Football fans can now support their club’s official charity’s work in the community through an innovative new fundraising app, Goals for Good.
The app allows supporters to make micro-donations based on actions such as every time the team scores a goal or wins a game, and get updated through push notifications in real-time.
The fundraising app has been developed by Lancaster-based If Give Limited, a spin-out of Lancaster University’s School of Computing, and early adopters include the charities of football clubs Sheffield Wednesday, Preston North End, Wigan Athletic, Carlisle United, Morecambe and Fleetwood Town, as well as Portsmouth, Peterborough United and Wimbledon.
If Give’s data capturing algorithm turns on-field action into an opportunity for supporters to make an automatic donation e.g. giving £1 every time the team scores a goal.
By leveraging real-time data to create immersive and engaging experiences for donors, the team behind ‘Goals For Good’ believes the technology represents a major step forward in digital fundraising and has the potential to redefine the landscape of charitable giving.
“In today’s changing consumer landscape, brands and services focus on technology to offer personalisation, convenience and responsiveness,” said Ludwig Trotter, founder of If Give and a PhD researcher at Lancaster University. “Today’s charitable donors expect the same level of personalised service and responsiveness and seek meaningful connections and tangible impact from the causes they support.
“Forward-thinking charities like these are looking to revolutionise their approach towards regular donations and deliver experiences that are more tailored to individuals. Our app transforms raw data into compelling narratives.”
The fundraising model has attracted attention across the sector, demonstrating its versatility and effectiveness in driving engagement.
“Through our approach of ‘If this happens, I will donate,’ literally anything can become a trigger for meaningful change,” said Trotter.
“As charities continue to adapt to the digital age, collaborations like the one between these charities and If Give Limited are paving the way for a more connected and impactful future in the charity sector.”
Professor Nigel Davies, Head of Lancaster University’s School of Computing and Communications, and co-founder at If Give Limited, outlined the transformative potential of this collaboration:
“In a world where everything is becoming more automated, and digitalisation becomes widespread, lies a huge untapped potential for charities,” he said.
“Goals For Good marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of digital fundraising. By harnessing the power of data, we are empowering supporters to make a tangible impact on causes they care about, like never before.”
The Lancaster University research behind the technology was supported through the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Impact Accelerator Account and the If Give opportunity has been supported by Innovate UK’s ICURe (Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research).
