A woman and her children look on at rebuilding of structure
in Haiti after the recent earthquake. (AP Photo: Ramon
Espinosa)
The iPhone has a devoted following throughout a diverse cross-section of society, largely for its many practical applications that cost mere pennies to own. And now it's becoming a staging platform for social entrepreneurs and philanthropists to do good all around the world, including right here in Santa Barbara.
For example, imagine turning a Saturday stroll around town into a day of selfless giving, simply by periodically clicking on the iPhone. More specifically, a click while enjoying a meal at Garrett's, followed by another click while browsing books at Chaucer's, could feed a hungry child in America, help American Red Cross recovery efforts in Haiti, or even support the medical care of an abused animal. By the end of the day, it's possible to have given to five or more charities, simply by walking from one end of State Street to the other with iPhone in hand..
CauseWorld iPhone application splash screen.
(Photo: Samara Iodice)
This is made possible by way of the CauseWorld application that allows iPhone and other smartphone users to check into stores and businesses within their vicinity, gain karma points for their virtual visits, and turn those karma points into sponsor donations - where they choose the recipient from a list of over two-dozen social, animal welfare, and environmental causes.
It’s even possible to check into nearby stores from the comfort of one’s own home, and without purchasing a single item. And for those who walk directly into a store and scan the bar-codes on sponsor merchandise, using the camera on their phone – the karma points earned can be doubled or even tripled.
Donating as little as a dollar through The Tipping Bucket
can make a world of good. (AP Photo: Rick Bowmer)
Another philanthropic application that’s gaining popularity is The Tipping Bucket. The premise here is that a social startup project of The Tipping Bucket’s choosing is promoted for a certain time period, say two weeks, with a particular funding goal, say five thousand dollars. As the clock counts down, individuals donate at least a dollar – yes, one little dollar – and the tally is updated with each drop in the bucket.
When the deadline is up, one of two things happens. If the bucket has been tipped enough to raise the full funding goal, the pledged money is collected by PayPal or credit card and goes directly to the project. If the bucket remains partially empty, none of the transactions are processed, and The Tipping Bucket begins again with another project.
A recently funded project raised money for harvesting solar energy to power electricity and provide heat for Bolivian children in freezing schoolhouses 13,000 feet above sea level. By the way, for those that don’t have an iPhone and still want to participate, they can simply go to www.tippingbucket.org and experience the thrill of donating mere pennies at the chance of making a huge difference in someone’s life. Never has there been a more worthwhile reason to surf the net or play on the iPhone each and every day..
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