Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02838406 2014-01-08
1 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CHARITY CROWDFUNDING
2 TECHNICAL FIELD
3 [0001] The following relates to facilitating charitable giving and more
particularly to a social
4 network connected charity crowdfunding platform.
BACKGROUND
6 [0002] Many traditional online charity donation platforms can be
considered as a "Yellow
7 Pages" directory for organizations. These platforms host individual
charity pages and have a
8 "donate" button for the charity. Charity pages are typically administered
by the charity or by an
9 administrator of the platform on behalf of the charity.
[0003] More recently, charities and individuals have turned to crowdfunding as
a means to
11 solicit donations. Crowdfunding is an online technique wherein many
individuals contribute
12 relatively little amounts of money to collectively raise a significant
total. The crowdfunding
13 phenomenon has recently become a popular way to raise funds, whether for
funding products,
14 new releases, art, Academy Award movies and even companies.
[0004] However, to date, raising charitable donations through crowdfunding
platforms has not
16 been particularly effective. Typical crowdfunding platforms are not
built to suit the needs of
17 charitable organizations. They allow individuals to fundraise for their
own personal causes. The
18 organization does not have a presence on the platform, but instead a
"donate" button would
19 enable the raising of funds for the individual's personal campaign.
[0005] Thus, the use of the existing crowdfunding platforms for charitable
giving exposes
21 three major problems:
22 [0006] Security: Crowdfunding campaigns launched by individuals with
traditional
23 crowdfunding platforms allow them to fund almost anything, and receive
all proceeds of the
24 funds collected. This method of crowdfunding allows fundraisers to
create successful
campaigns for their favourite charity, but there is no guarantee or safeguards
in place to ensure
26 that the charity will receive all, or even any, of the funds.
27 [0007] Transparency: In the case where security is not an issue, and the
fundraiser does in
28 fact transfer the donations collected on behalf of the charity to the
organization, in many
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CA 02838406 2014-01-08
1 jurisdictions (e.g., Canada), the charity is unable to issue tax receipts
to the list of people who
2 have supported the campaign, since the charity cannot guarantee where the
funds came from.
3 Thus, the only tax receipt that can be issued would be to the individual
fundraiser for the entire
4 amount.
[0008] Relationship building: Beyond the fundraising campaign, there is a
greater loss which
6 is the ability to engage and retain the supporters of the campaign.
7 SUMMARY
8 [0009] In one aspect, a charity crowdfunding system is provided, the
system comprising: (a) a
9 charity database comprising a plurality of charity records, each said
charity record
corresponding to a charity; (b) a user database comprising a plurality of user
records, each said
11 user record corresponding to a user; (c) a campaign database comprising
a plurality of
12 campaign records, each said campaign record corresponding to a campaign,
each said
13 campaign being configured by one of said users to benefit one of said
charities; and (d) a
14 donation processing module for receiving donations from said users for
each said campaign,
said donations being directed to said charity associated bypassing said
configuring user.
16 DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
17 [0010] The features of the invention will become more apparent in the
following detailed
18 description in which reference is made to the appended drawings wherein:
19 [0011] Fig. 1 is a system for charity crowdfunding;
[0012] Fig. 2 is a process for establishing a charity account;
21 [0013] Fig. 3 is an example tax receipt template;
22 [0014] Fig. 4 is a process for establishing a user account;
23 [0015] Fig. 5 is graphical representation of various types of campaigns;
24 [0016] Fig. 6 is a process for establishing a campaign;
[0017] Fig. 7 is a process for donating;
26 [0018] Fig. 8 is a process for finalizing a transaction;
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CA 02838406 2014-01-08
1 [0019] Fig. 9 is a donation processing process;
2 [0020] Fig. 10 is a link based donation process;
3 [0021] Fig. Ills a process for participating in a multiple fundraiser or
team fundraiser
4 campaign;
[0022] Fig. llb is a process for converting collected registration fees to
donations;
6 [0023] Fig. 12 is a payment cycle process;
7 [0024] Fig. 13 is a process for charities approving donations;
8 [0025] Fig. 14 is a process for generating a social impact score;
9 [0026] Fig. 15 is a graphical depiction of social impact score factors;
[0027] Fig. 16 is an example of a page summarizing a social impact score for a
user;
11 [0028] Fig. 17 is an example of a page summarizing a user's activity;
12 [0029] Fig. 18 is a graphical depiction of factors for charity
analytics;
13 [0030] Fig. 19 is a process for establishing a corporate social
responsibility account; and
14 [0031] Fig. 20 is a process for configuring the corporate social
responsibility account.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
16 [0032] Embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures.
It will be appreciated
17 that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where considered
appropriate, reference numerals
18 may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous
elements. In
19 addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a
thorough understanding of
the embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of
ordinary skill in
21 the art that the embodiments described herein may be practiced without
these specific details.
22 In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and components have
not been described
23 in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments described herein. Also,
the description is not to
24 be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein.
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1 [0033] It will also be appreciated that any module, unit, component,
server, computer,
2 terminal or device exemplified herein that executes instructions may
include or otherwise have
3 access to computer readable media such as storage media, computer storage
media, or data
4 storage devices (removable and/or non-removable) such as, for example,
magnetic disks,
optical disks, or tape. Computer storage media may include volatile and non-
volatile, removable
6 and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for
storage of information,
7 such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules,
or other data.
8 Examples of computer storage media include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory
or other
9 memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical
storage, magnetic
cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage
devices, or any
11 other medium which can be used to store the desired information and
which can be accessed
12 by an application, module, or both. Any such computer storage media may
be part of the device
13 or accessible or connectable thereto. Any application or module herein
described may be
14 implemented using computer readable/executable instructions that may be
stored or otherwise
held by such computer readable media.
16 [0034] The following provides a system and method for charity
crowdfunding. The system
17 comprises a crowdfunding platform enabling a charity or charity promoter
(fundraiser) to
18 establish a campaign for soliciting funds via crowdfunding. Donors
(funders) to the campaign
19 donate directly to the charity enabling security of donation and
transparency of donor, the latter
permitting issuance by the charity of a tax receipt to the donor. Tax receipts
are generated by
21 the tax receipt generation module for each donor and sent to the donor
upon approval from the
22 charity. The charity is provided with relationship building
opportunities, through analytic data
23 relating to the donor and through the possibility of establishing and
maintaining engagement
24 with the donor and a network of further potential donors socially
related to the donor.
[0035] Referring first to Fig. 1, the system is a cloud based internet
connected platform
26 enabling online collection of donations and interaction with users and
charities. Users and
27 charities access the system via client computer (100). Interaction by
users and charities is
28 handled by the user interface module (102) which translates requirements
of the other
29 components of the system to a user-friendly format, such as by
formatting required data item
fields in suitable web pages. It will be understood that, in the following,
any user or charity
31 interaction with the system is achieved via the user interface module
(102).
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1 [0036] The system comprises a charity database (104) for administering a
charity account for
2 each participating charity. The charity database (104) has a plurality of
charity records each
3 corresponding to a charity account comprising identification information
for the charity as well as
4 a donor frontend (charity profile page) for the charity.
[0037] The system further comprises a campaign database (106) for establishing
and
6 administering campaigns. Campaigns established in the system are linked
to a charity record for
7 a charity, such that campaigns are directly linked to charities,
providing increased confidence
8 among potential donors that donated funds will in fact reach the charity.
The campaign
9 database (106) comprises a plurality of campaign records, each
corresponding to a campaign,
which is linked to donation records for donations to the campaign.
11 [0038] The system further comprises a donation processing module (108).
The donation
12 processing module (108) generates donation records when a user (donor)
initiates a donation to
13 a campaign in favour of a charity. Donation records track donations,
donors, impressions
14 (referrals to the campaign from the respective donor) and conversions
(further donations
resulting from the referrals).
16 [0039] The system further comprises a user database (110). The user
database (110)
17 comprises a plurality of user records, one for each user account of the
system, including for
18 promoters and donors. Users preferably link their user account to third
party social networks
19 (112) and permit the system to access information from the social
networks (112) as well as
post information to the social networks (112). It will be appreciated that
typical well-known social
21 networks provide application programming interfaces (APIs) and/or employ
open protocols for
22 such purposes. The user account includes identification information as
well as activity on the
23 system, such as donations, supported charities and campaigns,
subscriptions to other users'
24 notifications ("follows"), etc. Each user account is preferably assigned
a user page to showcase
activity by the user on the system, as will be described.
26 [0040] In embodiments, each charity establishes its own charity account,
however promoters,
27 which may or may not be formally engaged by the charity, establish and
promote campaigns on
28 behalf of the charity. For example, the promoter may be an individual
passionate about a
29 specific charity but not formally working for or with the charity.
Promoters are users who choose
to lead a campaign.
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1 [0041] The promoter creates a campaign which is allocated to a campaign
record. The
2 campaign record includes a link to a campaign promotion site (campaign
page) hosted by the
3 system. The campaign page may comprise media for publicizing the
campaign. Media may
4 include audio, video, text, etc. and typically includes a personal
message from the promoter
about why potential donors should donate to the charity via the campaign.
Preferably, upon the
6 creation of the campaign page, public notification of the campaign is
sent through the
7 promoter's social networks. The notification could be through a "status
update" for the promoter
8 on a third party social network, the notification being linked to the
campaign page such that a
9 social network user clicking the status update is directed to the
campaign page.
[0042] A potential donor accesses a campaign page and decides whether or not
to donate to
11 the campaign. Potential donors may or may not have previously
established a user account with
12 the system, as it is envisioned that potential donors may become aware
of the system through a
13 third party social network, for example by being exposed to a status
update initiated by the
14 actions of a registered user that happens to be within a social circle
of the potential donor on the
third party social network.
16 [0043] Upon deciding to donate to a campaign, an unregistered user is
requested to register
17 with the system to create a user account, while a registered user can
easily complete a
18 donation.
19 [0044] The system further comprises a payment gateway (114) through
which donations are
processed. The payment gateway (114) is linked to financial accounts for the
charities and
21 users, and may further be linked to financial accounts for the system
administrator for both
22 collecting fees and retaining funds on behalf of charities (e.g., held
in a trust account).
23 [0045] The system further comprises an analytic module (116), which may
be made
24 accessible to charities, the promoter, or another user, as configured by
an administrator of the
system. Charities are given access to analytic information relating to donors,
from which the
26 charities can tailor messaging and establish or maintain engagement with
donors and potential
27 donors.
28 [0046] The system further comprises a tax receipt generation module
(118). The tax receipt
29 generation module is linked to the charity database, the campaign
database and user database
to automatically generate tax receipts issued by the charity in favour of the
donors to
31 campaigns. Charities can prepare tax receipt templates for population
with each qualifying
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1 donation. Charities can thereafter approve of the generated tax receipts
for sending to the
2 donors.
3 [0047] The establishing of campaigns and processing of donations in this
manner addresses
4 issues that may exist in previous solutions, including:
[0048] Security. The donations collected from a promoter's campaign do not go
to the
6 promoter as an intermediary to the charity. Instead, the donations
collected can be held (e.g., in
7 trust) by an administrator of the system until such time, as they are
transferred to the charity.
8 Alternatively, the donations could be transferred directly to the charity
without either the
9 promoter or system administrator taking intermediary possession. Thus,
the promoters are
bypassed and never have access to the donations, eliminating corresponding
potential fraud.
11 [0049] Transparency. The charity can have access to data identifying the
donors to each
12 campaign. By having direct access to the donors' information, it is
possible to issue a tax receipt
13 to each donor.
14 [0050] Relationship building. By having knowledge of donors' identities,
each charity can
engage in outreach programs with its donors. Further, by integrating with
social networks, the
16 charities may interact with users directly, post media, and update their
donors on how their
17 contributions are being put to good use.
18 [0051] Referring now to Fig. 2, a process for establishing or
registering a charity account is
19 shown. The system delivers to a charity administrator a charity
registration page having a
registration link. At block 10.1 an administrator for the charity selects
(clicks on) the registration
21 link. At block 10.2, the charity administrator provides charity
information, which may comprise
22 the name of the charity, contact information for the charity (email,
phone number, website), a
23 charitable registration number established with a governmental body,
financial account
24 information for receiving donations (e.g., bank or PayPaITM account
identification) and tax
receipt information. Tax receipt information is preferably provided via a tax
receipt template
26 configured by the charity administrator.
27 [0052] An example of a tax receipt template is shown at Fig. 3. The tax
receipt template
28 enables the charity administrator to configure a tax receipt prefix,
starting tax receipt number
29 and tax receipt layout (e.g., with charity name and logo). The prefix
may be beneficial to
eliminate confusion with tax receipts issued offline or through third party
systems. Tax receipts
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1 sent by the system are generated by populating the template with donation
data from donation
2 records for the campaigns tied to the charity, and generating
downloadable documents
3 representing the receipts for use by the donor.
4 [0053] At block 10.3, the charity administrator links media to the
charity account, including for
example the charity's logo, description, and a link to an online hosted video.
At block 10.4, the
6 charity administrator provides information identifying the charity
administrator who will maintain
7 the charity account, including name, email, and password.
8 [0054] At block 10.5, the charity administrator links the charity account
to one or more
9 categories of causes with which the charity is involved. The list of
possible causes may be
preconfigured by the system administrator, though the charity may be permitted
to add to the
11 list.
12 [0055] Finally, at block 10.6, the charity administrator reviews and
accepts terms of service
13 for registering the charity account. This may include fee information
relating to payment to the
14 system administrator. Examples of fees include commissions on received
donations,
subscription fees, transaction fees, combinations thereof, and others.
16 [0056] At block 10.7, the system verifies items of provided information,
such as the email
17 account, charitable registration numbers and donation receiving
information being unique within
18 the system and being authentic. If the verification is not successful,
the charity account
19 registration process is terminated.
[0057] Otherwise, at block 10.8, a verification email may be sent to the
provided charity
21 administrator email address, providing a validation link with unique
generated token to ensure
22 that the specified email is correct. At block 10.9, the charity
administrator accesses the email
23 and clicks on the validation link which redirects to a validation page
with the unique validation
24 token. The charity administrator proceeds to login with their email
address and password. At
block 10.10, if the email and password credentials are incorrect, the charity
registration process
26 is terminated (though the charity administrator may later access the
validation link and try
27 again).
28 [0058] Otherwise, at block 10.11, the charity account is marked as
validated in the charity
29 database. In embodiments, a further manual verification may be provided
by the system
administrator prior to activating the charity's account. In such embodiments,
a notification email
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1 may be sent to the system administrator to indicate that this charity
account is ready for
2 approval. At block 10.12, the system administrator reviews the charity
account, contacts the
3 charity (perhaps offline), and verifies the charity account for
correctness and authenticity. If the
4 charity is approved the charity account is activated. Otherwise, the
charity account registration
process is terminated. Once activated, at block 10.13, the charity is notified
of the activation by
6 email. Upon the successful creation of the charity account, a unique
"invitation key" token is
7 generated, which can be used with an invitation URL to invite users to
register onto the system.
8 The charity administrator may now log in to the system to begin accepting
donations and
9 enabling the creation of campaigns.
[0059] Referring now to Fig. 4, a process for establishing or registering a
user account is
11 shown. It will be appreciated that any typical user registration process
could be used. In the
12 example of Fig. 4, the system delivers to the user a user registration
page having a registration
13 link. At block 9.1, the user accesses the registration link which
presents the user with the option
14 to establish a new account. The new account may be manually configured
or could be linked to
an existing user account on a third party site such as a social network.
Preferably, the
16 establishment of a new user account can be achieved using the 0Auth
protocol.
17 [0060] At block 9.2, if the user specifies an 0Auth method for
authentication with social
18 networks, at block 9.3 the system initiates an 0Auth REST call for
authentication and redirects
19 the user to the third party site for confirmation that the user account
information of the third party
site should be shared with the system. Upon confirmation, at block 9.4, the
user is redirected
21 back to the registration page wherein the system obtains and parses the
0Auth user account
22 data. Once authenticated, at block 9.5, a new authentication mapping is
generated between
23 user ID, authentication ID, and third party authentication type. At
block 9.6, a new user account
24 is generated with email address, age, location, gender, and any
additional demographic or
identifying data from the access token. The user account also comprises a
password that may
26 be obtained through the 0Auth protocol or uniquely provided by the user.
27 [0061] If at block 9.2 the user chose not to use the 0Auth method, at
block 9.7 the system
28 requests the user provide a username (by email address for example) and
password sufficient
29 to establish a new user account. Provided at block 9.8 that the username
is unique in the
system and the password does not have errors (e.g., meets minimum security
requirements
31 established by the system administrator), a new user account is
generated at block 9.9.
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1 [0062] If authentication fails at any time, the user account registration
process is terminated.
2 Provided authentication succeeds, at block 9.10a, if the signup URL
contains an "invitation key"
3 token, then the system locates from the charity database the charity to
which the token belongs.
4 A relationship record is generated for the newly registered user (i.e.
"auto follow" the charity)
with the referring charity. At block 9.10 the system sends a validation email
comprising a
6 generated unique validation token to the users email address with a link
to confirm their
7 account. At block 9.11, the user accesses the email and clicks the
validation link with the
8 generated unique token. At block 9.12 the user is redirected to the
account validation page
9 where the user logs in with their username and password. At block 9.13,
the system verifies the
login credentials. If verification fails, the user account registration
process terminates.
11 Otherwise, at block 9.14 a validation flag is set for the user account
in the user database. The
12 account is now validated with the designated email.
13 [0063] Any user in the system can participate in campaigns as either or
both of campaign
14 promoters and donors. As shown in Fig. 5, campaigns may include basic
campaigns tied to a
charity, multiple fundraiser campaigns tied to a physical event and a charity,
and a team of
16 multiple fundraisers tied to a physical event, a defined team of users
and a charity.
17 [0064] Referring now to Fig. 6, a campaign generation process enables
any user of the
18 system to establish a campaign to raise funds for any charity registered
with the system. The
19 system generates a campaign record to store information related to the
campaign, which is
configured by the promoter. The promoter configures a campaign as an
individualized
21 fundraiser campaign, multiple fundraiser campaign, or teams of
fundraisers campaign.
22 [0065] Individualized donation campaigns enable a promoter to establish
a campaign for their
23 cause, and invite people to donate or participate as a teammate to
fundraise for their campaign.
24 This extends network reach by encouraging influential people to rally
more supporters. All funds
raised in the campaign will be directed to the charity associated with the
campaign.
26 [0066] Multiple fundraiser campaigns are campaigns in which fundraising
participants raise
27 funds towards the same goal, where donation records are associated with
both the individual
28 participant and the campaign. Participants may be dynamically created.
For example, the
29 system may enable the establishments of multiple fundraisers comprising
a plurality of users.
The participants may correspondingly act as promoters, donors, etc. The
campaign
31 administrator may configure campaign pages with text, media, fundraising
goals, etc.
CA 02838406 2014-01-08
1 [0067] If the multiple fundraiser campaign represents a physical event,
an optional registration
2 fee may be charged to each participant, with optional refund criteria
that allows the administrator
3 to set a fundraising target for each participant that triggers a refund
of the registration fee to that
4 participant when achieved. Participants are attendees who may purchase
tickets using the
system. Their names are entered into an event guest list for the organizer to
track. Electronic
6 tickets may be issued by the system to the participant, for example by
generating a unique QR
7 code, and sent to the participant, for example by email, using a ticket
template that can be
8 selected and customized by the organizer. Registrants to an event may be
listed in the
9 campaign record for the event, which preferably can be output to a human
readable attendee
list.
11 [0068] Teams are another type of campaign which allows the charity or
promoter to launch a
12 fundraising event that invites team leads to assemble their own
fundraising teams. This scenario
13 works well for community partnerships where different organizations may
take part to compete
14 with other organizations, or within a corporate structure where the
corporation can launch the
team challenge and various departments within the business could assemble
their own teams.
16 [0069] Teams share the same architectural attributes as charities and
campaigns, allowing
17 users to follow their interactions, and perform social media activity
(e.g., write on their "wall" to
18 post media and status updates).
19 [0070] At block 11.1, the user locates the charity for which they wish
to fundraise on the
system. Preferably, the system includes a search feature facilitating locating
of charities.
21 Searching may be by charity name, categories of causes, location, etc.
The system may further
22 have a browsing-based index of the charities on the system, which again
may be based on
23 name, categories of causes, location, etc. The user accesses the
charity's profile page and may
24 view the media accessible therein.
[0071] Upon the user determining he or she wishes to establish a campaign, at
block 11.2 the
26 user may access a dedicated link to establish a campaign for that
charity. The link may, for
27 example, be a button (e.g., a "Help Fundraise" button) located on the
charity's profile page.
28 Clicking the link generates a campaign record tied to the charity.
29 [0072] Beginning at block 11.3, the system collects information for
storing in or linking to the
campaign record. At block 11.3 the user provides a title and optionally
category, address,
31 additional information about the campaign/event, date, duration, image,
description, and media
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1 for the campaign. The user is further requested to signal whether the
campaign supports
2 multiple fundraisers. At block 11.4, if the campaign supports multiple
fundraising participants,
3 the system requests that the user optionally provide, at block 11.5,
group information for the
4 event. Group information may comprise group size or estimated number of
participants. The
system also requests that the user optionally signal, at block 11.6, whether
any registration fee
6 may be required for other users to participate in the fundraiser (e.g.,
tickets to be purchased to
7 attend). If a registration fee is required, at block 11.7, the user
provides the fee and optional
8 refund rules. Refund rules may correspond to a target fundraising goal
for a donor which would
9 permit refund of registration fees to that donor once achieved. An event
page is subsequently
generated at block 11.8.
11 [0073] If the campaign is not a multiple fundraiser, the user is
requested to signal whether the
12 campaign is a team fundraiser. If so, a team fundraiser is created. A
team fundraiser is one for
13 which users may join into an existing team as a fundraising participant,
or create a new team to
14 gather its own fundraising participants. Otherwise, an individual
fundraiser campaign page is
generated at block 11.10.
16 [0074] The campaign generation process is then terminated and the
campaign record is
17 stored in the campaign database. Stored campaigns are made accessible
via a campaigns
18 listing (or searchable via search) in the system.
19 [0075] Once a campaign has been established, any user is permitted to
participate in the
campaign, unless the campaign is a corporate or team event for which the
promoter has
21 configured the event to be open to a defined set of users. Unregistered
individuals may also
22 locate the campaign page and request to participate, upon which the
previously described user
23 registration process will be initiated.
24 [0076] Referring now to Fig. 7, a process for donating is shown. At
block 1.1, the registered
user locates the charity page, campaign page, team page, or participant page.
The user may
26 wish to donate by accessing a link (which may, for example, be a "Donate
Now" button or the
27 like) located on the selected page. At block 1.2, the donation
processing module determines
28 whether the user is logged in to the system. If not, the user is
redirected to the user registration
29 process, which is either establishment of a new user account or logging
in to a previously
configured user account.
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1 [0077] Provided the user is logged in to the system, the donation
processing module creates
2 a donation record comprising amount and frequency by requesting payment
information from
3 the user including, at block 1.3, the amount of the desired donation and,
at block 1.4, whether
4 the payment is a one-time payment or recurring payment. The frequency of
recurrence may be
preconfigured by the system administrator or configurable by the user. If the
payment is to be a
6 recurring payment, a recurring payment indicator is set in the donation
record.
7 [0078] The donation record is transmitted to the payment gateway and the
donation
8 processing module redirects the user to a payment portal which is linked
to the payment
9 gateway. The user provides payment information at block 1.6. The payment
gateway verifies the
payment information (that the information is sufficient to access the account
indicated and that
11 sufficient funds are available) and may place a hold on the donation
amount as specified by the
12 donation record. Alternatively, at block 1.7, if the user chooses to
cancel, the donation process
13 terminates and any hold is released.
14 [0079] Upon successful verification, at block 1.9, a payment token is
generated by the
payment gateway and linked to the donation record, which is transmitted to the
donation
16 processing module confirming that the funds are available. Upon receipt
of the payment token,
17 at block 1.9 the donation processing module redirects the user back to
the campaign page. A
18 payment form is populated with user details specifying the payment
details, at block 1.10, as
19 well as donation publicity options configurable by the user, at block
1.11. The donation publicity
options may be linked to the donation record. The user may configure the
donation to be
21 anonymous, or to publicly display or hide the amount, request a tax
receipt, or change the
22 amount. The user can then confirm payment at block 1.12.
23 [0080] Upon confirmation, at block 1.12, the donation processing module
signals to the
24 payment gateway to execute the payment. At block 1.13, the payment
gateway transfers the
funds from the user's payment account to the system administrator account,
preferably a trust
26 account. If the payment is a recurring payment, the payment gateway can
automatically
27 reprocess payment in accordance with the configured frequency.
28 [0081] At block 1.14, the donation processing module receives and parses
payment
29 confirmation from the payment gateway and determines from the
confirmation whether payment
was successful. If so, at block 1.15, the donation processing module initiates
a process for
31 finalizing the transaction, which comprises processing the donation
amount as well as social
13
CA 02838406 2014-01-08
1 network dissemination related to the campaign, charity and donation in
accordance with the
2 donation publicity options.
3 [0082] Referring now to Fig. 8, a process for finalizing a transaction is
shown. At block 2.1,
4 the donation processing module parses the payment gateway transaction
response to obtain
the donation amount and payment frequency which will be saved later into a
donation record. At
6 block 2.2, if the donation indicates the payment is recurring, at block
2.3, a recurring payment
7 profile is generated to record the user account identifier, payment
amount, next expected
8 payment time, and token ID. The donation is then processed in accordance
with the donation
9 processing process shown in Fig. 9.
[0083] Referring now to Fig. 9, once a donation transaction has been executed,
the donation
11 processing module processes the donation to allocate appropriate
portions of the donation to
12 the charity and to the system administrator, as well to update the
campaign accordingly. At
13 block 3.1, the system administrator portion, which may be a flat fee,
commission or combination
14 thereof, is calculated and stored in the donation record as well as
being added to an
accumulated processing fee representing the system administrator portion
across all donations.
16 [0084] At block 3.2, a donation record is created and a unique token
identifier is allocated to
17 the record. At block 3.3, the physical location of the donor is
determined either from the donor's
18 user account or from an address associated with the donor, such as IP
address. The location is
19 geocoded and allocated to the donation record.
[0085] At block 3.4, the donation processing module transmits a notification,
for example by
21 email, to the charity and campaign promoter to signal that a donation
has been made. At block
22 3.5, the donation amount and identification of the donor (if permitted
by the donation publicity
23 options) may be posted to a status update on the charity profile page,
the campaign page, event
24 page, team activity page and/or third party social network.
[0086] At block 3.6, the donation processing module obtains the campaign
record for the
26 campaign and adds the donation amount to the total raised for the
campaign.
27 [0087] At block 3.7, the donation processing module determines whether
the donation was
28 made to support another fundraising participant, for example a user
participating in an event
29 and raising money for the event (as determined by presence of a referral
token, for example). If
so, at block 3.8, the donation processing module creates a supporter
relationship mapping
14
CA 02838406 2014-01-08
1 between the current user and the fundraising participant. The mapping
enables each user to
2 subscribe to social posts (i.e., to "follow") the other.
3 [0088] At block 3.9, the donation processing module obtains the
fundraising participant's
4 record and adds the donation amount to the total amount raised. Further,
if the donation
processing module determines that the fundraising participant is part of a
team at block 3.10,
6 the donation is added to the team amount at block 3.11.
7 [0089] If the campaign has a registration rule (fee) and refund rule, at
block 3.12 the donation
8 processing module obtains the campaign registration rule and compares the
value of the rule
9 with the amount raised by the donor. At block 3.13, if the donor has
reached the target
registration rule amount, the system refunds the registration fee, at block
3.14, by looking up the
11 registration record to extract the transaction ID. The fee is refunded
by the payment gateway.
12 [0090] Referring back to Fig. 8, at block 2.4, a donor may be
automatically subscribed to
13 "follow" the charity or campaign by creating a relationship mapping in
the user database
14 between the current user and the respective entity.
[0091] If the donation was made as a result of referral from a third party
social network (which
16 is described below), a referral cookie has been generated by the
donation processing module.
17 At block 2.5, the donation processing module determines whether a
referral cookie is generated.
18 If so, the donation record indicated by the cookie is obtained (which is
a different donation
19 record to the donation record for the present donation), and a
conversion counter of that
donation record is incremented. An influenced donations counter of that
donation record is
21 further increased by the amount of the present donation at block 2.7. In
block 2.8, an
22 "influenced" field of the present donation record is populated with the
prior donation record
23 identifier.
24 [0092] At block 2.9, the donation processing module checks the donation
publicity rules to
determine whether the user wished for the donation to be posted on third party
social networks.
26 If so, at block 2.10, the system authenticates to the user's account on
the corresponding social
27 network(s) and verifies successful authentication at block 2.11. Upon
successful authentication,
28 at block 2.12 the system posts a notification to the third party social
network as a status update
29 for the user, in which the status update includes a link to the donation
on the campaign page,
with a uniquely generated identifier. The donation record is correspondingly
updated to indicate
31 that the donation has been shared, for analytic tracking, at block 2.13.
CA 02838406 2014-01-08
1 [0093] The donation is then considered paid, with funds received and held
in trust. The
2 donation processing module assigns an empty "payment transfer ID" to the
donation record,
3 meaning that the funds are held by the system administrator and not yet
paid to the charity. This
4 may be the preferred procedure to take advantage of bulk payment
transfers, reducing the cost
of transactions. Alternatively, the funds could be instantaneously transmitted
to the charity's
6 receiving account. When a new payment transfer is created for the charity
for that payment
7 cycle, the donation module gathers all donations belonging to the charity
with empty payment
8 transfer ID's and will assign it the ID of the new payment transfer. This
payment transfer is in
9 pending approval state and requires that the charity's signing officer
approve it before the funds
are released. The payment transfer ID's can therefore act like a monthly
"statement" containing
11 the donations accumulated for that payment period.
12 [0094] Referring now to Fig. 10, a process for establishing a donation
from a user accessing a
13 link on a third party social network is shown. At block 4.1, a user
clicks on a shared donation link
14 from a third party social network. At block 4.2, the system obtains the
unique token identifier for
the link and obtains the corresponding donation tracking page. At block 4.3,
the donation record
16 for the donation is obtained. The identifier for the donation record is
stored into a referral cookie.
17 Additionally, an impressions counter of the donation record is
incremented. Further, the
18 GEOCODE for the location of the user is stored in the referral cookie.
19 [0095] At block 4.4, the user is directed to the corresponding charity,
campaign, event, or
team page of the linked donation. At block 4.5, the user may select to donate,
in which case the
21 previously described transaction processing process is invoked.
22 [0096] Referring now to Fig. 11, a process is shown for a user to
participate by joining a
23 multiple fundraiser campaign, or a team within a team campaign. At block
12.1, the registered
24 user locates the campaign page (or team page). At block 12.2, the user
may optionally post
media to their personal fundraising page, including a stated goal, personal
message or
26 customized appeal video, for example.
27 [0097] At block 12.3, if the campaign is an event which requires a
registration fee, the user is
28 requested to pay the registration fee. The donation processing module
redirects the user to a
29 payment portal which is linked to the payment gateway. The user provides
payment information
at block 12.4. The payment gateway verifies the payment information (that it
is sufficient to
31 access the funds) and places a holds on the registration fee amount as
established for the
16
CA 02838406 2014-01-08
1 event. Alternatively, at block 12.5, if the user chooses to cancel, the
user participation process
2 terminates.
3 [0098] Upon successful verification, at block 12.6, a payment token is
generated by the
4 payment gateway and transmitted to the system confirming that the funds
are available. Upon
receipt of the payment token, the donation processing module redirects the
user to the
6 campaign page and requests the user to confirm the payment token, and
therefore execute
7 payment, at block 12.7. If the user does not confirm, the user
participation process terminates.
8 If the user does confirm, at block 12.8, the donation processing module
signals to the payment
9 gateway to execute the payment. The payment gateway directs the funds
from the user's
payment account to the system administrator account, preferably a trust
account.
11 [0099] At block 12.9 the donation processing module additionally creates
a registration record
12 for the user and sets the status of the record to "paid", meaning that
the funds are held by the
13 system administrator and not yet paid to the charity. This status may
change to "refunded" if the
14 payment is refunded when the registration rule objectives are met, or to
"converted" when the
campaign reaches an agreed deadline and registrations are converted to
donations (eligible for
16 tax receipts) to be paid out to the charity with other donations during
the next payment transfer.
17 [0100] Referring to Fig 11b, a process of converting collected
registration fees to donations is
18 shown. When the campaign reaches an agreed deadline, the administrator
initiates the
19 conversion process at block 16.1. At block 16.2 the donation module
obtains all registrations
related to the campaign. At block 16.3, the donation module creates a donation
record for each
21 non-refunded registration record (i.e. the registration record with
status "paid"), eligible for tax
22 receipt issuing to the registrant. At block 16.4, the registration
record's status is changed to
23 "converted". At block 16.5, the donation module updates the total amount
raised for the
24 campaign, adding to it the sum of the newly converted registrations.
[0101] In embodiments, received donations are accumulated by the system
administrator,
26 preferably in a trust account, and periodically disbursed to the
charities to which the donations
27 are intended. Referring now to Fig. 12, a payment (disbursement) cycle
process is shown. At
28 block 6.1, the system administrator initiates a new payment cycle.
Payment transfers are
29 created for every charity with outstanding donations not yet assigned to
a payment transfer. At
block 6.2, charities with new payment transfers are notified, for example via
email, that they
31 need to approve of the pending payment transfer before receiving the
funds. At block 6.3,
17
CA 02838406 2014-01-08
1 donations corresponding to the payment transfer are assigned a tax
receipt number. Tax receipt
2 numbers may be issued based on an auto incrementing scheme using a "next
available" value
3 as the starting index. The initial index may be preconfigured by the
charity administrator when
4 configuring a tax receipt template, and auto increments and assigns to
every new donation. A
default value may be assigned if the template has not yet been configured. At
block 6.4,
6 payment transfers are pending approval and require that a signing officer
of the charity login to
7 the system to approve the generated tax receipts numbers.
8 [0102] Referring now to Fig. 13, a process for enabling the charity
administrator to approve of
9 donations and initiate donation transfer is shown. At block 7.1, the
charity administrator logs into
the system to view the pending payment transfers. At block 7.2, the charity
administrator may
11 inspect the generated tax receipt numbers based on their configuration
of the tax receipt
12 template, for example to ensure that conflicts do not exist with other
third party systems they are
13 using. The charity administrator may correct the entries until they are
satisfied. At block 7.3, if
14 the charity administrator signals that the tax receipt numbers are
acceptable, then at block 7.4
the system determines whether a tax receipt template has been configured. If
not, at block 7.5,
16 the charity administrator is requested to upload a digital scan or
photograph of an authorizing
17 signature of the tax receipt. At block 7.6, the charity administrator
provides a starting number of
18 the receipt numbers to be used in the generated tax receipts. This
number is used as a base
19 from which the value auto increments and is assigned to every new
donation. Optionally, the
charity administrator may include a unique prefix string value to help easily
distinguish the tax
21 receipts from the system from those of third party systems. At block 7.7
the charity administrator
22 ensures that the charity information including its address, contact
information, logo, registration
23 number and any information required for a charitable tax receipt are
correctly specified.
24 [0103] Provided a tax receipt template is configured, at block 7.8 the
authorized officer
approves the donations. At block 7.9, the tax receipt numbers are locked in
and can no longer
26 be changed. The tax receipt generation module generates digital document
(e.g., PDF) versions
27 of the tax receipts and sends them, for example by email, to the
corresponding donors, or a
28 download link to a document is sent. At block 7.10, the state of the
payment transfer is
29 advanced to "Approved" state. The system administrator is notified, for
example via email, of the
approval and can formally transfer the funds from its own account (e.g., the
trust account) to the
31 charity's account, with corresponding fee (commission, etc.) deduction.
At block 7.11, copies of
32 the generated tax receipts for that payment transfer may be downloaded
from the dashboard for
33 the charity's payment records.
18
CA 02838406 2014-01-08
1 [0104] Thus it can be appreciated that a system for charity crowdfunding
having increased
2 security and transparency is provided. Further, aspects of the system
enable increased donor
3 engagement and retention while also leveraging charity awareness through
donor evangelism.
4 [0105] The system may comprise commands commonly provided on social
network
platforms, including means to enable users to generate messages, posts,
comments, albums
6 (and other media), as well as create relationships such as two-way
(friend) and one-way (follow)
7 relationships. In examples, users may create posts or link media on
charity pages, campaign
8 pages, other user's pages, corporation pages, team pages, etc. These
posts may, for example,
9 be words of encouragement or support for a donor, promoter, charity,
campaign, corporation,
team, etc. In all cases, user activity on the system is preferably recorded to
user records in the
11 user database to enable charities to access analytics reflecting the
users.
12 [0106] The ability to profile donors, understand their motivations for
giving and learning their
13 stories is critical to fundraising success. The system enables charities
to benefit from
14 understanding, documenting and learning giving trends of individuals by
tracking donor
engagement, the nature of promoters, donors and donations, and social spread
for campaigns,
16 all providing an understanding of how donors are engaging with charities
on other social media
17 avenues by sharing, referring and talking about their contributions.
18 [0107] For example, charities can understand how a donor found their
page (i.e., through
19 which medium, whether TwitterTm, FacebookTM, a website, another donor's
emails, etc.).
Charities can further track the referrals that each individual brought to the
charity page.
21 [0108] Donors can correspondingly gain recognition. Users can build a
virtual resume of
22 social good with metrics such as donation amounts, causes supported,
campaigns hosted,
23 awards received, volunteer hours, how much influence they have within
their social circles, etc.
24 A social impact score can be generated to quantify a user's social
impact and general "good
doing". Thus, the emphasis is placed back upon the donor. This donor-centric
model of
26 rewarding or recognizing donors recognizes activity beyond merely direct
donation dollars. The
27 model includes time donated, crowdfunding campaigns hosted, referrals,
shares, etc.
28 [0109] Referring now to Fig. 14, the analytic module is operable to
generate a dynamic social
29 impact score for a user based upon activity with the charity
crowdfunding system. Preferably,
the social impact score is reflective of donation activity, promotion activity
and overall
31 engagement with the system. In one example as shown, at block 21.1 the
user registered with
19
CA 02838406 2014-01-08
1 the system. At block 21.2 the user customizes a "My Effect" page by
enabling and disabling
2 privacy for certain activities and interactions in the system. At block
21.3, the social impact
3 score may be calculated as a weighted metric taking into account all
activity the user has on the
4 platform, including the activity elements shown in Fig. 15 such as
campaigns hosted, funds
raised, number and amount of donations contributed, causes supported, awards
received,
6 number of new visitors influenced by the user, number and amount of
donations from new
7 visitors influenced by the user, volunteer hours, and engagement (posts,
media, comments),
8 etc. Third party social network activity related to a campaign can also
be used to adjust social
9 impact score, since dissemination of donations across third party media
(social networks, for
example) include a token enabling tracking of referrals and conversions back
to the donor.
11 [0110] Users may be incentivized to increase their social impact score.
A ranking page may
12 be accessible on the system to view a leaderboard of users ranked by
social impact score, thus
13 gamifying the system and encouraging activity, donation and promotion.
Additionally, the score
14 may be used as virtual currency tradable for donation credits,
merchandise redemption,
corporate sponsorship or loyalty programs. At block 21.4, the user may be
assigned the social
16 impact score. An example of a page summarizing a social impact score for
a user is shown in
17 Fig. 16, while an example of a page summarizing a user's activity is
shown in Fig. 17.
18 [0111] Further, by linking donation records with user accounts, the
analytic module may
19 generate demographic metrics for the charity specific to donors and
groups of donors. Along
with viral reach, conversions, and traffic source, the system is operable to
collect donor gender,
21 age, and location details. Charities may be provided access to analytics
broken down by any
22 demographic or category across donors. These include the factors shown
in Fig. 18, such as
23 geographic location of donors, geographic location of non-donors to
campaign pages and
24 charity pages, page views, causes supported by donors of the charity,
top influencers to a
charity and campaign, donor demographics, donation amounts and number of
donations.
26 [0112] The present system may further be used to establish and
administer corporate social
27 responsibility programs and other team-based fundraising events. It
should be understood that,
28 in this case, the foregoing description applies, with the corporations
taking the place of charities
29 and the corporations' employees taking the place of users of the system.
Corporations can
showcase their and their employees' philanthropic involvement. This includes
highlighting their
31 employee fundraising efforts, total contributions, and causes that align
with their corporate
32 values.
CA 02838406 2014-01-08
1 [0113] Referring to Fig. 19, a corporation registration process is shown.
It will be appreciated
2 that the storing of registered corporations may be substantially similar
to storing of charities and
3 the storing of employees may be substantially similar to the storing of
users.
4 [0114] In the process shown in Fig. 19, at block 14.1 an administrator
for the corporation
selects (clicks on) the registration link. At block 14.2, the corporation
administrator provides
6 corporation information, which may comprise the name of the corporation
and contact
7 information for the corporation (email, phone number, website).
8 [0115] At block 14.3, the corporation administrator links media to the
charity account,
9 including for example the corporation's logo and mission statement. At
block 14.4, the
corporation administrator provides information identifying the corporation
administrator(s) who
11 will maintain the corporation account, including name, email, and
password.
12 [0116] At block 14.5, the corporation administrator links the
corporation account to one or
13 more categories of causes with which the corporation supports. The list
of causes may be
14 preconfigured by the system administrator, though the corporation may be
permitted to add to
the list.
16 [0117] Finally, at block 14.6, the corporation administrator reviews and
accepts terms of
17 service for registering the corporation account. This may include fee
information relating to
18 payment to the system administrator. Examples of fees include
commissions on donations,
19 subscription fees, etc.
[0118] At block 14.7, the system verifies items of provided information, such
as the email
21 account and password being suitable. If the verification is not
successful, the corporation
22 account registration process is terminated.
23 [0119] Otherwise, at block 14.8, a verification email may be sent to the
provided corporation
24 administrator email address, providing a validation link with unique
generated token to ensure
that the specified email is correct. At block 14.9, the corporation
administrator accesses the
26 email and clicks on the validation link which redirects to a validation
page with the unique
27 validation token. The corporation administrator proceeds to login with
their email address and
28 password. At block 14.10, if the email and password credentials are
incorrect, the corporation
29 registration process is terminated (though the corporation administrator
may re-access the
validation link and try again).
21
CA 02838406 2014-01-08
1 [0120] Otherwise, at block 14.11, the corporation account is marked as
validated in the user
2 database. In embodiments, a further manual verification may be provided
by the system
3 administrator prior to activating the corporation's account. In such
embodiments, a notification
4 email may be sent to the system administrator to indicate that this
corporation account is ready
for approval. At block 14.12, the corporation administrator reviews the
corporation account,
6 contacts the corporation (perhaps offline), and verifies the corporation
account for correctness
7 and authenticity. If the corporation is approved the corporation account
is activated. Otherwise,
8 the corporation account registration process is terminated. Once
activated, at block 14.13, the
9 corporation is notified of the activation by email. Upon the successful
creation of the corporation
account, a unique "invitation key" token is generated, which can be used with
an invitation URL
11 to invite employees to register onto the system. The corporation
administrator may now log in to
12 the system to configure or customize the CSR information.
13 [0121] The corporation may establish campaigns. Referring back to Fig.
6, at block 11.12a, if
14 the user creating the campaign is a corporation (i.e. a corporation
administrator creating the
campaign on behalf of the corporation), a mapping between that corporation and
the campaign
16 is established in block 11.12b. This mapping provides the means for
tying campaign statistics
17 to the corporation's statistics, such as campaign donations contributing
to the corporation's
18 cumulative raised funds.
19 [0122] Employees may donate to the campaigns. Referring back to Fig. 9,
at block 3.6b, the
donation processing module determines whether the user making the donation is
tied to any
21 corporation. If so, the employee's corporation's statistics related to
employee giving are
22 updated at block 3.6c. At block 3.6d, the donation processing module
determines whether the
23 campaign was created by a corporation. If so, the campaign's
corporation's statistics related to
24 fundraising are updated at block 3.6e.
[0123] Referring now to Fig. 20, a CSR customization process is shown. At
block 15.1, the
26 corporation administrator logs into the system. If the corporation is
not registered, the
27 corporation registration process is followed. At block 15.2, the
corporation administrator is
28 presented with a set of preconfigured CSR templates and may select one.
The templates
29 comprise fields to populate with charities and causes supported,
campaigns launched,
employee contributions, funds raised. At block 15.3, the corporation
administrator may
31 customize each section to enable privacy settings and customization of
the content. Content
32 related to corporate CSR is pulled directly from the system through
activity and interactions that
22
CA 02838406 2014-01-08
1 the corporation and its employees have had. Additional content and media
may be uploaded
2 and posted with links to showcase CSR. At block 15.4, each of the
applicable categories carries
3 a weighing factor. The applicable categories comprise the total campaigns
launched and
4 supported, corporate donations, funds raised, employee contributions,
number of interactions,
media uploaded. The corporation and its employees work as a unit to boost the
CSR score. At
6 block 15.5, the corporation is assigned a dynamic CSR score. The system
may provide a
7 leaderboard to show a ranking of corporations by CSR score to showcase
corporations with
8 high social impact.
9 [0124] In another aspect, an open donation application programming
interface (API) is
provided. The API enables third party applications to integrate the charity
crowdfunding system
11 described herein. Third party applications may include social networks,
mobile device
12 applications and games, websites, etc. Portions or top-ups of in-app
purchases and e-
13 commerce transactions, for example, could be directed to the charity
crowdfunding system.
14 [0125] Although the invention has been described with reference to
certain specific
embodiments, various modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled
in the art without
16 departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as outlined in the
claims appended hereto.
17 The entire disclosures of all references recited above are incorporated
herein by reference.
23
