The Coin That Changed Charity

In development since 2013!

What started as a patent for a high-tech magic trick has transformed into a magical tool that guarantees to help EVERY fundraiser raise MORE money. I welcome any challenge to that claim. This article serves as an introduction to my playbook and what it's all about.

The cover of this book, though it may look like any other, carries a deeper meaning as an artist’s creation. A closer look reveals a background of green and gold dollars floating across the front and back cover, originating from the money fountain on the back of the book. The green money symbolizes the funds a fundraiser would generate before introducing Smart Coins? to your campaign. The gold dollars represent the additional funds your fundraiser will raise by incorporating Smart Coins? into your campaign.

Smart Coins? are a tool that donors can purchase to boost the fundraising effort. As the organizer of fundraisers, you can introduce Smart Coins? by informing your supporters that today, right now, there are men and women in the US military, police departments, fire departments, and government agencies who all carry a special coin in their pocket that represents their department, office, or military organization.

This coin isn’t something you’d toss in a drawer or display, hoping it appreciates in value over 20 years. This coin is designed for carrying and sharing when the opportunity arises.

Inform your donors that with a $100 donation, they can become a brand ambassador for your cause, and we’ll send them this beautiful 2" solid metal coin, adorned with our logo, colors, and message on each side.

The coin, 3.5mm thick and die-struck from solid brass, finished with any of 15 different platings, has a substantial weight and heft. Each coin features a 3D high relief that creates a tactile experience when held. The weight of the coin symbolically represents the weight of the charity that I help carry.

Encourage your donors to commit to three key principles if they wish to become a brand ambassador.

A brand ambassador

1. Carries the coin daily as a reminder of the great things your charity does, keeping the charity top of mind from a marketing perspective.
2. Seeks opportunities to talk to someone about your charity. They can pull the coin out of their pocket and PUT IT IN THEIR HANDS. Let them experience the beautiful craftsmanship in the design and feel of the coin. When they’re ready to return the coin, tell them WAIT! I haven’t even shown you the coolest thing this coin does! It’s a magic trick where you get to make the magic happen! Open your smartphone and tap it against the coin… When they do, the donation page of your charity pops up on THEIR smartphone. A donation at this point is a simple tap if they want to donate.
3. Finds a minimum of 1 other person who will also make a donation and become a brand ambassador. Set the bar low for your donors and build a stronger emotional connection with your donors by empowering them to become active extensions of your fundraising efforts.

If your charity has 20 people on the payroll who actively fundraise for you as their job title, and you sell 10K Smart Coins? to your hardcore supporters, you instantly have 10,020 people actively fundraising for you as they each carry a special coin in their pocket.

By openly telling your supporters what a brand ambassador is, and asking them to agree to find at least one other person willing to make a donation, you create a perpetual donation model that bridges the gap between the last donation (your donation) and the next (the one you’re agreeing to find).

Selling 10K coins at $100 each raises a million dollars for every 10K coins sold. And, since supporters know going into this that they’re agreeing to find the next donor, you can almost certainly count on another 10K coins sold because of the first one.

Now, you may argue “not everyone will do it”. Ok. But what about everyone who DOES? Do you think they’re going to stop after finding one? No! Your hard-core supporters WANT to help you reach your fundraising goals and will actively work for you, to create this perpetual donation machine where one donation expands the brand ambassador network of donors who carry your coin, puts it in people’s hands when an opportunity arises and sends multiple new donations as a result of their individual work, on a multi-level-marketing scale but at a grassroots level, one coin at a time.

This is the power of the Smart Coins?. It’s not just a coin, it’s a movement. A movement that starts with a single coin and grows exponentially, creating a network of brand ambassadors who are not just donors, but active participants in the fundraising process. So, let’s change the way we think about fundraising. Let’s make it more personal, more engaging, and more successful. With Smart Coins?, we can do just that.

So, are you ready to change the world, one coin at a time?