Have yourself a giving little Christmas

I don’t know about you, but for me the festive season seems to start earlier and earlier each year. No sooner have the leaves started to drop from the trees (for those of us north of the Equator at least) than our screens and retail experiences become a riot of bells, glitter, reindeer – and some really terrible Christmas music.

In recent years, consumers have been whipped into even more of a frenzy by the avalanche of offers and discounts unleashed by the Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Single’s Day and now Double 12 shopping festivals. You can even watch a compilation of Black Friday brawls on YouTube if that’s your kind of thing. But no, I’m not including a link.

Online shopping has absolutely rocketed: according to Forbes, Alibaba’s sites rang up $23.5 billion in sales on Single’s Day last year – more than Macy’s projected revenue for the whole of 2018. And the signs are already there that this year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday hit new highs for web transactions. Our computers and smart devices obviously saw some serious action.

Naturally, this time of year also highlights the divide between those who have, and those who are less fortunate. So if all the rampant consumerism has left you feeling like you’ve already overdosed on the Christmas cookies, don’t worry – there is an alternative, and technology is starting to lend a helping hand.

I’m talking about interacting with your chosen deserving causes – which, these days, is often as easy as a few taps on your smartphone. According to The Blackbaud Institute’s 2017 Charitable Giving Report, online giving increased by 12.1% compared to the previous year, while 21% of online donations were made on a mobile device. These figures are from the US market, but I suspect the trends will be similar in other regions.

And despite the relatively late adoption of digital technologies in the charity sector, some of them are starting to make progress. We’re just a bit late for this year’s Giving Tuesday, unfortunately (I love this idea of gently shaming us into thinking about others after our greatest purchasing excesses). But there are plenty of other ways that charities are using tech to engage with their supporters, and the people who receive their services.

1.    First of all, there’s the fundraising itself. Share The Meal is part of the United Nations’ World Food Programme, and is an app that allows donors to make on-the-spot micropayments, contributing to the fight against hunger. Elsewhere, companies like GoodBox provide the capability for charities to accept tap and go donations. The UK’s Blue Cross animal charity has a team of “Tap Dogs”, who don’t tap dance, but do wear coats fitted with PayPal card readers.

2.    In other news, chatbots are gradually starting to bridge the gap between donors and the people who benefit from their contributions. One example is WaterAid, whose chatbot connects supporters with Sellu, a farmer and fisherman in Sierra Leone, giving them an insight into his life and how WaterAid is helping.

3.    Data science and artificial intelligence are being used to help relief organizations respond more effectively in disaster situations. UNICEF is developing the Magic Box, a tool to capture real-time information from the private sector, gain insights into the needs of vulnerable populations, and ultimately guide its humanitarian responses. Similarly, Médecins Sans Frontières has built REACH, a web platform that will combine institutional information with crowd-sourced data to provide its staff with live information about an emergency as it evolves.

4.    One of my own favorite organizations is the World Wildlife Fund, which has done a lot of work with Google on its Wildlife Crime Technology Project. Successes include the use of virtual radar-fences, drones and forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras to detect and deter poachers. Partnering with Intel, the WWF is now also testing AI technology for monitoring wild tigers in China.

5.    Finally, another area of interest for me is foster care, which – despite the best intentions – continues to fail young people too often. Responsive, human-focused technology could really help here. One interesting example I read about recently is the idea of using the blockchain to quickly and reliably verify anyone tasked with the care of a foster child. The result would be the creation of a trusted community, including foster parents, social workers and other people who work within the system.

You might argue that some of the technologies here are not exactly cutting-edge. But given the chronic underfunding in technology and infrastructure that the charity sector has historically suffered from, it is really inspiring to see that there are opportunities to create real change. And if any of the stories encourage you to give a little extra this Christmas, even better. Just think of it as lending Samichlaus a helping hand.

On that note, let me wish you all a happy and peaceful holiday season. Ho ho ho.

Photo credit: Antonio Castagna