Social good fintech Sustainably is looking to onboard 200,000 users by the end of the year following a successful six-figure crowdfunding campaign.
The Edinburgh firm has estimated that it can generate £100m of extra donations for the charities on its app by hitting that target and expanding the base of organisations benefitting from this giving. The marketing drive will be accompanied by improvements in functionality and the launch of a B2B platform.
The moves follows a crowdfunding campaign in which Sustainably raised £360,000 from nearly 300 investors, exceeding its initial target of £300,000. The funds will be used to add three new members of staff, including two engineers and one person to head up growth.
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Launched in May 2020, the Sustainably app is the brianchild of chief executve Loral Quinn and her daughter Eishel, the company's chief product officer. The aim is to create an easy way for people to support their chosen charities.
The free app gathers donations by connecting to the patron's bank to round up any spare change to the nearest £1 on everyday purchases. This is then forwarded to the patron's chosen charity.
Those who give money with Sustainably can limit their donations, and can stop, start, pause or change them at any time.
“The global pandemic and months of lockdowns have put significant financial pressure on charities over the last year with a huge decrease in traditional fundraising for charities due to social restrictions," Loral Quinn said.
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“According to Civil Society, it is estimated that charities in the UK will have a £12 billion shortfall in donations for 2020, but the need for the support they provide has doubled.”
Sustainably currently supports more than 40 charities, including Macmillan, Shelter, the British Heart Foundation, Social Bite and The Rainforest Trust.
“We created Sustainably to enable people to have a positive impact as part of everyday life," Ms Quinn added. "Partnering with some amazing causes Sustainably is powering a new income stream for charities to help them continue their great work and using technology for good making it easier for people to give on their own terms and see their impact.”
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