GoodBox, a techcompany focused on building solutions that connects donors and causes, has secured over £1.8 million from over 460 investors — including Tennis star Andy Murray — on its Seedrs’ crowdfunding campaign. GoodBox has set a funding goal of £2.4 million for a 23.21% percent equity stake in the company. Premoney valuation has been set at £7.9 million. Goodbox seeks to modernize a familiar but dated form of donating: the coin collection box.
To date, the platform has set up Tap to Give, one-stop-shop for contactless giving with its own payment processing technology. Bespoke boxes launched late in 2017 in Church of England Cathedrals & St Mary’s Hospital, and are already pride of place in the Natural History Museum and National Portrait Gallery.
Founded in 2016 by ex-Credit Suisse investment banker Andrew O’Brien and Francesca Hodgson, who has over a decade of experience in the charity sector, GoodBox creates a new ecosystem which harnesses the latest technologies to effortlessly connect causes with donors. Their flagship product, “The GoodBox”, aims to modernize a familiar but dated form of donating: the charitable coin collection box.
“It has been three years in the making but we’re finally there. We are building a business that fulfils charity needs, but also addresses some of the major inefficiencies that persist within the sector,” noted GoodBox CEO and co-founder Andrew O’Brien. “Although our journey begins with the charity sector, we’re by no means limited to it. From conversations with the English National Ballet to Manchester City FC, Royal Parks to Chichester Cathedral, GoodBox is ready to take off. We are excited about the next phase of our journey with this round of investment on Seedrs.”
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The amount of cash spending in the UK has dropped by £14 billion in the last ten years and this number is declining rapidly, according to the campaign. On the other hand, the charity sector is still staggeringly dependant on cash donations, with 55% of donations are currently made in cash. As the amount of cash being spent drops in the UK, so does the amount of cash being donated. The rapid rise of contactless payment solutions, new generation challenger banks and constantly evolving technology should enhance charitable giving, not hinder it. The main issue for charities is that contactless payment processing technology is expensive to build in both time and money; GoodBox offers a viable solution to a coin free purse. GoodBox seeks to inspire charities to embrace fintech by building a solution that doesn’t cost a great deal of money to maintain. To date, GoodBox has designed bespoke donation boxes for the children’s outpatients department at St Mary’s Hospital and the Church of England.
“This is a very exciting time for NHS charities. We’re seeing more and more people willing to support their local hospitals through cash donations and with the 70th anniversary of the NHS coming up next year we believe contactless giving will enable even more people to give back,” Imperial Health Charity CEO Ian Lush. “We’re delighted to be partnering with GoodBox to introduce a box in the children’s outpatients department at St Mary’s Hospital this week and we look forward to rolling out the boxes across the other hospitals we support in the coming months.”
GoodBox’s standalone boxes replace traditional large glass coin boxes or counter-top collection jars. With a 12” screen playing specially curated content for that charity, as well as a battery life of one week, GoodBox is designed to engage visitors in a non-intrusive yet compelling way. The Natural History Museum, since launching with GoodBox in June 2017, has enjoyed a 20% increase in overall donations.
“GoodBox has provided us with more than a contactless donation solution they also come with an understanding of our industry and what compels visitors to donate. By partnering with GoodBox we have been able to work quickly and collaboratively to deliver a flexible and hassle free option to our many visitors who no longer carry cash but wish to donate,” explained Natural History Museum Head of Visitor Experience Karl Roberts. “The success of our initial trial has given us the confidence to continue with this exciting company and has increased our donation revenue significantly without negatively impacting our cash donations.”
For more information on GoodBox’s Seedrs campaign, click here.
Yesterday, Seedrs published its 2017 year results: during the year £125 million was invested in 168 different deals – the biggest year since platform launch thanks to global investors from 58 different countries who made more than 46,700 investments. Seedrs recently surpassed £300 million invested since platform launch.
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