betterplace.org and What Would Google Do?

One book which gets handed down from one family member to the other during our holiday in France is Jeff Jarvis’ What Would Google Do? Even our 14 year old son Vico is reading it right now.

Jarvis owns BuzzMachine.com, one of the most popular blogs about the Internet and new media, teaches journalism at New Yorks City University and writes the new media column for the Guardian. What Would Google Do? identifies some of the major principles behind the success of google – the fastest growing company in history. In chapters with titles such as Give the People Control and We Will Use it, Do What You Do Best and Link to the Rest or Free is a Business Model Jarvis illuminates the new rules guiding our current Internet-driven economy.

It’s an inspiring read, especially as so much of it is reflected in our work with betterplace. We understand the plattform as a disruptive technological answer to some of the main challenges facing the non-profit sector:

• The sector is highly intransparent. Or do you know what is happing to the money you have donated?

• The cost of financing social causes and innovation are high: the cost of conventional fundraising can absorb up to 50% of donations raised.

• there is a huge lack of accountability (especially with regards to beneficiaries), insufficient stakeholder feedback and – resulting from this – poor impact measurement. Or do you know whether a donation to World Vision benefits more people than one to the Choki Traditional Art School?

The disruptive potential of betterplace

At betterplace we offer answers to these challenges:

Transparency:
Aid organisations and social initiatives posting projects are required to specify their projects, breaking down the „needs“ needed for their realisation. Project managers are asked to report about the project progress in their project blog, in writing and posting photos and videos.

Cost free fundraising:
The use of betterplace is free and 100% of all donations received through the plattform are transfered to the project.

Quality control through the Web of Trust:
Traditional trust mechanisms, such as the brand of an organisation or its charitable status in Germany, are combined with network-trust: i.e. we give a multitude of project-stakeholders the possibility to say what they know about the project and the people running it. Thus beneficiaries, travellers and neighbours (who have visistedt he project), employees of the organisation etc. can all have a voice. Thus a much more realistic image of the project is available, enabling donors to make an informed choice.

Being disruptive implies that traditional processes and systems are broken apart and value chains shortened, making them more transparent and effective. Our co-founder Jörg Rheinboldt, who was one of the founders of Alando (which was in turn bought by Ebay) and served many years as CEO of Ebay Germany, knows from experience that this is not to everybodys liking. But those who adapt early to the principles and rules of the new order will be the ones to profit.

To be continued