Provisional Patent: The Goodwill Generator

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The biggest problem encountered by charitable organizations is the lack continuous donations and volunteer efforts. Charitable organizations function on the goodwill of the general public, as volunteers, and on the donations of corporations and wealthy individuals. Though charities are usually working toward a noble cause, frequently requesting donations and volunteer services is sometimes viewed as panhandling by people not intimately involved with the organization. Volunteers often drop out of charity work because there is no immediate reward for their services; they are unable to see the eventual end result of their goodwill act.

The Goodwill Generator is a tool intended to increase the frequency of donations and reward volunteers for their good deeds. The Generator works through a combination of efforts such as communication, encouraging individuals to participate in volunteer goodwill acts and enticing corporations to use donations as a method of advertising their business. There are many parts to the machine of the Goodwill Generator which all work in conjunction to keep the Generator in motion.

At the base of any charitable organization is a cause. The cause is any social issue that faces the public on a continuous basis. Causes generally include terminal illness, the elderly or the homeless. At the heart of any cause is the beneficiary, or person received benefits from the charitable organization. The beneficiary could be a terminally ill cancer patient or an elderly person receiving free meal delivery. Closely connected to the beneficiary is the group called the beneficiary stakeholders. These stakeholders include caregivers or family members of the beneficiary.

The next level of any charitable organization includes the volunteers, or individuals who perform acts of good will without payment or reward. These good deeds performed by the volunteers are called goodwill acts. Holding these groups together is the affiliate organization; the volunteer or charitable organization that relies on volunteers and donations to help individuals affected by a particular cause. Part of the way the Goodwill Generator works is to track individual goodwill acts performed by volunteers. The Generator tracks the length of time between efforts made by volunteers and offers random rewards while on active status. This tracking is performed by the Random Engine section of the Goodwill Generator.

The Goodwill Generator pools all of the goodwill acts performed by volunteers for beneficiaries and beneficiary stakeholders and can be sorted to match active volunteers to particular tasks the volunteers have chosen to perform. A portion of the Goodwill Generator works as a converter, to convert charitable cash donations into gift cards or other incentives that can be given to active volunteers as reward for completing charitable goodwill acts. Another tools used by the Goodwill Generator is the gift pool. This is the depository for gifts donated by corporations or others who are seeking to donate to charitable organizations as part of their advertising promotions. Gifts in the pool are randomly selected and given to eligible recipients. The types and sizes of gifts available are entirely dependent on how the charitable organization manages the Goodwill Generator. The Goodwill Generator works best in social network environment on the internet, using webpage, email and text notifications to volunteers, beneficiary stakeholders and beneficiaries.

There are several ways in which the Goodwill Generator can be used to increase volunteer activity and charitable donations. For volunteers, the Goodwill Generator can be operated in two ways. First, the volunteer who completes a goodwill act registers it with the affiliate organization. The beneficiary stakeholder is notified of the act, complete with description, and can select a reward for the volunteer to receive. Second, registered volunteers can receive a reward for goodwill acts completed by other volunteers. The recipient volunteer can then redeem the reward or select to pass the reward onto another volunteer. The can also select to receive a larger reward by completing their own goodwill act. If this option is selected, the recipient volunteer can select from other registered goodwill acts listed on the Generator. The Goodwill Generator tracks all of the goodwill acts performed through a Goodwill Chain, which can be viewed and tracked by beneficiaries, beneficiary stakeholders and other volunteers.

Charitable donations are distributed via the Goodwill Generator in several ways. The Goodwill Generator can be used as a springboard for fundraising events, mainly by increasing awareness of the charitable organization and placing their cause in the public view. The Goodwill Generator can also provide unlimited advertising opportunities for other organizations and corporations. Through the notification of a goodwill act to beneficiary stakeholders, the stakeholders are asked to make a donation to the charitable organization. Third parties can offer, on the notification webpage, to make the donation instead of the stakeholder in return for coming in to their place of business.

Third party companies and organizations wishing to advertise through the Goodwill Generator can take advantage of brand placement and coupon opportunities provided by the Generator. Randomly selected active volunteers who receive donated gifts from the gift pool receive the gifts via the corporation who made the donation. This is a branding opportunity for the donating corporation to make the volunteers aware of their company and entice them visit their business. Corporations can also donate gift cards to their establishment, enticing recipient volunteers to shop in their place of business.

The Goodwill Generator is a combination of efforts that can be used by charitable organizations to produce revenue for their cause. The Generator is also a continuous method for keeping existing volunteers interested in the cause and attracting new volunteers to join forces. Through organized use of charitable donations and volunteer efforts, the Goodwill Generator is a system of revenue production that operates through the internet and affiliate organization management.