The joy of giving less: What I am doing to make giving in a recession easy!

This year the world has faced its toughest challenge of our millennium. Through it we have connected and united on one mission, and in New Zealand we have been successful. But along the way while many of us have gained new insight and discovered amazing things about ourselves, many of us have also struggled with some or a lot of loss. Loss of jobs, loss of money, loss of purpose, loss of hope, and loss of the people we love.

There is no doubt, it's been tough.

As founder of Joyable and Something Blue, I have also been privileged and grateful to experience the profound, breathtaking beauty and kindness that exists in our world; our collective willingness and desire to bring others joy.

Despite all the very real struggles that people have - and are going through today - people still want to celebrate others; they still want to give and they want to give generously.

What has stood out for me most of all has been the creativity and energy of our giving. It's no longer about how much money we have. It's not about big flashy gifts. It's not even about giving tokenistic gifts like hand cream and scented candles. It's literally been the thought that counts, and our thoughts have been heartfelt and magical.

During lockdown I saw people picking wild flowers for their bubble buddies to brighten their day, baking a delicious treat for morning tea or dessert, filling windows with teddy bears, drawings of Easter eggs or Anzac poppies simply to bring someone joy, and taking the time to draw pictures, write a poem, taking walks together or make a homemade card for someone special just to remind them that they are loved.

The overwhelming message has been that we want to show people that we care.

I am also grateful that my business Joyable helps people to be generous with gifts without the headache and added pressure of having to spend lots of money, or buy something that costs a lot. Instead, people are coming together to think about the person they are celebrating, and buy them one special gift that means something to them; one that creates new memories.

At Joyable, we're on a mission to support people to give more by spending less.

That means, that people can contribute to a gift that is actually something they want to give, not some pointless object they grabbed from the mall last minute that they don't even like themselves, let alone want to give to someone else.

How Joyable works

In a nutshell, Joyable is a payment platform enabling multiple people to contribute to one gift fund. So, we're not a gift-giving service, per se, we're a service that enables people to electronically contribute money which goes towards one dream gift.

By using Joyable, people can contribute towards a concert ticket, an artwork, a bungy jump, a new back pack, jewellery, a new tattoo, horse riding lessons, a new bike... the options are as vast as our imaginations! And when everyone contributes what they can afford - a little or a lot - it adds up to something truly special.

Joyable works by one person creating a Joyable page to celebrate an event or person and posting about the gift they have in mind. They then share the unique contribution page URL with people they think may wish to contribute. When the end date is reached, the funds go directly into a recipients bank account, and that’s it, joy made!

We have created Joyable to remove the life admin of trying to co-ordinate loads of people paying for one gift. And we've made it fast, easy, safe, secure and, well, Joyable!

(Remember the days of the sending and resending and resending multiple people your bank account details, reminding them of the date when payment is needed, reminding them of the gift or event... until all the joy is sucked out of the experience. Those days are OVER!!!)

It's been an absolute privilege and delight for me to see how, in these tough times, that people are using Joyable. And instead of perhaps contributing $50 or $100 towards a gift as they may once have done, people are contributing $20... and that's OK!

It’s about coming together to give something meaningful and special that the people that matter most to you will genuinely love, use, experience and cherish.

We're entering a brave new world. We don't know what is around the corner. But one thing I do know for certain, is that the power of people working together makes us unstoppable!

Rochelle Sheldon, Founder Joyable and Something Blue