New tech platform connects charities with philanthropists
The SA Philanthropy Network has developed a new tech platform, which founder Kay Burton hopes will grease the wheels of giving.
A first-of-its-kind tech platform called Funded is making it easier for South Australian philanthropists to find the charitable opportunities they want to support.
Co-developed by founder of the SA Philanthropy Network, Kay Burton, the technology simplifies and streamlines work she already does: connecting high-net-worth individuals, family foundations, public and private trusts and government funding bodies to those in need of financial support.
On Funded, funders can list grant opportunities or browse for projects they might like to fund, with filters streamlining the matching process further.
Financial transactions or agreements are then made directly between the matched parties off-platform.
Kay Burton – also a director of the Burton Foundation with her husband Julian Burton who is a Bali bombing survivor – said the platform was entirely free for all users and was “unlike anything else in the world”.
“All these charities were coming to me saying ‘We’ve got this great project, we just need funding’. And funders were going ‘We just don’t know what’s out there’,” Burton told InDaily.
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“So I thought, what happens if we create a system where these two worlds can live in the same dimension? That’s where the magic happens.”
Burton said the idea came to life when she met the New Zealand-based co-developers: Bonnie Humphrey and Averill Moser-Rust.
The two – both PhD students – were “frustrated with the way that grants were distributed”.
“You would hear this across the board from many different individuals and organisations: the process is burdensome, tedious, you put all your time and effort into applying for these grants and then a small percentage actually gets funded,” Burton said.
“They were approaching this problem from the perspective of ‘How do we make this grant application process simpler?’.”
On Funded, funders can browse for projects anonymously – “you don’t even have to create an account”.
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“That’s really important to a lot of individuals and organisations,” Burton said.
But it also helps philanthropists and charities alike break out of their own ecosystems and circles of influence, Burton said.
“We want to expand who we can actually impact and help,” she said.
Burton has the exclusive rights to operate Funded in South Australia for a trial period of 12 months, while the other co-developers are operating the platform in New Zealand.
While there’s potential to take the platform global, the US-born and raised Burton said she was resolutely focused on her adopted state.
“There’s a lot of overwhelm in philanthropy; you get bombarded,” she said.
“There’s over 3000 charities in South Australia right? To the average donor, there’s all these different options. People go ‘too hard’ and switch off. It’s too many choices – like when you’re watching Netflix.
“How can we make it easier for people to just get to what they need? Funded is really streamlined and user friendly.”
All registrations on the platform are vetted and approved by the SA Philanthropy Network, and fund seekers must have DGR (deductible gift recipient) status with the Australian Charities and Not-For-Profit Commission, ensuring funding is directed towards eligible organisations that meet regulatory requirements.
“I get so much joy whenever a funding connection is made,” Burton said.
