The humble 50 cents…

Don’t really understand why I keep jumping out to do this (hmm..).

I have these thoughts in my head for a long time. It kindof started via Facebook call-for-help to support/assist with donations, lobby for support on causes and generally awareness on certain individuals or entities who need the strongest power - the strength of many via communities and social networks.

That was one of the driving forces that helped saw the return of Nayati who was kidnapped from Mont Kiara area in Kuala Lumpur (http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Crime/Story/A1Story20120510-344941.html), his parents and friends launched a FB campaign that drew a ton of sympathies and attention, not to mention a couple of angry tears.

Similarly I saw that mushrooming everywhere via youtube, FB, stomp, you name it you’ve got it, they are pretty much there. All with a heart and a genuine concern for issues and causes that needed to be flagged out to a broader population, community who can chip in to support. Everything from a dog suffering the abuse from its owner behind closed doors to an abused or injured cat needing donation appeal by Cat Welfare Society (from which I recently adopted an adult cat from see http://www.catwelfare.org/) and wildlife awareness lobbying by ACRES (www.acres.org.sg) not to mention countless families, children and individuals who can benefit from the strength of many. 

We can all chip  in without serious major dent to individual wallets, all it takes is a dollar or  less from a crowd sourced lobby pool to help and it can happen.

Case in point round about the same time I connected with fellow co-founder ST and crystalize the concept of Kezaar to include a charity or contribution component into our business model with every transaction from our users on our community platform. The case of the Tiong Bahru cat aka Bob a very special cat went viral on FB and drew more than 2,000 likes (now 3k) it really showed how powerful it can be if everyone can come together on causes they most identify and feel more and contribute each in a small way becomes snowballed into something big, powerful and beneficial. For those of you who are wondering which “bob” and what I’m talking about check out the news page. https://www.facebook.com/TheStraitsTimes/posts/133685966699768


Back to my question, why should charities and causes be sometimes regarded as right at the bottom of the food chain after the CFO’s of the world look through their books, pay off dividends, bonuses then decides to write a cheque to a charity as a CSR way to knock off taxes.


Some low profile charities without the support of patrons have to struggle for funds, support, volunteers on their own and sometimes hires paid-canvassers to trawl the streets near public transport areas like MRT, bus stations in Singapore. A much dreaded sight by commuters and general public alike. You can see that very clearly the minute someone with a lanyard around his/her neck, carries a clipboard strolling towards you. Trust me you’ll bolt if you keep your eyes around you. Who wouldn’t?


In no disrespect to canvassers, we just don’t like the idea of being canvassed for charities and for funding. It’s human nature, isn’t it? We liked to be informed, made aware of legit causes, and be “pulled” to shell out our wallets not be “pushed” or cornered. It ain’t pleasant. It never will.


Then again I thought to myself, why can’t we just do something simple all it  takes is say a token dollar or a token 50 cents multiply by the working population or economically active population who are out daily doing their own stuff. Everything from picking up a latte from a cafe to eating out  at lunch hour. It all adds up. If only we can structure something simple yet so powerful that our individual wallets will not feel the big ouch and yet we can contribute to doing something good. Say hypothetically we pick up an average of 5 to 9 cups of latte…espresso…whatever in a week at say $5  to $6 each, why can’t just a token 10 cents or 50 cents from my cup of latte go into a charitable cause?


Think about it.
All it takes is just 50 cents or similar if we multiply that number by number of lattes sold multiply by number of people in  say 200 days in a year. You do the math. That is ONE powerful sum and it all starts with the humble 50 cents!


This is exactly what Kezaar aims to do, we contribute a tiny, seemingly “insignificant” token of 50 cents from every transaction to a charity or cause that our users choose. (Yes users choose who they want to help! Not us!) We multiply that by the user transaction we will have a very powerful sum to help charities and causes and yes it likewise starts with the humble 50 cents.


But we can’t do this without you and our users, let’s try prove this point and say that we can all change something.


Kezaar awaits…

Remember the power of many, no matter how “insignificant” individually we might be.

Kezaar-out


Feeling empowered,
Debbie