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The Care Space System
A system to improves charity credibility using the blockchain technology supervised by authorities
Type
Solo Project
Timeline
Oct - Dec, 2022
Tool Used
Figma, Google Survey
Overview
To help both the donors and beneficiaries regain confidence in the charities, I conceptualized a new system, the Care Space System, for overseeing the philanthropic system in this project, enhancing transparency by using blockchain technology in the donating process. Thus beneficiaries will be able to use the new model to reduce their negative emotions when receiving one-way charity as well as gain greater bargaining power.
Ultimately, my Care Space System will create a healthy relationship between donors, beneficiaries, and charities, engage the three parties in opportunities for reciprocal care, and promote well-being and social solidarity.
The Care Space System
Background
Public dissatisfaction with charitable organizations has increased and trust in U.S. institutions has declined significantly, and this decline in the credibility of charities is due to a variety of factors. (source)
As an extension project of the GLIDE-sponsored project, I will use existing research to conduct a qualitative single case study of GLIDE to understand the impact of typical charity operating models on nonprofits, donors, and beneficiaries.
Process
01
Inspect the role of the three-party (charities, donors, and beneficiaries) in charity;
02
Analyze the current state of the market and the strategies in place that deal with the decline in credibility;
03
Discuss the role and potential use of blockchain technology and distributed ledger technology for charity.
Background
Research Background
About GLIDE
The GLIDE Foundation is a national charity organization that helps the homeless, based in San Francisco. I worked with them for a four-month sponsored studio to improve the user experience of their acupuncture service in Feb 2022.
Mission
To create a radically inclusive, just, and loving community mobilized to alleviate suffering and break the cycles of poverty and marginalization.
Programs
· Daily Free Meals and Food
· Family Youth and Childcare
· HIV and Harm Reduction
· Acupuncture
The Relationship Diagram Indicates By the Direction of Funds
01 Inspect The Role of The Three-Party In Charity
Research Target Users
-
Donor
-
Beneficiary
-
GLIDE staff
Research Methods
-
Secondary Research
-
Online and Paper Survey
-
In-person Interview
-
Literature Review
Data Collect and Analysis - Donor
People donate because the organization provides them with value-based recognition. As a result, identifying the primary motivating factors of donors is a critical component of the process.
Anomynous Questionnaires
We received 32 anonymous questionnaires from those who have donated to public charity at least once and aged from 21 to 64, to establish a profile of the donors.
65
65
%
Donated to charities that they had brief knowledge of or has been to
81
81
%
Chose to donate because of a similar experience
52
52
%
Only donated to local charities most of the time
77
77
%
Followed up with organizations that they had donated to
In-Depth Interview
Five participants from the anonymous questionnaires were invited to have a 30- 45 minutes interview with three parts.
01
Personal Background And Donation History
“Why Did You Donate”
02
Their Experience Of Donation And Their Views On Charity
03
Views On the Future Development Of Charity And Suggestions
Research Insights
Describe the donors in three words with the 15 core meanings: Accomplishment, Community, Justice
01
Difficult to find official charity information from authorized sources online
The Charities Bureau and the IRS are the only charitable authorities that are more oriented toward organizations than toward donors and beneficiaries.
02
Emotional connection lacking brought by the traditional one-way operating model in charities
Donors’ sense of satisfaction and personal fulfillment after the donation considerably diminished due to limited interactions and emotional bonds, thus reducing their incentive to donate.
03
Were concerned about their donations yet would not want to receive too many updates from the organization
Too much follow-up info may pressurize individuals, feeling that the organizations are insinuating they should donate more.
04
Doubt if charities' reports of resource allocation are in line with reality, a concern raised by the centralized distribution method in charities
Sometimes negative perceptions were engendered rather than positive emotions in certain situations (e.g. after donation).
Data Collect and Analysis - Beneficiary*
*The term "beneficiary" is used here to represent individual person who has received help, excluding animals, environmental organizations, and other beneficiaries for the time being.
The dynamics between fundraisers and beneficiaries can influence charitable giving, the interaction between the two is largely overlooked.
Information Gathering
01
Anonymous Questionnaires & Street Interview
Received 19 questionnaires and conducted 7 street interviews with people with various racial backgrounds aged from 36 to 76.
02
In-Depth Interview
4 participants were chosen from step one and participated in a 30-45 minutes interview.
Research Insights
Describe the beneficiaries in three words with the 15 core meanings: Community, Redemption, and Validation.
01
Organizations are slower and less precise in responding to the needs of beneficiaries than those of donors
According to research, charities do not communicate with beneficiaries purchasing units with the same granularity as they do with donors (marketing for charities is more focused on donors).
02
The singular act of receiving help tends to cause psychological pressure and has negative effects
Due to the one-way mobility of funds and resources, traditional philanthropy keeps the beneficiaries in a state of being given, and in some cases this long-term state has had some negative psychological effects on them.
03
The current way how donations are used makes them difficult to give suggestions and show dissatisfaction
Due to the one-way flow of donation funds, even though donors or beneficiaries may not be satisfied with the way the organization is using the funds, there are limited channels of communication and no way to influence the usage.
Data Collect and Analysis - GLIDE
Competitive Analysis Using the Porter's Five Forces Model
Bargaining Power of Customers
(power of beneficiaries)
Well-funded GLIDE can address the higher needs; however, individuals lack the ability to have a say in what organizational development will become.
Mid
The Threat Of Substitute Product
Many decentralized charity platforms have arisen on the market, each with its own set of benefits: rapid distribution, relative transparency, and demand matching.
High
The Rivalry In The Industry
Although GLIDE is now one of the top competitive organizations in the Bay Area, its outdated management model will reduce the efficiency of services and departments, ultimately reducing GLIDE's competitiveness.
High
Bargaining Power of Supplier
(power of service provider)
Many of GLIDE's services rely on partnerships with specific organizations, (e.g. acupuncture with Chinese Traditional Medicine School) but these partnerships are inconsistent.
Mid
The Potential Of Entry The Industry
In order to receive donations from large fund providers, the organization must have a good reputation and a large impact.
Low - Mid
Strengths
-
Long history, good reputation, well-known leader, strong community ties;
-
Clear and user-friendly website content and the mission statement; update the events and activities frequently.
Weaknesses
-
Hierarchical organization structure: slow to react to new opportunities; which frequently need transformation
-
Inefficiency: slow to search and keep records, with paper-based information and documents.
Opportunities
-
Be aware of beneficiaries' experience in the process, simplify what beneficiaries need to do, and increase positive feedback for them;
-
Clarify beneficiaries' needs and avoid spending money on services that are not used.
Threats
-
Unable to quantify and measure the impact of the programs;
-
Inaccessible to younger generations not being empathetic to philanthropy and donating less accordingly.
Research Insights
01
GLIDE currently maintains a good position in the industry but needs to seek a transformation to ensure its sustainability.
Characteristics of The Fundraiser-Driven Charity Operating Model
-
Fully centralized resource management and information disclosure
-
Imbalanced power associated with one-way charitable giving of funds/resources;
-
Untimely information gathering and validation;
-
Inadequate charity systems for donors and beneficiaries.
Problems Statement
The one-way charity provision and the centralized operating structure of charities create a power imbalance. Charities gradually lose credibility in the minds of both parties due to external forces (charity fraud) and internal forces (lack of emotional connection and value recognition).
"How might GLIDE's credibility be improved, having been harmed by a lack of emotional and value connection as a result of management structure issues?"
Goal
Reduces the power imbalance associated with one-way charitable giving.
02
Market Research - Analyze the current state of the market and the strategies in place that deal with the decline in credibility
Trends in the Industry
Analyzing market trends is critical for adapting and altering the organization for it to stay relevant in and ahead of the industry and achieve its long-term goal.
Charitable donations Increases by 41% in 2022, While Donors Prefer Purposeful, Smarter Giving.
Because of the situation in Ukraine and the pandemic, charity giving has grown by 41% compared with pre-pandemic levels, with the increase in individual giving maturity. (Source)
Online giving is becoming one of the mainstream ways to donate.
For the third year in a row, online giving has increased by 42%. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of all sizes show positive growth in online giving in 2021 compared to 2020. (Source)
Stakeholder philanthropy is a new model of community investment as it focuses on trust and collaboration.
The more a company incorporates consumers and employees in charity giving decisions, the more trust consumers have in that company. (Source)
Analysis Of Market Existing Approaches For Building Trust
Building Brand Images
Traditional
Advantage
More human-to-human interaction to
maintain emotional and connection needs
Third Party Supervisors
Neutral
Advantage
Providing objective assessment to donors and beneficiaries
Blockchain Technology
Innovative
Advantage
Traceable donations and transparent operations of organizations
Disadvantage
Disadvantage
Disadvantage
Opaque information brought on by a centralized management
Lacking auditing of small institutions; not contributing to changing the environment
Trigger potential discomfort due to a pure transaction approach; lacking regulation - information cannot be secured before on-chaining.
Why
Enlarged emotional connection and value identification
Why
Certification from authorities to help them to identify
Why
A reliable technique for information transparency so far
Insights
As we can see from the above, there are multiple complex factors involved in building trust, and the above methods only address a certain part of the trust crisis. From this I can obtain a formula:
Trust In Charity =
+
Humane Services
For Each Party
Authoritative Regulation And Oversight
+
Efficient And Reliable Technology
Design
Concept of the New Charitable Donation Model
Solution Derived From the Formula
Problem 01
Fully centralized resource management and information disclosure;
Solution: Technology + Authority
Donations authorized by authorities are managed in a transparent, partially decentralized manner, utilizing blockchain technology.
Problem 02
Imbalanced power associated with one-way charitable giving of funds/resources;
Solution: Humane Service
Donors will receive two updates at key points (when donations are made & donation is used). When giving services to beneficiaries, the system assigns specific tasks to achieve reciprocal connections and lessens negativity.
Problem 03
Untimely information gathering and validation;
Solution: Technology
It provides a platform for people to monitor organizations and voice their demands.
Problem 04
Inadequate charity systems for donors and beneficiaries.
Solution: Authority
Authority provides a platform for the public to search for information on relevant charities.
Final Design - Practical Use Case In GLIDE With The Care Space System
03
Role In The System
Takeaways
Reflection
-
When I combined my past sponsorship class experience with this project, I was aware that we still have a long way to go on philanthropy.
-
Over the last decade, the problem of trust has come to prominence, and many unexpected social issues and news have driven people to eagerly support those in need.
-
The current mismatch between demand growth and industry development will undoubtedly have an impact on all stakeholders.
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