Original Idea

The concept for Give Social came about as Kita and her husband discussed the ubiquity of online “daily deal” websites. They recognized that there must be a way to motivate individuals to realize deals for their communities using a similar platform. Their brainstorm resulted in Give Social, which would include an incentive matching structure, an online social giving platform, and local projects as a means to “give social, build local”.

Pitch

Kita decided to pitch the idea in a Spring 2011 business plan competition at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, and the reception was overwhelming. The judges loved it and felt that Give Social could provide a new way for people to connect to their neighbors while improving their communities. One judge, recent MBA alum, Dave, liked it so much, that he helped Kita compete in the university-wide Hoya Challenge, where they won 1st Place in the Social Entrepreneurship Track and the People’s Choice Award.

Development

With the help of classmates, Give Social completed its first successful “Ask” in the spring of 2011, raising $3,500 for McDonough’s Social Impact Internship Fund (which was then matched again by the school for a total of $7,000) to support summer scholarships for MBA students. The undergraduate student-run business The Corp was our business partner, and it partially matched professors’ donations to the Social Impact Internship Fund.

Based on the success of this first “Ask”, Kita decided to spend her second year at McDonough further developing the Give Social model. Becky, Ingrid, Jay, and Brad worked with her during the school year, and the team successfully implemented our first online ask in the spring of 2012, through which we raised $1500 to plant daffodils in Rock Creek Park.

Incubation

Give Social just ended its stint as part of the inaugural class at the Georgetown Startup Hoyas Incubator, which offered us the opportunity to incubate our idea with the support and mentorship of the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative. Over the summer, Kita and Becky worked closely with community members to best determine Give Social’s impact, and they realized that a shift in the business model would give the most value to the community.

The New Give Social

Give Social now matches nonprofits that are seeking business sponsorship with small businesses that are looking for ways to get involved in their communities. We are currently cataloging projects and events from our nonprofit partners (out-of-school programs, 5K runs, etc) so that we can share this list with our business partners.

If you are a small business or local nonprofit that would like to work with Give Social, contact us.