Online Fundraising for Social Businesses made easy in Singapore

Singapore, 7th February 2017

Singapore based www.simplygiving.com is announcing the launch of exciting new online fundraising tools for social enterprises in Singapore and across Asia.

Social businesses are now able to take advantage of Simply Giving’s unique technology to raise funds through loans as well as donations. The social lending functionality allows users to provide interest- free loans to support projects run by social enterprises. These are loans that will make a difference, impacting lives and businesses that are working, or helping others to work, out of the poverty cycle. This model is complementary to Simply Giving’s established donation-based platform.

Simply Giving introduced social lending to make giving more sustainable - when the loans are repaid, donors can choose to receive the funds back or relend them to the next project, making another positive impact on society!

The selection criteria for Social Enterprises looking to fundraise on Simply Giving is simple – the business model of the social enterprise must address at least one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030, which include addressing Poverty, Hunger, Good Health & Wellbeing, Quality Education, Gender Equality, Clean Water & Sanitation. These goals truly describe a world we hope to live in, and Simply Giving is aligning its focus to help partners that are working towards achieving them.

Although the industry is still at an early stage in Asia, Singapore is becoming a thriving regional hub for social enterprises - which is growing in number and diversity. Whilst many are businesses that are helping to rebuild local communities, there are also others that are addressing issues in the region, such as poverty, gender equality, access to clean water and affordable housing. Many philanthropic and impact investors have also chosen to make Singapore their regional base, as Singapore is recognised as having strong regulatory systems, a developed business infrastructure, a highly-educated workforce and entrepreneurs that are passionate about investing in the communities.

According to a report by the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE), more people are setting up social enterprises and the awareness of the sector has also grown. raiSE has seen its membership increase to more than 300 social enterprises and many of these new social businesses are set up by millennials.

“We are very excited about the growth of social enterprises in Singapore. We are actively growing our network here as we believe that when it comes to building sustainable and scalable social change, these businesses are paving the way for the future.” said Nikki Kinloch, Chief Executive Officer, Simplygiving.com. “We are also expanding our Simply Giving team on the ground, so that we can support more Singaporean charities and innovative social enterprises.”

Simply Giving's recent support of social enterprises in Singapore includes working with the finalists of the ASEAN Impact Challenge 2016 (www.simplygiving.com/Event/AseanImpactChallenge) and its partnership with Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN).

Simply Giving has already fund-raised for some exciting social enterprises – such as RunningHour (www.simplygiving.com/social/runninghour) , a membership-based organisation that integrate people with special needs into mainstream life through participation in sports and other activities; Wateroam (www.simplygiving.com/Social/wateroam) , a business with the clear goal of delivering simple, affordable, portable and durable water solutions to the region; and Nail Social (https://www.simplygiving.com/Social/thenailsocial) , a lifestyle nail salon that trains and employs local underprivileged women with a higher barrier to employment, to help them progress from a position of vulnerability to security and self-sufficiency. Donations made can be exchanged for a pampering session at the Nail Social!

Simply Giving believes that the growth and success of this important sector can be achieved through collaboration, partnerships and a passion for doing well by doing good.