“Everybody has kindness in them. There just has to be a medium for people to find those in need.”, says Raghav, founder of iGiver.
And for the last one and half years, that’s exactly what iGiver has been working on successfully — connecting kind-hearted people to those in need. Using technology for the greater good of humanity, iGiver is on a journey to spread the joy of giving.
In this week’s spotlight story, we cover the story of iGiver and how they are revolutionising donations by taking it digital, helping thousands of people in need.
Digitalising donations
Raghav, a IT company owner, pioneered a new model and found an innovative way to collect and disburse donations.
iGiver was founded in 2019, just before the pandemic hit. He was inspired in helping people in need and wanted to do more. Raghav identified a problem in the NGO space — donating was a long and complex process, and there was not much transparency.
Local NGOs and old age homes struggle to find money to make ends meet, and people who wish to give find it difficult to donate. Raghav wanted to bridge this gap, to make the process a lot smoother and effective.
iGiver brings innovation and technology into the field of donations and NGOs
iGiver was founded with the aim of helping NGOs get resources for their daily needs more easily. Raghav created a website, where donors can easily donate to them. But unlike other platforms, you’re not just donating money. You can select what kind of items you want to buy for them with the money. You can buy grocery, books, stationery, or even softwares for those in need.
This revolutionary approach to giving donations to non-profits made the process easier, transparent, and more delightful. So far, close to thousand have donated via iGiver and thousands of people in need have benefitted of donations worth INR 1 million.
As iGiver’s payment gateway, Instamojo is glad to be part of their journey.
Creating a new model for donations
There are many cash-based donations platforms in India. But there are few that connect local NGOs, old age homes, and other shelters. “We wanted to bring a system that benefits these under-rated organisations”, says Raghav. On the search for an alternative, iGiver wanted to connect kind-hearted people with the needy in a better way.
For this, iGiver partnered with retailers so that donors can choose what they want to donate. “By this model, you just don’t donate money, you can choose what you want the NGOs get with that sum. It can be groceries, books, or any other items”, says Raghav. So, iGiver made the process of donating more personal and thus more joyful.
Some of their retail partners include Organic farmer’s market, Amar Chithra Katha, Balaji Enterprises, and Pratham Books, amongst others.
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This is how the donation process works on iGiver based on retail partner: First you select an item offered by the retail partners. Then, you select an NGO from the list. Right now, there are about 25 NGOs listed on iGiver. Then, you can make the payment. It’s as easy as that!
Other ways to donate are through wishtree and campaigns. iGiver is also planning to introduce NGO wallet to make the process even smoother.
This new concept of giving has connected thousands of people in need with generous givers across India. In a year’s time, iGiver has proven to be a workable model, and is constantly working to improve it further.
Partnering with Instamojo
To make the process of collecting donations smoother, iGiver needed a secure payment gateway for hassle-free transactions. More than that, they wanted a partner that understood iGiver’s vision.
“Initially, I got in touch with another leading payment gateway in India. But they failed to understand my concept. They could not reason beyond just a business transaction”, says Raghav, founder of iGiver.
“That’s when I came across Instamojo. Partnering with Instamojo is the best business decision we made. They understood our vision and supported us. We were glad in finding a partner that recognised our mission. The payment gateway allowed us to collect donations hassle-free. Being a company that powers MSMEs, Instamojo also helped us in partnering with retail partners.”
-Raghav, founder of iGiver
Raghav also mentioned how the latest product launched by Instamojo, Smart Pages, will be of great use for donations and NGOs.
The experience of donors by using iGiver
A donor can easily and smoothly donate big or small amounts to NGOs of their choice. What’s unique about iGiver is that the donor can choose where their money goes and what it buys. Moreover, they receive regular updates via WhatsApp on their donations.
This makes donations easier, transparent and delightful. That’s how iGiver stands apart from other platforms
Running successful campaigns
Ever since iGiver was founded, they have run successful campaigns during and after the pandemic. During Diwali, they ran a campaign aiming to collect money to donate sweet boxes to 3000 kids across Chennai. The campaign was a huge success.
During the first wave of the pandemic, iGiver ran a campaign to collect oximeters for a public health centres in Tirunelveni. They also ran successful campaigns to feed migrant workers during the pandemic. Other than this, iGiver ran several successful campaign to feed under-privileged people in Bengaluru and Chennai.
An on-going campaign is aimed to creating a small library of 100 books for under-privileged children.
A goal to make 6 billion people experience the joy of giving
iGiver platform aims to make 6 billion people experience the joy of giving and contributing to the collective welfare of humanity.
“We plan to expand iGiver to more cities in India. Also, we aim to include 100 NGOs as partners. We will also onboard more retail partners”, says Raghav, speaking about iGiver’s future plans.
iGiver has proved that technology can also be used for the greater good of humankind. Bringing out kindness in people and spreading it to people in need, this platform has changed the face of donations for the better.
And, we at Instamojo are proud to part of their journey of spreading joy.
Do you have an initiative that need to go digital? Sign up on Instamojo today and get your own one-page website to collect payments hassle-free.
