Cause Corps: A purpose-led global community, exploring new ways to do good

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3 Cause Corps: A purpose-led global community, exploring new ways to do good Since our inception, our vision has been to make doing good a daily habit. We re designing a world where everyone, irrespective of their circumstance, has equal access to affecting real change around them. We believe that the way to do that is to redesign the way we volunteer. 3

4 Micro-volunteering: a new way to do good The concept of micro-volunteering was not pioneered by Cause Corps; however, we have popularised our model around the globe. We define our micro-volunteering model as any action that is: Free (or low cost) Low time commitment (more than 20 minutes, but less than 48 hours) Direct impact; that is, as few possible handoffs (ideally, none) between the volunteer and their chosen cause 4

5 I was hesitant to try something completely new; but the event description - so welcoming, encouraging, and inclusive - won me over. With time, I noticed that the calm, positive attitude, the inspiration, and the kind and gentle approach inspired by these events started to seep into my life - it changed how I saw and interacted with the world for the better. These events pour love into our hearts, and onto all the lovely things we create for others to enjoy! The perfect place to learn new skills and make good friends! - VICTOR, LONDON VOLUNTEER 5

6 Our hypothesis We believed that if we removed the traditional barriers to volunteering (cost, time, and lack of impact), but retained the impactful feeling of volunteering, then we would make doing good so effortless that anyone could volunteer. First-time volunteers wouldn t be discouraged by lengthy on-boarding, time commitments, or financial burdens; established volunteers would have another way to give back, which they may find more convenient; and those who were looking for opportunities to participate in community events, or join a social group that was purposeled would find a place with Cause Corps. We contrasted this to the rise of clicktivism, which was so low-commitment that it created no connection between either the volunteer and the cause, or amongst fellow volunteers. In our current form, Cause Corps doesn t participate in fundraising, petitions, or surveys - focussing instead on community events that encourage socialisation whilst doing good. After 3 years, we believe our hypothesis is correct, as we have scaled exponentially around the globe, in a variety of cultural settings. In every city, we have found a mixture of first-time and experienced volunteers, locals and expatriates, and a diversity of genders, ages, and ethnicities, which has given us valuable data about our universality. 6

7 Global Chapters Cause Corps has 8 Chapters : teams of people who run events in cities the world over. Our Chapters are self-organised and led by a Chapter Lead; a longserving member, who in time will take on the mantle of Director for their given city, country, or region as appropriate. By creating self-organising teams around the world, each Chapter has the autonomy to operate how they see fit. They select and train their team mates, organise events as they choose, partner with organisations they want to support, and decide on how best to sustainably scale their good work. 7

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10 "Participating in micro-volunteering organised by Cause Corps is a great opportunity to spend a few hours for people in need. I like the meetups, because it is always a combination of creativity, socialising and volunteering. Micro-volunteering is a convenient way to do something for other people. The events are well organised and have a joyful atmosphere." - MAIKE, HONG KONG VOLUNTEER 10

11 Chapter in focus: Singapore Our Singapore Chapter are a force to be reckoned with; particularly if you want to knit for a good cause! Our volunteers have tried beanies, socks, vests; we think we could challenge them with almost anything and it would turn our great! In 2017, Singapore also topped our Acts of Good records by creating 235 paper roses in a single event, to gift to mothers on Mothering Sunday. Their enthusiasm, community, and creativity is inspiring to us all. 11

12 We re in schools, too! One of our proudest achievements is our introduction of Cause Corps to schools in New Zealand and Hong Kong. In 2017, we had student volunteer teams spending their lunch hours and after school downtime making fantastic contributions for our partner charities. We now have over 30 students involved at Selwyn College in Auckland, New Zealand, teaching newly arrived New Zealanders English, knitting for babies, and writing to hospitalised children. One of the students said it better than we could have: I think that Cause Corps is about making the lives of people better. It's as much about comfort, as it is about physically helping them. I think that this year our Cause Corps has focused on making life a little happier for the people and groups we have helped." 12

13 Our events We host our events in public spaces, such as cafes, in order to make volunteering a social experience, and one that anyone could join; whether you were walking home or happen to be sitting at the next table. Examples of micro-volunteering events that we organise include knitting for premature babies, tending to community gardens, walking rescue dogs, creating artwork for senior citizens, creating resources for homeless shelters, and conversational language classes for adults with refugee status. 13

14 I've always wanted to do my bit to give back to society through volunteering but have never been able to; until I discovered microvolunteering. Even low-commitment, small acts of kindness can go a long way in getting one started on their journey to making an impact. I'm grateful for the folks at Cause Corps for creating a platform that not only inspires, but truly facilitates altruism. - YANAM, HONG KONG VOLUNTEER 14

15 Our partnering model Cause Corps itself does not have any of its own causes. In our current model, we partner with organisations who are already doing good work, and who we believe we can support to scale that good work. For our volunteers, we allow ourselves the fluidity to find causes which they care about; especially as this varies around the world. As an example, if Londoners are determined to alleviate homelessness, but Singaporeans care more about combating loneliness in the elderly, then both are able to align themselves to causes they choose. For our partners, we provide a unique opportunity to export their cause around the world and uncover new groups of volunteers who may not have otherwise been involved. Instead of being a platform to connect volunteers with causes, we work closely with our partners to tailor unique opportunities for them that we believe will be of most value to their cause, and most likely to attract passionate volunteers. 15

16 Partnership in focus: Spires Our Chapters work hard creating handmade inspirational journals, mindfulness colouring sheets, and knitting warm items to donate to Spires - a homeless shelter in South London. This is what the Spires team had to say: We wanted to say a huge thanks for all Cause Corps has done for Spires. The colouring sessions are going from strength to strength and we really couldn t have done it without and your amazing group of volunteers 16

17 Proving our impact We believe our volunteers deserve to know that their precious time has made a real difference, which is why we ve differentiate ourselves by our commitment to creating impactful volunteering events. There is always more we can do, though, and we are continuously discovering ways to make those impacts as tangible as possible. In the coming months, we intend to explore new ways to do this through social media, data and analytics, storytelling, and closer relationships with our partner organisations. We hope that in doing so, we create a better experience for volunteers, which in turn will increase the amount of volunteers who participate in our events. By putting volunteers at the centre of everything we do, and being empirical in our decision making, we will continue improving the experience for volunteers. 17

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19 A note from our Founder, Steven The pursuit of happiness. The phrase implies that happiness is not an end state but is a journey in and of itself. In choosing to undertake this journey and walking its sometimes tribulation-filled path, we are challenged to grow and find a different, perhaps more authentic fulfilment. Our mission is to make doing good a daily habit for everyone in the world. This statement - a global, pluralistic and human centred long-term challenge - is intended to be the lantern on the hill for our Chapter Leads, our Event Organisers, and our volunteers. By walking the Cause Corps path, we create a renaissance for the whole world - but centre its mode of action solely within ourselves and look for things we can personally do to make an impact. In coming years, we look to expand in three ways: grow our support and development for Chapter Leads and Event Organisers expand to more Chapters in more cities and countries look to extend and create new kinds of Cause Corps events and products, taking our mission beyond the public space and into businesses, homes and schools. It is and continues to be a sincere pleasure to serve the people of Cause Corps. It is my sincere hope that you pass this service on to our volunteers, and in turn, people who are touched by the wonderful results of our micro-volunteering. - STEVEN HK MA, FOUNDING DIRECTOR 19

20 A few words from one of our International Directors, Phillip It s been heart-warming to see Cause Corps grow from start-up to scale; every year brings a new set of challenges, and every year, I m humbled by the people willing to step up to overcome them. To our Leads, thank you for your tireless support; you are the reason for our success. It fills me with no small amount of humility and pride to see how diligently your teams work, and how quickly they accepted me when I ve been lucky enough to visit them. Your hard work is creating a world where everyone can make a real impact, every day. I look forward to continuing to create that world together. Kirsty, thank you for always being there, without exception - in spite of time differences and a world between us. Thank you for listening, taking excellent care of our people, and alternately keeping me grounded or encouraging me to fly when I need it. Steven, thank you for trusting me with the future of Cause Corps when we didn t know what that future looked like; and continuing to do so - though we still don t know. - PHILLIP KAPELERIS, INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR 20

21 This report was compiled by International Director s, Kirsty Stubbs and Phillip Kapeleris, with special thanks to Si Ning Yeoh (London Chapter Lead) for her hard work data-crunching, on behalf of Cause Corps, March Please direct any enquiries to Cause Corps is a registered not-for-profit in Australia (ABN: ) 21