Donations to hungry children based on the value of donors’ favorite meals

Hot on the heels of our story about a robot fundraiser from Korea, we’ve now spotted an international effort taking yet another fresh approach to encouraging donations. WeFeedback is a site that asks visitors to donate the value of their favorite meal to combat world hunger. Launched last month, WeFeedback — an initiative of the World Food Programme — estimates that hunger affects nearly a billion people worldwide. To combat the issue, visitors to the site are asked to enter their favorite meal, and the price they would usually pay for that meal, into the food calculator. The calculator then tells the user how many meals could be bought for hungry children for the same cost. If the visitor selected a steak and chips as their favorite dish, for example, and estimated the average value of that meal to be USD 23, they would be told that a donation of that value could feed ninety-two children. Visitors can also select how many servings they would like to donate the equivalent of. By clicking to donate, visitors can set up a Feedback account and enter their card details to complete the payment. The process does not end there, however. Donors are then asked to share the details of their Feedback transaction through their social networks, along with invitations for their friends to do the same. On the visitors Feedback profile, they are then able to see how many children they have fed, and how many people their online network has fed in total. They are also able to collect badges for adding social networks to their account and donating. A Facebook app is already available, and apps for iPhone and Windows Phone 7 are coming soon. In the sites own words, “It takes just 25 cents to feed a child a nutritious meal at school – USD 50 could feed that child for a whole year”. The stark comparison to a user’s own consumption offers a powerful incentive for donation. And with a built in social networking aspect to help spread the world, initiatives such as these could one day become the norm for charities and non-profits everywhere. (Related: Buy an exotic beer, donate to its country of origin.) Spotted by: Jim Stewart