Nesta recently run an Open Innovation programme for charities to find new ways to overcome major challenges within their sector. Through the Cabinet Office’s Innovation in Giving Fund, managed by Nesta, we had the opportunity to meet with a number of these charities and explore ways to collaborate.
Through the process we spoke to Age UK, who were very interested in the potential of working with ecomodo on a sharing platform that raises donations while reducing isolation in old age. And we are delighted to recently hear that Age UK was one of the 10 charities accepted to go forward.
Working together, the idea is to build on Ecomodo’s existing platform and for Age UK to explore new business model based on skills-sharing whilst encouraging older people to actively engage in society.
Paul Farthing, fundraising director at Age UK, says: “By working with Ecomodo, we believe we have found a way to bring these two challenges together, and generate an income stream that could be a long-term, sustainable platform for Age UK to fund its services.”
We are incredibly excited by this opportunity to work alongside one of the biggest charities in the UK. This mutually beneficial partnership can help us deliver the scale we need to drive impact whilst enabling Age UK to deliver on their mission and fundraise in a new way.
With Age UK, we will be exploring two models: a white label option branded as an Age UK and an integrated model where Age-UK offers would appear alongside others charities; to see which is most effective.
For the project, Age UK has been awarded £120,000 from Nesta to support technical development, salary contributions for key staff at Age UK and Ecomodo and market research.
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