The micro-giving network

November 2011

Q: Why do people give?

Hint: It’s not the persuasive prose…

A: We give to feel good.

Research indicates 5 key factors influence giving

Source: http://www.springwise.com/non-profit_social_cause/schoolinthreehours/, http://teninthree.com/, www.pitt.edu/~vester/whydopeoplegive.pdf

tangible outcome

micro-giving (price)

group mentality

personal connection

recognition

A Penny a Day: How it Works

•  Users donate a penny a day or more, on a subscription basis

•  $2-5k grants are crowd-sourced to winning applicants in a continuous, realtime, voting competition

Built-in mechanism for viral spread

Very micro – almost no cost

A Penny a Day: Marketing

•  A hip online network for socially-conscious people

•  Tight social network and E-commerce integration

•  Affirms subscriber self-image with positive, personal messaging

•  Stories and imagery of impact on individual grantees and end-beneficiaries

Provides personal recognition for tangible good

A group activity with a large market

If these strategies sound obvious, it’s because they are.

Unfortunately, most causes, including our major competitors, are focused on just one or two.

The U.S. market for philanthropy is over $300 billion annually. It is underpenetrated.

Competition: Imitate strengths, mitigate flaws 1M users, $231M in loans, $25 increments

Facilitates strong online connection between lender and borrower

No mechanism for viral spread

True micro-giving model, promotes one cause a day, asks for just $1

No community or social dynamic

Difficult to generate repeat customers

Group-buying + social good, taps E-commerce & social networking

Competes against group-buying sites but can’t give same discounts

Allows nascent causes to receive funding online

Funding requests are not actually “micro”

Donors unable to determine relative merit of causes

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Creates competitive dynamic, each person’s goodness is scored

Overly complex site recommends “at least 6 hours” to learn the site

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Simple – people can invest in businesses with social impact

Lacks pithy hook or mechanism for viral spread

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We’re seeking partners and supporters.

We want to hear from you

•  Social investors, to bridge the next 9-12 months of ramp up

•  Evangelists (corporations, social sector organizations and public figures), to spread the word to employees, customers, supporters, fans, followers, readers

•  Exceptional team members (co-founders, advisors and volunteers), to lead technical and design development, advise on legal and financial, help build partnerships, and implement innovative, top-notch social media and marketing plans

•  Startup incubator programs (independent, university-affiliated, unofficial), to tell us how we can better serve you

Thank you.

With questions or inquiries, contact Taylor Jacobson at taylor@apennyaday.org +1 617 512 0767 +91 91670 88648

Team Taylor Jacobson, founder/CEO •  Former management consultant, Oliver Wyman •  Fellow, Startup Leadership Program •  Core launch team member and fundraiser, Teach For India •  Co-founder, Duke Venture Forward, student/alumni venture group •  Founder, Midnight Riders, $300k+ raised for cancer research

Jacob Vattakaven, technical lead •  Founder, Creative Director, Quirk

Gerald Fine, advisor •  Ex-President and CEO, Schott North America •  Involved with a number of startups and venture capital firms

Dan Sack, co-pilot •  Associate, Oliver Wyman •  Former Non-Profit Fellow, Kiva.org

Projections and milestones

•  1 million users at 3 cents per day •  $11 million in revenues •  Over 1,000 grants for $10k ea. annually

Jan ’12 April ’12 Oct ’12 Jan ‘13

Dev phase Alpha Private beta Public beta

Active projects 20 25 45 150

Subs 500 1,500 17,500 60,000

Avg. sub 0.02 0.022 0.025 0.026

Rev./mo. $300 $1000 $13,000 $47,000

Costs/mo. $1,200 $4,000 $9,500 $13,000

Grant cycle (days) 3 11 Capital infusion required

5-Year Goal

Preliminary

Detailed financial projections

Preliminary

Under current assumptions, $120,000 in outside capital would allow a minimum of $10,000 in grants to be made

each month until sufficient scale is achieved

Home page mock-up (November 8, 2011)

Home page design themes (September 20, 2011)