Local smartphone app builders hope to capture do-good users, and
they're counting on nonprofits to help reel them in.
Two startup firms, Cause.It LLC and Trensy LLC, have created
tools that link charitable behavior and consumption. Like the hit
app Foursquare, the newcomers encourage users to "check in" when
they show up at events or complete activities so they can earn
rewards offered by local businesses.
Neither app has more than a few hundred users so far, but some
charities are test-driving them. Cause.It could surge ahead with
backing from the city of Indianapolis and a recent appearance at the
South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.
"We're excited about any time you can encourage more
participation," said Sarah Taylor, director of constituent services
for Mayor Greg Ballard.
Ballard's office turned the city's Engage Indy website, which
encourages residents to get involved with local charities, over to
Cause.It on March 28. The city might use the app to promote its own
volunteer activities, such as park cleanups, Taylor said.
Cause.It's co-founder is Gagan Dhilion, an Indiana University
Kelley School of Business student who was previously involved in the
development firm AppDar.
Cause.It landed backing from the venture firm SproutBox, and
enlisted A.J. Feeney-Ruiz, a local Republican Party activist and
former spokesman for past Secretary of State Todd Rokita, as
director of community development.
Cause.It, which is free, offers its users a menu of activities,
which are posted by charities. The "causes" may require as little
commitment as hitting the "like" button on Facebook, or as much as
helping plant trees. Bigger commitments are worth more points, and
to earn them, users have to be physically present before they can
use Cause.It to "check in," Feeney-Ruiz said.
The points can be redeemed for rewards, such as restaurant
coupons.
The app's creators hope that, over time, the users will establish
patterns of behavior and generate data that both not-for-profits and
businesses will find valuable. Their business plan hinges on selling
subscriptions to the data for around $29 per month.
"What we're really doing is helping them grow their database,
giving them metrics they can use in the future," Feeney-Ruiz said.
A not-for-profit could use Cause.It's data to find out which of
its activities really engage people, Feeney-Ruiz said. A business
could use it to narrow down its customers' charitable interests, and
use that information to tie marketing efforts to certain causes.
Coming along behind Cause.It is Trensy, which bills itself as
"Foursquare for good deeds."
Trensy has financial and technical support from Developer Town,
co-founder Bryan Naas said, and two local not-for-profits, the
Indiana Blood Center and Indy Reads, have agreed to give it a try.
Trensy's business model revolves around advertising revenue from
businesses, rather than selling data on users.
Businesses can sponsor a good deed say, riding one's bike to
work, Naas explained. A bike commuter who wants to earn points for
that activity would take a picture as evidence and use Trensy to
check in.
Then the app brands the photo with the name of the sponsoring
business and distributes it through the user's Facebook or Twitter
account.
The sponsor's money goes to Trensy. Naas said he's still working
out whether to let users earn points for making donations to
charities.
"Right now, we're laser-focused on getting users in the door,
getting our name out there, and figuring out how to mesh it all
together," Naas said.
Not-for-profits trying out the tools aren't investing tons of
time in the effort. The Indianapolis Museum of Art used Cause.It to
invite people to. its spring equinox event and to spread the word
about free general admission.
No one checked in for the equinox event, but about 20 people
completed the free-admission "cause," said Jenny Anderson, senior
communications coordinator.
Anderson, who manages the IMA's presence on Facebook and Twitter,
said she might use Cause.It to promote the museum's membership
campaign. Whether it becomes a regular part of the museum's
marketing effort depends on how many individuals begin using it.
That's hard to predict, Anderson said. She noted that there was a
lot of buzz nationally around Jumo, an activism-oriented social
network launched by a co-founder of Facebook. Despite the founder's
social media pedigree, Jumo never took off.
"You have to be careful so you don't put [in] too much time or
investment," she said.
