Charity Kick
Greg Fournier has started to build his website www.charitykick.com from the very beginning. His purpose is to use it for good causes offering a fundraising platform with a daring twist. We have conducted a short interview with him:
When and why did you launch 'CharityKick.com'?
CharityKick was launched just a few days ago (Tuesday 9th) with a very simple goal, to help charities raise more funds from an online fundraising platform that is more engaging and social. Fundraising through dares by nominating people, allows anyone to engage non-givers in a fun and challenging way that brings charities, pledgers and even companies together in one place. I mean come on, who has not dreamed of challenging their boss to something crazy, that could never have taken place without a good cause...
What inspired you to develop it into a 'dared' idea and how effective is this in getting the funding for charities?
It all came from a discussion with a friend; we were talking about viral content, and how to capitalise on the various internet trends when it sprang to mind: Why not provide the means for people to create the demand for such wacky and crazy events that would never take place outside of a charity event? The word "dare" only really came into play when putting it all in place. Since the idea of nominating instead of volunteering had to be put forward and "challenges" was widely used by charity organizations' volunteer events, "dare" seemed like a natural choice. To see how effective it is we will need to wait a little longer and see how people respond to the initial site and concept. What CharityKick guarantees however, is to attract a wide and diversified audience, that don't necessarily fit the giving type, as many can come simply looking for a little fun..
Who are the people you can 'dare' in CharityKick?
You can literally dare anyone, it only needs to be a predetermined entity, be it a specific school or business, an individual, or even a role, such as a mayor. And if all that isn't good enough for you, the site also allows you to dare your favorite celebrities. But what's really interesting is the associations that you can make. So for instance you could dare Kobe Bryant to shoot all free throws in a game with his eyes shut for the charity National Blind Children Society, hint hint, NBCS if you come across this interview...
I think it will be very interesting to see what happens once the site has a few more users and dares, like all user generated content sites, it will live or die based on the quality of the content.
What will happen when this idea is released to a wider audience?
Well I really believe that if I can get the message out there that CharityKick exists and does what it does, people that have been used to having to dedicate large amounts of time to promoting a classic fundraising challenge for charity like a marathon, will come to my site and realize they are able to engage far more people then ever before. Moreover it's the people that really have a strong belief and a cause that will most likely strike the best balance to get charity endorsement, company sponsorship and a great feat for charity. Every new person that hears about the concept instantly has ideas of dares, often even I could never have imagined CharityKick could be used for... So I can't wait to see what amazing and wacky dare ideas people come up with for a good cause!
If someone wants to get involved, what are the ways available?
If you think you've got a good dare idea all you need is a picture and a brief explanation of your dare and your motivation to support the cause you choose! Or, if you'd rather just contribute to make another dare happen, simply browse the endorsed dares on the site, find the dare you like and pledge to the charity it supports!
Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me about the site! I invite you to take another look at the website and even perhaps start a dare... It does not take much and can literally save and change lives!
Greg Fournier
Founder of CharityKick
