LivinGift, a new Israeli crowdfunding platform, www.LivinGift.org, has been launched a few days ago and is now raising donations for its first two social impact projects: a course training Haredi men and women seeking employment in finance, the other supporting the fair hiring of security guards and medics. The service offers donors an evergreen fund in their name, starting at $25. Donors may also launch a memorial fund or make it a gift.
The evergreen or endowment fund is made possible thanks to a unique mechanism to solve social problems: the donor chooses a social project which he or she are passionate about and donates. The social project receives the donation as a zero-interest loan. Once the social project starts repaying the loan, the donor can roll the donation for a new social project.
LivinGift’s Public Advisory Council is headed by Prof. Meir Heth, Israel’s former Banks Commissioner, Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange Chairman , Bank Leumi Chairman and Chairman of Teva Pharmaceuticals. The credit rating for ventures, will be performed by the international rating agency D&B.
Social impact enterprises seeking to get a loan from LivinGift will have to show a double impact strategy: social or environmental impact, alongside a sustainable and profitable economic model and a fixed income.
In addition, LivinGift is open for applications to all forms of organizations from around the globe: non-profits, NGOs, for-profit companies, and cooperatives. Registration is open to social impact enterprises from all sectors: health, education, animal protection, social impact technologies, environment, and support for disadvantaged populations.
Shiry Eden, LivinGift founder, said in a statement, “We believe that significant social problems can only be solved over time by organizations that have a sustainable economic model. In the long-term, our objective is to support the formation of a strong, stable and profitable fourth sector, which can be a positive influence on a range of social problems throughout the world.”