

 ASK HN: Will you help me finish this fundraising app for Watsi? - gullyleft
http://app.groundbreakr.com
Note: I made this fundraising app over a weekend to demo the concept. It doesn&#x27;t actually work. It&#x27;s just been sitting for half a year collecting dust.<p>Right now it uses a JSON feed that I got from Watsi to display projects, but it needs manual entry of projects to make this concept work. detail about this on DN: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.layervault.com&#x2F;stories&#x2F;11029-ask-dn-will-you-help-me-finish-this-fundraising-app-for-watsi-<p>I&#x27;ve already discussed the details with Watsi and would like to finish this app with a little help from my friends :)<p>Email me if you&#x27;re down. trauma.barbara@gmail.com
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gullyleft
It was made over a weekend just to demo the concept. It's been sitting for
half a year collecting dust.

Right now it uses a JSON feed that I got from Watsi to display projects, but
it needs manual entry of projects to make this concept work. detail about this
on DN: [https://news.layervault.com/stories/11029-ask-dn-will-you-
he...](https://news.layervault.com/stories/11029-ask-dn-will-you-help-me-
finish-this-fundraising-app-for-watsi-)

Would like to finish this app with some help.

Rundown on the app:

A brand purchases a charitable project by committing to its funding target.

Users connect their Runkeeper account (fitbit/jawbone up/etc.), select a
project to run for, and then for every mile they run, they'll accrue a micro-
donation towards that project (provided by the brand sponsor) until the
project is fully funded.

It's Charity Miles with measurable initiatives, which I think is just a better
model because when a user runs and shares that activity to FB, Watsi would get
an impression in the Newsfeed showcasing the project that the user is
currently running for. This advertises the actual work that they're doing
rather than just the organization. I also think it's more interesting to share
stories with a measurable impact associated with my milage. Stories are
dynamic; they're constantly changing as projects get funded rather than the
repetitive data of my milage as a stand alone update.

It solves a problem for Nonprofits. Advertising is expensive, and NPO's
receive criticism for aggressive ad spend, which they need to do to keep the
donations rolling in so that they can continue their work. See Dan Pallotta's
TED talk. The reliable source of funding is a nice plus too.

Brands are presented with a more interesting avenue for cause marketing than
what is currently available. With Cause Marketing, the typical trigger for
donation is Likes, RT's, and purchase triggered donations. However, with a
system like this, the brand is engaging and getting an impression in a
lifestyle context where the trigger is "go work out." They're basically saying
that "if you invest in you, then we'll invest in you AND the world." They're
also getting what is potentially a timeline of initiatives through the
projects that they've funded, which tells the (story) of their impact. I think
this is a really powerful proposition to brands. It hits on everything Umair
Haque talks about Re: the requisites of "meaningful brands", which I find
super interesting.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zCGoKVN4Cc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zCGoKVN4Cc)

The take away here is that it's worth exploring. For me, it's something that I
want to complete, but am not necessarily interested in ownership. These
systems, which provide much needed support for nonprofits should exist, and so
I'm willing to contribute to creating this. If you want to run with it,
awesome! I'll help you get brands on board, and I'll help you with the design.

~~~
fluffmyboner
I like the idea and would like to work on it (I have very, very limited
experience with Rails but learn quickly), but definitely not looking to run
it.

~~~
gullyleft
Hey buddy, I think this would be a nice side project to learn with. Shoot me
an email if you want to chat trauma.barbara@gmail

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sathomasga
I'd be interested in helping on the front end. No experience with Ruby,
though. stephen@sathomas.me

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tzakrajs
"Watch the video" is not clickable and the link above it is gated with a sign-
in. Why?

