We all know 2009 was a tough year – but at
mygoodpoints we actually came out alright. It was in early January of
this year that we made our debut as a company, negotiating those first
unsteady steps before landing in Ireland’s nonprofit community.
Then, in April 2009, we battled through Vodaphone’s dragon’s
den-style competition to secure a position and funding on their World of
Difference Initiative. Quite a blessing and we counted it.
By May, we had closed a deal with Microsoft for free software and
secured support from KPMG, whose sterling work helped us achieve charity
status with the Revenue Commissioners (a CHY number) in under three
months – an amazing turn-around! – making us the first online charity in
Ireland.
Leveraging our new charity status we were in September then able to
garner half a million Euros worth of free ad words and staff volunteer
support from Google Ireland.
Meanwhile, Digital Trading and Cream Graphics armed us with engineers
and graphic designers to build our first version of the platform.
Finally we closed the year by winning a place on a new programme from
NDRC (National Digital Research Centre) with investment into our
usability testing in 2010. (They also provided office space!)
All in all in 2009, we garnered somewhere around 1 million Euros in
support, services and professional volunteer time.
www.mygoodpoints.org –
let’s launch it
We expect our website to launch in the Spring of 2010. Mygoodpoints
will provide consumers with an online account or wallet where they can
gather all their unused loyalty points and value and donate these
directly as cash to support the charity projects of their choice, at
home and overseas. Following this, members receive feedback directly
from the field, letting them see the real and direct difference their
donations are making in people’s lives. Watch this space.
Right now we’re completing the build on our platform and putting the
website through some usability testing (i.e., we’re figuring out whether
users will like it). Let it be known that we’re looking to our growing
community of supporters (that’s you!) to act as guinea pigs and tell us
what about the site works, and what could be better. So if you free to
help do give us a shout and we’ll put you to work!
Dublin to New York
Later this month, the team branches out from Ireland to conquer new
territory in the United States. Killian will be on the hunt for more
funding in New York while also following up on contacts he made there in
2009, including movers-and-shakers from the Clinton Global Initiative,
the Jeffery Sachs-led Millennium Promise and DonorsChoose.org. In
particular DonorsChoose.org
have been great providing us with mentorship, support and even
office space in New York, for which we are ever grateful! Do check them
out, they are super!
For the second time in three months, Killian will meet with his
contacts at the Rockefeller
Foundation, the iconic philanthropy organization known for
supporting terrific start-ups and businesses in all corners of the
world. Fingers crossed we can inspire them to get onboard and help fund
mygoodpoints in 2010 and beyond!
Closer to home, we’ll pursue new funding opportunities, including the
new Arthur
Guinness Fund, which continues the philanthropic legacy of the
Guinness family supporting Irish social entrepreneurs. We have managed
to get shortlisted by the Fund, and we’re counting the days until
January 19, when we go forward to the next round of the competition.
Stay tuned…
2010 - in it to win
All in all some great progress in 2009 but as Killian likes to say,
this is a 50-round boxing match – and we’re only halfway through the
very first round. Plus, we haven’t yet helped to alleviate poverty or
fund a single charity project and until that starts we really will have
achieved nothing. We still have a lot to do.
So yes 2010. Yeah. Bring it on…
What business goals do you have for 2010? Send us your comments!