#13/25 More (than) money

Dear Readers,

I can't help myself. Today is all about bcause. More precisely: About the new bcause. Because we presented it live to our inner circle yesterday in Berlin. And I am, first of all, grateful for the feedback from what is now three thousand users and, secondly, proud of the bcause team.

The core remains: The principle of digital foundation accounts within a large foundation has proven its worth: set up within minutes and flexibly designable, with donation receipts for all deposits and payouts to any non-profit organization at any time.

So that users can now do even more with their money, bcause impact offers the opportunity to invest credit with a target return of 4% and with a positive impact. With bcause on demand , the receiving organizations can also make more of the money if they call up the donations intended for them at a later date.

A number that sticks in your head: 4%

How does bcause actually invest the deposited money? For some time now, with bcause grow , user accounts have shared in fixed-term deposit interest. This means they cannot only benefit from the tax deduction they receive in the year of deposit, but also multiply the credit.

Fixed-term deposits are safe, but they have neither a positive impact nor an attractive return. Until now, this was only available with individual investments (like Haferkater or fairafric) on the platform. However, they usually lock up the allocated money for many years and are, of course, not failsafe either.

But if you combine many of these individual investments with each other and with investments in impact funds, sustainable stocks and bonds and other sustainable assets, a modern multi-asset portfolio is created: bcause impact.

Upon request, users can now participate in the active asset management of the foundation as a whole. The target return of 4% is made even more attractive by the fact that any credit is already tax-deductible upon deposit and returns are not subject to capital gains tax (since the bcause Foundation is exempt from this tax). And because the portfolio contains enough liquid investments, users no longer have to wait years to reinvest funds differently or, ultimately, to donate them.

“Do more with your money!” This is already true for bcause. Because users could share their engagement and thus mobilize more money. With the new asset investment, the leverage becomes much greater - especially for users who previously preferred not to donate higher sums for the time being, preferring to invest them privately.

A person who inspires me: Till Wahnbaeck

Till Wahnbaeck studied history at Oxford, he is interested in the big picture. He has one of these in his biography too: after success in industry and publishing, he took over the venerable Welthungerhilfe - and developed a similar experience there to what I did at around the same time in the foundation sector: indeed, one can (differently) do so much more with the money!

Traditional development work is completely finished, especially after the withdrawal of the USA. And is being reinvented by Till with his organization impacc. Or returning to a very simple idea: promote entrepreneurship instead of delivering aid. Very similar to bcause: with philanthropic money, but an investment claim.

In his readable LinkedIn profile, Till describes his mission as: “I want to create a million jobs. Then I'll retire.”

In podcast episode #51, we discuss with him and the entrepreneur and donor Jan Evers why investing at eye level works. And what surprising influence Felix had on the foundation supervision in Jan's podcast “Ideencouch” a few months ago.

PS: Another tip: Next Wednesday, September 17th, episode #52 will be released featuring “Mr. Acker” Christoph Schmitz and the legendary Rebuy and TIER founder Lawrence Leuschner, who shares capacity.eco, an incredibly effective innovation for protecting the Amazon rainforest. More on that in the next section.

An idea to think further: Eye Level

„Shift the Power“ is the name of the paradigm shift currently taking place in development work. The shift of power and resources to those who are directly affected can also be called the principle of eye level. In practice, this means: opening up decision-making spaces on site, participatory allocation of funds (the communities themselves decide on the use of financial resources), joint reflection instead of external control, and promoting entire local ecosystems instead of individual projects. Christina Kükenshöner of Joyuntu writes more about this in the bcause blog. 

Already during my time at Ashoka, I repeatedly encountered individuals and organizations that rethink in this way. Until now, they were the exception in view of the billions in state- and top-down-dominated development work. Now they are the hope of a scene that is undergoing dramatic change - and must do more with less money. 

I have met some recently who have particularly impressed me. I support them with my FO Foundation (all deposits are forwarded), but you can also support them directly via bcause.  

impacc “Using the tools of business for social change,” is how the non-profit organization based in Germany, Kenya and Ethiopia describes its work. Instead of spending money on aid projects, it invests donations in African start-ups - and reinvests the proceeds in the next ones.

fairafric “Perhaps the most sustainable chocolate in the world” keeps value creation where it belongs, with the producers. With a climate bond, you can ensure that chocolate does not harm the climate and local people.

capacity “Moonshots for biodiversity,” Lawrence Leuschner wants to launch. The first is a satellite-based warning app for indigenous defenders of the Amazon rainforest.

Generation Restoration “What if we turned refugee camps into regenerative communities?” asks sustainability expert Tina Teucher - and builds self-sustaining businesses in some of the most life- and nature-hostile places in the world.

Landbanking (Earthly Treasure) “Put Nature on the Balance Sheet!” Prof. Martin Stuchtey tackles exploitation at its root, namely in its representation in corporate finances. He makes the protection of nature parks, among other things, investable by quantifying ecological value scientifically and digitally, and even making it tradable.

GiveDirectly It doesn't get more direct than this. With mobile money transfers, people in extreme poverty are supported. The simplest alternative to traditional development work is also one of the most scientifically evaluated interventions for poverty reduction.