We have a lot of panhandlers here in Chicago. And street musicians. I like to give them money when I have it, but I hardly ever have cash.
Seems like Visa, Amex or Mastercard could create some little handheld devices that would tie to a special savings account, allowing passers-by to give money, even if they have no change. Click for a photo of my design, if you can’t see it above.
What it is:
- Hand-held debit/credit-card processing device for homeless people, street musicians, etc.
- Deposits directly into a special savings account with a decent interest rate
- Features a USB port for recharging at ATMs, shelters, grocery stores, etc.
- Easy denomination selector on the top of the device, elastic strap on the back
Why it’s cool:
- Makes it super easy to give money (and receive money)
- Cash can be used to buy things that aren’t necessary (booze, cigs, drugs, comic books), and the special savings account makes it more secure
- Donators can track your charitable contributions online
- Comes with a special debit card that would reject purchases of booze/cigs/comics
- That card would get the users some cool discounts to encourage good spending habits (marketing opportunity)
- Banks or other organizations could match (partial or whole) the contributions made in an entire city, or by donations made from a given bank’s customer base
All of y’all out there, what do you think?
Comments
If you feel that your spare change isn’t being used by the homeless in the appropriate way, perhaps you should make your donation to an organization that feeds and shelters folks.
Yeah, but those donations usually take planning, etc. and a lot of money goes towards the infrastructure. This would be more spontaneous and directly usable by the homeless folks. The ability to donate small amounts on the street is attractive to me.
I really like it. Takes the guesswork out of use of funds. Maybe the same idea (controlled or regulated purchase authorization) could be used for non-profits in fundraising. Might take some of the bite out of giving. Then adding a “how were my donations used” feature on the accountable party’s site to allow givers to see how the homeless person(s) or non-profits they (givers) helped actually used the money.
It´s very interesting, you definetly have some good ideas and you´re pretty good at design btw. I just have a couple of questions, more in the cultural side that about the idea itself:
1. One of the problems here with charity is that people can became “addict” to it, meaning that homeless (or not) people prefer to beg because they make good money this way, instead of looking for other options to have new incomes. How would brands issue this phenomenon?
2. What about security? How do I protect my password or how do I prevent that a burglar came and take all my money from that account?
Anyway, it´s a nice idea. In a near future when you can make such transaction between accounts via cellphone´s bluetooth this could be a huge success. You really shoul keep working on it.
Danny -
Glad you like it. You know, your idea for NPs would be great. I HATE being accosted by the non-profit folks that will almost chase you down the street (esp. on Michigan Ave., here in the CHI) to get you to donate. I love the cause, but I hate how they work it. You gotta listen to the spiel, and then give your CC number so they can get you on a plan. If I could walk by, drop them a couple of bucks with a push of a button and a swipe of the card, I’d be stoked. And much more likely to give.
Nice idea! Thanks for stopping by.
Daniel -
Johanna told me yesterday that I should be an inventor. I think I may pursue that line of work.
Regarding your comments… 1: Yeah, I agree, some folks do get addicted to this type of ‘job’. I’ve heard that some homeless folks make upwards of 30,000 USD panhandling. They must be good marketers. But I’m of the opinion that if we can give homeless/needy/street musician types of the world a better way to get (and save) money, then at least some of them will make a transition to being a productive part of society. 2: I guess it’d be just like any other credit/debit card? Not sure.
Thanks for the critique!
amazing idea Clay, keep grinding!
Thanks man…
Great comment.
I guess you will like my page..
Regards
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