wallet and giving some change is still way easier than initiating an online donation. The security risks of online payments cannot be ignored.

"Is this site thrust worthy?" is a very imminent question and the main reason why the smaller charities are ruled out from participating in the online donation game.

When you make a donation you want to be involved in the project you support. The follow up after you've made an e-donation is often minimal. In times of online social networking it's time to rethink and come up with integrated social e-donation solutions.

Getting cleared: precondition for selling the idea

In order to develop our plans we needed a legal structure.

We choose for a "VZW" which is the structure of a non-profit organization according to Belgian law.

Next task was to make a shortlist of charities we would approach to join our system. We made use of donorinfo.be which is a Belgian charity watchdog.

This collaboration worked in 2 directions:

1. We were able to make a shortlist of 3 good reliable humanitarian causes we would love to develop for.
2. Donorinfo supported our new approach and introduced us to these charities.

We were very aware of Apple's objections to charity apps. It is very difficult for Apple to check whether the funds that are collected with a charity App actually would go to the charity and not end up in the pockets of shady individuals. The iDonaid system tackled this problem by offering the NGO's the opportunity to publish Apps in their own name. This way it is 100% clear that the profits of the published Apps directly flow to bank account of the NGO you buy a charity App from.

We started approaching the charities on our shortlist and were armed with following presentation:

iDonaid

View more presentations from iDonAid.

We were very happy with the positive response 2 out of 3 approached charities wanted to step into our program.

One of our main worries was that the costs involved in publishing on the App store (30% of the proceeds go to Apple) would be a major argument against our system.

Although the cost was considered too high, the arguments of addressing a totally new public in a viral marketing strategy were decisive.

Eventually it was the Damien Foundation that agreed to start jointly developing the very first iDonAid App. The Damien foundation really appealed to us because of its cause: fighting leprosy and tuberculosis worldwide, but also because its patron father Damien - officially Saint Damien by now - whose legacy is iconic and still very much alive.

Our development team started working pro bono… building a dream.

"Damien": the first iDonAid App

In close collaboration with the Damien foundation we started developing. This process resulted in a fully developed and working Charity App. which was available (localized) in 3 languages.

• "Damien" English
• "Damien" French
• "Damiaan" Dutch

This was supposed to be the explanatory text to be published on the App Store:

Application Title : Damien

"Damien" is your ultimate tool in the fight against leprosy and tuberculosis!
"Damien" is an App from the Damien Foundation, a Belgian non-governmental organization that is active in 15 countries throughout Africa, Asia and America. In 2008 its medical teams treated more than 349,410 patients with leprosy and tuberculosis.

The "Damien" App is:

• A valuable source of information: It contains educative and unique footage on leprosy, tuberculosis and the projects of the Damien Foundation. It also contains unique images of our patron "Saint Damien".
• The easiest way to donate money on your mobile device: Pick an amount and make a donation thanks to the In App Payment functionality and the iDonAid-service. Making a donation is as easy as downloading a song! You can follow up how much charity money has been collected by "Damien" and see how much you have donated to the Damien Foundation. By purchasing this application, you've already made your first contribution to the Damien Foundation.
• A unique promotional tool: Promote the work of the Damien Foundation by activating your social network (Mail, Facebook and Twitter integration). In doing so you become a volunteer and although it may seem a small effort to you and your friends, in the fight against leprosy and tuberculosis it can make a big difference.

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