Cross Pollinate: Fundraising with a heart

|PIC1|Cross Pollinate is a novel new Christian initiative that aims to make the whole fundraising process as much about the donations as it is about building lasting relationships between investors with a heart for social transformation, and the people working on the frontlines to see it happen.

The concept is simple: put a bunch of small charities and conscientious philanthropists in the same room, let them share their stories, and the result will be purposeful, rather than impersonal, giving from the heart.

"[Our] twin objectives are to encourage generous hearted people to be intuitive and communal in their approach to giving and to help funds reach Christian social change projects, particularly small charities who may lack the time and know how to extend their income," says Matt Bird of Make It Happen, who came up with the idea for Cross Pollinate together with Ian Wilkins of Alvor Charitable Trust,

Crucially, Cross Pollinate gives small-scale projects the platform they deserve but don't often receive.

"Our hope is to encourage a new wave of Christian philanthropy and to see hundreds of amazing community based Christian charities resourced with more funding," adds Wilkins.

The inaugural Cross Pollinate in central London earlier this week proved that the concept works.

More than 60 philanthropists packed the offices of Coutts to hear Christian charities Romance Academy, CORD, The Trussell Trust, Crossroads Christian Counselling Service, The Lighthouse Group and Savannah Education Trust sum up what they would do with £5,000 - and in just six minutes each.

An additional six minutes after each presentation gave the potential donors the opportunity to ask project representatives more detailed questions about their work before deciding whether or not they wanted to make an anonymous pledge.

Bird and Wilkins had aimed to raise £50,000 for the six charities they had handpicked for the evening. In the end they almost doubled that amount, with the combined total of pledges exceeding £100,000.

Bird stresses, however, that it's not just about the money. The evening opened and closed with prayer and the time in between was punctuated with regular pauses to allow donors time to tune in to God's presence.

"We gave people the opportunity not only to give money but also to give in kind," he said.

"We wanted to give people the time to reflect and hear from God, because it's about more than money. It's about the talents, experience and expertise that we can give as well."

Romance Academy, an abstinence-based relationships programme for teenagers, said the £22,000 in pledges they attracted during the evening would help roll out the academy across the UK and internationally.

Rachel Gardner, Romance Academy's Creative Director, welcomed the Cross Pollinate initiative.

"When you are a new charity and it's something you passionately believe in, it's not just about making ends meet. It's about wanting people to catch your vision," she shared.

"No charity wants to be supported by a cold cheque. Even though they need money, they want people to catch what their heart is.

"That's what this is about. People gave because they caught what it is that we are trying to do.

"It's so great that the body of Christ will not only cash a cheque but also catch the fire."

Bird and Wilkins are looking to hold even more Cross Pollinates in the future. The next event is already planned for Thursday 13 November at Barclays Wealth, when a fresh mix of charities will have the opportunity to showcase their projects.

Mike Royal of The Lighthouse Group, a Christian charity working to reintegrate excluded school pupils into the education system, is equally enthusiastic about Cross Pollinate.

"Sometimes the whole grant-making procedure, both for the donors and the charities, can be a little bit bland, almost white wall-ish, and you don't really see what goes on behind the scenes. But this is really organic," he says.

"It's really great to bring both those who are delivering on the ground and those who can support financially together in the same room. The energy here - fantastic."

On the web: www.crosspollinate.co.uk