Innovation in Giving Fund tackles social isolation in older people

Charity and care provider Age UK and the online community marketplace Ecomodo have announced a new partnership, where pensioners can offer their skills in return for donations to the charity.

It is hoped the partnership will raise money for Age UK as well as tackling the social isolation experienced by many older people.

Isolation and loneliness are growing problems in the UK with over a third of people in the UK aged over 65 feeling lonely, according to a recent survey by Age UK.

Both parties have embraced an ‘Open Innovation programme’, which was recently launched by independent charity Nesta. Thanks to £10m of Cabinet Office funding, more charities are now able to adopt a joint approach to their causes, after Nesta set up a sharing platform allowing for donations to be raised collaboratively.

The new business model is based on skills-sharing and encourages older people to actively engage in society. So, a retired gardener could offer a few hours’ gardening and, in return, the recipient makes a donation to Age UK.

Fundraising director at Age UK, Paul Farthing, said: “By working with Ecomodo, we believe we have found a way to bring these two challenges together, and generate an income stream that could be a long-term, sustainable platform for Age UK to fund its services.”

A spokesman for Ecomodo called it a “mutually beneficial partnership” and said: “We are incredibly excited by this opportunity to work alongside one of the biggest charities in the UK. This can help us deliver the scale we need to drive impact whilst enabling Age UK to deliver on their mission and fundraise in a new way.”

Nesta chief executive Geoff Mulgan comments, “We know that innovation is a key driver for long-term economic growth but that business investment across the UK has fallen in the last few years.

“The challenge is to help innovative firms and projects to grow – and to achieve as much successful innovation in the public sector and civil society as is already taking place in high tech businesses.”

Last month marked the first anniversary of the Innovation in Giving fund, with £10m having contributed to 67 separate projects so far which, alongside Age UK and Ecomodo, also include Mencap, Marie Curie Cancer Care, United Response, the National Trust, the Children’s Society and Scope.

Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society, comments: “This fund is about supporting creative new ideas that will inspire more people to give time or money. I have been very impressed by the quality of the 67 charity projects that we have supported through this fund in its first year. It has been very rewarding for the charities to get their projects off the ground and we have been delighted to see some great ideas fly.”