We’ve designed a simple, yet transformative, movement built upon solidarity.
One World Together was born out of frustration with existing systems of charitable giving.
Despite the generosity of the UK public – who give £2 billion a year to development NGOs – most of this goes to the biggest charities, which are expensive to operate and operate through unequal partnerships. You can read more about that here.
This means that whether you are a small organisation working with communities in the UK or globally, it is incredibly hard to access the best form of funding that builds your organisational strength, stability and sustainability. The case for long-term, predictable and unrestricted funding has never been clearer.
Charities are trying to do better, but they’re working within deeply ingrained systems that are hard to change.
So we thought we’d design a new system, free of these costs and inequalities that accompany traditional forms of giving.
One World Together was born to answer a simple question:
Our model is designed around movement principles, recognising that a large number of committed supporters is more powerful than a few small donors. Even a small, but long-term, monthly donation of £1.00 can be pooled into large volumes of money that we can channel to our brilliant partners, and we can take on more partners as we grow.
Our Solidarity Fund was born with the promise that every penny, minus the transaction fee, will go directly to our partners on a long-term and unrestricted basis.
Although our model keeps our own operational costs low (we’re not designing or ‘doing’ any projects, it’s our partners that are great at that!) we also need a financially-sustainable business model.
Otherwise we risk falling into the trap of traditional charitable models, namely of investing large sums of money in fund-raising to constantly bring in new income. We think all of that money is better going directly to local organisations.
Our membership-based model was the perfect solution. A small annual membership supports our limited operational costs and offers the benefit of supporting additional investments and support for partners once these are covered. Through joining, our Global Citizens support the movement and invest in our journey.
As a Community Interest Company, every single penny is reinvested into the community. With our principle of radical transparency, our supporters will know exactly how every single penny is spent.
Our last priority was to build solidarity between our Global Citizens and our partners.
This isn’t just a question of them knowing that their money is spent well. It is about building a deeper understanding of the poverty and inequality that local organisations are confronted with and of the ways in which they address these. It is about building an understanding of how powerful funding can be through our new, localised approach.
To support this we will be launching our very own community space in late 2023 that links up directly our Global Citizens with our partners. It will be a space for learning, connecting and exploring.
It’s a space where our partners can demonstrate their brilliant work and the power One World Together’s support offers them.
It’s a space where our Global Citizens can learn about how their support makes a difference, get involved in decision-making, and find new ways of championing our partners.
This space – and you – will be our beating heart.