Fundraising for charity is difficult enough in the best of times, but during a recession it's understandably harder then ever to persuade potential donors to part with their hard-won cash. Enter Kidonaki, a Belgian site that has come up with a way for consumers to help finance the causes they care about by buying and selling unused stuff.

Focused on assisting the efforts of nonprofits headquartered in Belgium—regardless of where they bestow their aid—Kidonaki (from 'qui donne à qui') is essentially an online auction where all proceeds go towards the participating nonprofits. Charitable organizations approved to register with the site are given a space to promote their efforts, including the opportunity to highlight particular projects they're involved in. Consumers, meanwhile, can use the site to list items they'd like to sell, whether it's jewelry, baby items or tickets for travel. In doing so, they also select an organization they'd like to help—current examples include the creation of a small biogas plant in Congo, the efforts of Sister Emmanuelle in Cairo or stories for children in Belgian hospitals. It's free to list items, and no commission is charged on purchases; rather, Kidonaki is supported through an annual fee paid by the participating associations (depending on the number of workers, according to a report on RTBF) and via advertising and sponsorships. Most importantly, when an item is sold, all proceeds go to the organization the seller selected to support. In other words, it's a win-win-win: buyer gets rid of stuff, seller gets something new, and nonprofit gets the cash.

More than EUR 2,000 has been collected for charities since the site's launch in September. One to sponsor, get involved in, or emulate for a new model of giving in your neck of the woods...?

Website: www.kidonaki.be
Contact: info@kidonaki.be

Spotted by: Sara Borremans

Razor blade refills are one of those purchases that tend to irk many consumers, primarily for the frequency with which they're needed and the relatively high prices at which they're often sold. Aiming to salve irritation on both points, Raz*War offers subscription plans for home delivery at prices beginning at EUR 27.50 per year.

Launched late last month by Brussels-based Growth Bridge, Raz*War sells blades by the box—priced at EUR 1 per blade—as well as a starter kit including razor, blades and travel bag. Its biggest savings, however, are to be found in its subscription plans, which range from a yearly price of EUR 27.50 for 30 blades over the course of the year to EUR 75 for 90 blades annually. Deliveries are made in installments every four months, and a starter kit with razor and travel bag is included in the first shipment.

Similar in many ways to Alice, which aims to take the pain out of shopping repeatedly for basic household necessities, Raz*War currently ships only within the EU. One to partner with or emulate for the shaving masses near you...?

Website: www.razwar.com
Contact: wecare@razwar.com

Hard on the heels of our coverage of Kult—the vintage-arcade-machine-turned-3D-magazine—comes word of another paradigm-busting publication. Rather than breaking the mold on its form, however, this one shatters the norm by virtue of the fact that it was created and produced in 24 hours.

The clock began at 3 pm Central European time on June 27, when an all-volunteer team of designers, photographers, writers and others began to work nonstop on 24Hour Magazine, beginning from scratch with no design and no content. Twenty-four hours later—at 3 pm on June 28—the magazine was ready for the printing press, featuring articles, photos and illustrations on topics including lifestyle, fashion, music and design. The point was not just to create a product, however. Rather, the concept focused heavily on the experience of the process as well. With that in mind, the Kortrijk, Belgium-based team meticulously shared the day’s experience with the world through a variety of social media and other online avenues, including live video feeds, Twitter updates, continuous blog posts and a behind-the-scenes Flickr stream. The 47-page magazine itself was produced using Issuu—the publishing platform we covered last year—and is now available online. The 24Hour team expects it will soon be available in print as well, both for order online and through select bookstores, priced somewhere between EUR 20 and EUR 30. Also on the way is a “making of” DVD and music created specially for the experience.

No word yet on a next issue—or, indeed, on reactions to the magazine-cum-experience—but in the meantime, 24Hour Mag is actively seeking sponsors and advertisers. One to get involved with?

Website: www.24hourmagazine.com
Contact: tuffer@24hourmagazine.com

Air passengers everywhere may soon be getting a literary boost, thanks to a new offer from the Oneworld alliance. As of June 2009, travellers passing through Brussels, Milan Malpensa and Rome Fiumicino airports can download three audiobooks for free.

Oneworld, which includes American Airlines, British Airways, JAL and 7 other airlines, offers the service over wifi at the aforementioned airports. Consumers can download audiobooks to their laptops, smartphones andPDAs—any device that connects to the airports' wifi networks. They can pick from forty titles, covering fiction, business, society and travel; available in English, Dutch, French and Italian. And for customers who always get in a forgetful flap at the airport, an email reminder can be requested for the day before the flight, reminding them of the freebies on offer.

The initiative complements Oneworld’s Travel Stations, which enable users to download travel advice and information onto mobile devices, and its Charging Stations, which give gadgets a bit of extra juice. In an unusually inclusive move, all travellers, whether Oneworld customers or not, are invited to make the most of the perks—as Oneworld hopes to be the alliance of choice for the user’s next journey.

It’s a relatively cost-effective way of treating customers, requiring little infrastructure or installation to get up and running. And a great example of what our sister-site trendwatching.com calls free love, or the art of (relevantly) giving away stuff to build your brand. (Related: Personalized in-flight magazines at Heathrow’s Terminal 1.)

Website: library.oneworld.com
Contact: www.oneworld.com/ow/contact

Spotted by: Raymond Kollau

Back in 2006 we wrote about Belgian tour operator Wasteels' Club Tour program enabling amateurs to plan trips for customers and then earn a commission. Now taking the customer-made theme a step further comes YourTour—which also happens to be Belgian—which lets consumers do it all themselves.

YourTour is a free, personal tour planner that uses a mathematical algorithm to automatically generate fully customized trip plans. Currently focusing on self-drive tours of France, the technology was originally developed for tourism professionals by deciZium, a spinoff company from the Faculté Polytechnique de Mons. Users begin by entering their initial criteria, including the region they'd like to visit, the dates, the type of tour, and the starting and ending points. YourTour then generates a proposed tour including hotels, activities and budget, allowing the user to choose at each step along the way whether to keep or delete any suggestion. deciZium has partnered with Lonely Planet for the suggested activities while Booking.com handles the online hotel reservations once the user is satisfied with their plan. For professional use, YourTour is accessible as a web service in ASP or in XML. More countries will soon be added to its trip-planning capabilities, the company says.

While YourTour undoubtedly offers myriad benefits for DIY consumers, there are clearly also intriguing opportunities for related businesses. A hotel chain, for example, could use the technology to suggest tours built around its own hotels, as the site suggests itself; similarly, a tour operator could let clients create customized tours around its own offerings. Hospitality professionals: time to do some brainstorming! (Related: Trip planner suggests travelling music — Route planner with a wiki twist.)

Website: www.yourtour.com
Contact: www.yourtour.com/TourPlanner/contact/contactus.aspx

Whether distributed through dedicated stores or affixed to city billboards, free samples tend to be popular with consumers. A new variation on the theme? A vending machine designed specifically to give the goods away.

Created by Belgian marketing and design agency Fosfor, the Boobox is a prototype for a stand-alone machine that distributes product samples. Consumers interested in getting one simply send a free SMS, in exchange for which they are given an activation code. That, in turn, gives them access to the sample. Unlike most vending machines, the Boobox is completely adjustable to samples with different sizes, weights and forms; it also includes an onboard refrigeration system for items such as dairy products and cooled beverages. The height of the machine's display and keyboard can even be adjusted for use alongside an accompanying poster advertisement, Fosfor says. The agency is currently refining the concept, with placement in Belgian train stations hopefully to follow later this year.

Much like Kraft's use of samples inside heated Chicago bus stops, Fosfor's machine offers a way to reach consumers with a dose of tryvertising as they go about their lives. There's also the potential to throw in a pinch of sympvertising, of course, if the product is something that helps them get through the daily grind. Either way, you can bet the samples will capture a whole lot more attention—and goodwill—than a traditional ad. Where free love is involved, it's all good! ;-)

Website: www.fosfor.be
Contact: hello@fosfor.be

Spotted by: Gitte Meeussen

Back in July 2006, we wrote about a Belgian company that offers its clients the opportunity to hold dinners in the sky--lofty events held on a platform suspended from a crane. Over the past two years, Events in the Sky has organised over 500 events in about 25 countries, and works with partners in over 15 markets to help expand the concept. Recently, the company added a new service to its line-up: Marriage in the Sky.

Marriage in the Sky is hosted on a platform, where 20 guests are strapped into aircraft-like seats and suspended at a height of 50 meters. As befits an exclusive venue, Marriage in the Sky can be customised to every couple's wishes, including spectacular elements like bungee jumping off of the platform after vows have been exchanged. A second crane can be used to suspend another platform at the same height, making room for entertainment or more guests.

The platform used for Marriage in the Sky differs from those used for the company's Dinner in the Sky events, and is actually a modification of a Meeting in the Sky platform, which seats up to 30 guests in theatre-style seating. The concept is undeniably rooted in the experience economy. Up, up and away...? ;-)

Website: www.eventsinthesky.com
Contact: info@dinnerinthesky.com

Nightclubs may operate seven days a week in many cities, but working professionals who partake in their late-night offerings outside of the weekend tend to regret it the next day. With such schedule-bound partiers in mind, Toronto's Gladstone Hotel recently launched an earlier alternative that still lets revellers get to bed on time.

The Gladstone's Granny Boots series of dance parties take place each Wednesday night beginning at 7:30 and ending promptly at 10--"so you can go home, watch 'Law and Order' until 11 pm and go to BED," as the hotel puts it. The events are held in the Gladstone's Melody Bar, which is already famous for weekend karaoke nights, and feature different performances and livingroom DJs each week. Admission is free.

We also spotted something similar in Belgium, where Bart Van Orshoven's After Work Parties draw large crowds--and corporate sponsors--in various venues in Antwerp, Gent, Leuven and Brussels. The parties start at 7 pm and doors close at 9 pm to ensure a decent-sized crowd from the start. At 1 am, everyone is sent packing.

Of course, in addition to the legions of business people and other working stiffs out there who can't afford to stay up late, there's also the substantial crowd of older people who still like to party but simply don't want to be up during the wee hours. Catering to such consumers could be the key to attracting a whole new segment. As the saying goes, the early bird gets the worm--or, in this case, the entertainment dollars! ;-)

Website: www.gladstonehotel.com/events/show.cfm?id=791 -- www.afterworkparty.be
Contact: dance.granny.boots@gmail.com -- bart@afterworkparty.be

Spotted by: Anita Windisman

A new restaurant project has joined the crowdsourcing fray: Arne Hendriks is asking fellow members of Instructables to participate in creating a restaurant in Amsterdam. In his words: "I will open an open-source restaurant that is completely made of, and only serves food based on the original instructables all the members on instructables.com have made or will make. I mean, every chair, dishwasher, menu card, light etc and all the food, will together be the restaurant. And I would like to ask you guys for your brilliant, funny, original ideas concerning all aspects restauranty. Inside the restaurant everything will be presented with the original instruction and accreditation to the maker."

Suggestions from Instructables members have started to pour in, from using graph paper table clothes to adding a "making space," as well as thoughts on names for the restaurant and what the wait staff should wear. This isn't the first restaurant project Hendriks has developed; he also created the Night Garden, a temporary restaurant and "sub-technical indoor garden" that served over 30 types of sprouted micro-greens.

While there are similarities with another crowdsourced restaurant we recently featured, Hendriks' project is cleverly tapping into the creative talents of an existing community, and has a very strong focus on MIY (make-it-yourself). As he points out: "In some restaurants you can buy the stuff you see, in this restaurant you'll go home knowing how to re-create what you just enjoyed, be it the food or the chair you sat on." Nice!

Website: www.instructables.com/group/instructables-restaurant

Spotted by: Franziska Luh

As the EU's restaurants, bars and clubs gradually become smoke-free, cigarette butts on the doorsteps of such establishments are an increasingly common sight. Belgium-based Ashvertising hopes to make the best of that bad habit with an outdoor device that combines an ashtray with a medium for advertising.

The company's Ashvertiser consists of a wall-mountable ashtray combined with a TV-sized colour screen above it for installation outside smoke-free venues. As smokers finish and extinguish their cigarettes, the screen displays world news, sports results and weather forecasts along with advertising spots. Mars, Nestlé, Proximus/Vodafone and Sara Lee have been among the early adopters of the Ashvertiser, which is now being used by numerous Brussels restaurants, Ashvertising says.

Given how many other places around the world also ban smoking—or will soon embrace that trend—the potential market for Ashvertising's devices spans the globe.

Website: www.ashvertising.com
Contact: vincent@ashvertising.com

Spotted by: Bjorn Verbrugghe

Last year we covered Blyk, which offers select users of its mobile phone service free minutes in exchange for viewing targeted ads. A new Belgian player is offering similar 'free love' by paying users cash to watch ads on their cell phones.

While Blyk operates as a mobile virtual network operator and offers the free minutes only to those who use its service, however, Pumbby pays cash to users regardless of the mobile network they subscribe to. When users sign up for Pumbby online, they simply indicate which network they use and how many ads they are willing to receive each day, out of a maximum of 10. Pumbby then sends those ads as WAP links via SMS, and for each one that gets displayed, it credits the user's account with EUR 0.44. The resulting funds can be used to pay the user's mobile bill, deposited directly into the bank or used toward purchases of DVDs, books or tickets to movies and exhibits.

Brussels-based Pumbby's service just launched last month, but with its cross-operator approach, its prospects are promising. Given that the mobile web is the next frontier for marketing and advertising, you can bet others won't be far behind....

Website: www.pumbby.com
Contact: infos@pumbby.com

Spotted by: Jean Friesewinkel

Every cell phone user has done it: forgot to lock their phone's keypad and accidentally called the first person in the contact list. Usually some unlucky person by the name of Aaron or Abigail.

Belgian ad agency Duval Guillaume came up with a clever campaign that turns accidental calls into accidental donations to the Belgian League for the Blind. They're asking people to add 'A Blind Call' to their list of contacts (for those of you in Belgium, the phone number is 070 222260). Every time the number is called, A Blind Call is given a cut of the call's proceeds. Calls are cut off after 30 seconds, and the cost to the dialler is never more than EUR 0.75.

Not only will the proceeds help the League for the Blind fund useful projects and research for sight-impaired people, every Alice, Alan and Abdullah will be spared a few coat-pocket soundtracks. ;-) (Related: Calling for a cause.)

Website: www.ablindcall.be

Spotted by: Sheila Wigman

Last year, we featured a Belgian company that organizes dinners in the sky, with a table, chairs and guests suspended from a crane. The concept made quite a splash and, over the past year, has travelled across Europe and attained TÜV certification—one of the toughest seals of security.

Recently, Dinner in the Sky added a gravity-defying element to the mix: a concert in the air. Suspended from a second crane, a violinist and a pianist—playing a grand piano, no less—performed for 22 guests who were dangling from their own crane several metres away. What’s next: acrobats, dancers, a play? Other suggestions for use of a twin crane include unveiling a new car model, launching an advertising campaign or hosting a fashion show. Anything presented at a height of 50 meters (164 feet) is bound to make a more lasting impression than it would on terra firma. This is the experience economy, after all ;-)

Website: www.dinnerinthesky.com
Contact: info@dinnerinthesky.com

Around this time last year, we featured a new Australian magazine contained with the label of a bottle of mineral water. iLove claimed to be the world's first magazine on a bottle, offering girls on the move something to read with their water to go. Now, Coca-Cola Belgium will be the first soft drink company to use the Magazine on a Bottle concept. On Product Publishing, which created the innovative labelling technology, worked closely with Coca-Cola Belgium to adapt the labels to Coke's iconic curvy bottle.

The first bottles of Coca-Cola Light (chilled 500 ml PET) with GLAM*IT mini-mag attached will be on the shelves in April 2007. Published by Sanoma, GLAM*IT is a Belgian fashion and beauty magazine targeted to a young, female audience. Which makes for a good fit with Light/Diet Coke buyers. As stated by Mie Van der Auwera, editor of GLAM*IT: "Adapting editorial content for another brand is only credible if brand values mutually match. In the case of Coca-Cola Light and GLAM*IT that was no problem. That's why it results in a powerful communication tool for both brands." The removable 24-page magazine is a 'light' version of GLAM*IT, featuring typical content for the mag, but reduced to fit the bottle.

Joanna Wojtalik, OPP's inventor, explains the concept's goal: "On Product Publishing is all about broadening and targeting content delivery by using the mass market reach of an FMCG distribution network. The OPP label allows Coca-Cola to place more content directly on its product and thereby enhance the relationship its consumers have with the brand at the point of purchase". More FMCG publishing to follow?

Website: www.onproductpublishing.com.au
Contact: info@onproductpublishing.com

In March, we covered a five star hotel for cars: The Engine Room in Belgium. Besides offering secure and swanky warehouse storage for members' automotive treasures, the Engine Room is also a private club. Recently, the engine people added a third offering: The Engine Room Challenge. For annual fees ranging from EUR 15.000 to EUR 22.000, members have up to 10 weeks access to a range of exclusive cars. Automobiles to choose from include the Spyker C8, Aston Martin DB9, Rolls Royce Silver Seraph and Ferrari 456 MGTA. Membership fees cover storage, maintenance, taxes and insurance, as well as full use of the club's facilities.

In short, members get all the fun of using an exclusive car, without the hassle and unexpected costs of ownership. Which will appeal to wealthy transumers, described by trendwatching.com as those consumers that are driven by experiences instead of the 'fixed', who increasingly live a transient lifestyle, freeing themselves from the bothersome aspects of permanent ownership.

Although it's great to see them combining it with their other services, The Engine Room isn't the first to enter this space. An exclusive car sharing club we featured earlier is British ecurie 25, and trendwatching.com spotted a number of similar initiatives across the world: Classic Car Club, P1 Club, LuxShare Auto Club, Club Sportiva, Van Horrsen Group, Oversteer Spain and Ascari.

Should give you plenty of inspiration for coming up with a fractional ownership scheme of your own ;-)

Website: http://www.engineroomchallenge.be
Contact: Erik Groes, info@engineroomchallenge.be

Belgian Ello Mobile is a new mobile operator that was established with the sole aim of giving away 100% of its profits. Ello is a mobile virtual network operator – it uses an existing network. Instead of offering bargain-basement cellphone plans, the company offers its customers the chance to contribute directly to a cause with every call they make, and every text message they send.

Customers can currently pick one of six projects, from protecting the jungles of Sumatra to providing mobile schools to street children in South America. Another six projects will be added over the next few months, all of which have been selected by an independent panel of experts. Ello understands the need for charitable organizations to be completely transparent, and will share full profit and loss statements with its customers. To minimize costs, the company is entirely web-based, and works with a small administrative staff. Profit margins are forecast at 24-33% for the first three years, and are targeted to climb to 41% after 2009.

Meanwhile, just launched in the Netherlands, Tommy Telecom is also forging a link between social causes and mobile telecom. Albeit with a very different approach. Tommy's customers are required to structurally donate time or money to a recognized cause. Which means their customer base is 5 million Dutch citizens.

Like Ello, Tommy Telcom is a virtual mobile provider, operating on KPN's network. Unlike Ello, Tommy offers cheap cell phone plans. For EUR 5 per month, members can call other members at no charge, and non-members at EUR 0,15 per minute. Here, the goal isn't to give away profits, but to offer socially engaged consumers a reward for sponsoring causes and an extra incentive to keep donating. And of course the scheme will also encourage members to ask their friends and family to sign up too, so that all involved can call more people for free.

Whether you make it easy or rewarding for your customers to be good, turning existing consumer behaviour into a way of contributing to a better world is innovation we applaud.

Website: http://www.ello-mobile.be
Contact: info@ello-mobile.be

Website: http://tommytelecom.nl
Contact: http://tommytelecom.nl/contact

Some new business ideas are admittedly over the top. Here's one we couldn't resist – Dinner in the Sky.

Belgian Dinner in the Sky offers event organizers a new way to make their event highly memorable: a table, with 22 seated guests, is suspended from a crane. The specially built table is surrounded by chairs of the type usually found on roller coasters, with four-point seat belts. Hoisted 50 meters (164 feet) above ground, safety is a reasonable concern.

Safely buckled up and floating mid-air, guests can enjoy a meal or meeting, with three chefs, waiters, presenters and/or entertainers standing in an open area in the centre of the table. One of the company's first events (pictured above) was a dinner for 22 chefs, hosted by San Pellegrino.

Table, crane, logistic and security staff are available for EUR 7900 for an eight hour session, which can be organized anywhere a large crane can be placed.

Selling a thrilling edge and aerial view, this could be the next big thing for Sweet Sixteen parties and corporate brainstorming session. One for the events industry to look into! Just don't look down...

Website: http://www.dinnerinthesky.com
Contact: info@dinnerinthesky.com

Joining the customer made revolution, Belgium tour operator Wasteels has set up a division called Club Tours, which allows amateurs to create travel packages that are sold to the company's customers.

Every demographic group has its own needs and wants when it comes to travel, and travel agents have long catered to the demand for specialized tours for everyone from senior citizens and rock climbers to military buffs and amateur biologists. Club Tours takes it one step further by allowing non-professionals to create vacation packages for their own niche market. So far, that includes gays, seniors, singles and art lovers.

Club Tours takes care of marketing, sales, ticketing and all of the intricate legal and insurance issues, and pays the creator of the package a commission for each holiday sold. Perfect for minipreneurs who can make a side-business out of their passion for travel, or for bloggers to create theme tours for their readers, generating extra revenue while they're at it. (Gizmodo gadget hunts in Asia? Toybird tours of Chicago by bike?) And a great solution for travel companies who'd like to add nouveau niche tours to their portfolio. Tap into your customers' wealth of knowledge!

Located in Antwerp, Belgium, The Engine Room is a combination of a five star hotel for cars, and a members club for their owners. Members of the Engine Room store their darlings in a modern, heated and well-secured warehouse with climate control optimized for preventing corrosion. Cars can be picked up 24/7, and upon being returned, are hand cleaned inside and out, and have their tire pressure and battery levels checked. Costs per month start at EUR 250 per vehicle.

The Engine Room's other attraction is a private club, advertised as creating a perfect balance between 'business, pleasure, lifestyle and passion' (for automobiles, one assumes). It's a being space for wheeling and dealing! The club includes function rooms—overlooking rows of gleaming metal, of course—that members can use for personal or business events, as well as old-fashioned club rooms, a bar and a terrace overlooking Antwerp's harbour. Great business idea to copy to any city, especially to those urban areas where homes don't come with triple garages. And if were Mercedes, Audi, BMW or any other upscale automotive brand, we would probably run with this tomorrow.