A further 16 innovative projects designed to boost giving have been awarded grants of up to £50,000 from the Cabinet Office £10m Innovation in Giving Fund, managed  by Nesta, the UK’s innovation foundation. Each organisation will also receive a package of non-financial support.

Nesta have identified a number of themes amongst the different offerings each organisation is trialling:

1)    Supporting easy and friction-free giving. Chip In proposes to use Oyster card technology to make quick and easy charitable donations, while the National Funding Scheme, has designed a mobile giving scheme for the arts and heritage sector, aiming to resolve the issue of £750m worth of Gift Aid which goes unclaimed every year. Meanwhile, Photofoundation gives the public an alternative way to support their favourite charity, by donating an image to an online photobank, which the charity can use for free or claim a donation when the image is used by a business. 

2)    Maximising use of spaces. 
Dot Dot Dot Property tackles the problems of vacant housing by identifying people to act as 'property guardians' in exchange for affordable rent while giving back to the local community through voluntary work. Growing Together supports the development of community gardens, farms and other green spaces, utilising a range of methods from crowdfunding to community shares inspiring a sense of ownership and empowerment.

3)    Better business giving. 
GoodPeople will deliver an operating system upon which numerous pro-bono and skills based volunteering programmes can be run. The web and mobile technology aims to match people who want to use their skills and talents for social good to relevant opportunities within civil society organisations. Young Philanthropy introduces young professionals to philanthropic giving, enabling them to pool their money, time and resource and invest in charitable projects, with backing from experienced philanthropists.

Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society, said: "We launched the Innovation in Giving Fund to help unlock the potential that new technologies and other exciting innovations offer the charitable sector. It's therefore fantastic that this fund has supported the growth of such imaginative and compelling ideas and enabled people to come up with new ways for people to give their time, money, resources and skills to help others."



Helen Goulden, a director in the Public Services Lab, Nesta said: "Whether it's giving a hot meal, a photo, a bit of land, an hour of skilled time or a place for somewhere to sleep, the awardees have shown how with a bit of creative thinking we can really challenge ourselves on what giving in the 21^stCentury means.  By supporting these ideas at an early stage we hope to see the projects grow and continue to engage and inspire the next generation of givers."



The Innovation in Giving Fund was launched in September 2011. To date 56 projects have been supported. The Fund is one of a number of new policies announced in the Giving Whitepaper in May 2011.