Started: May 2011
Based: London
Website: www.thedonation.org.uk, www.dogoodforbusiness.com
Twitter: @The_DoNation
Category: Community Action

The DoNation is a website that encourages people to donate by doing, as opposed to giving cash. People running a marathon or climbing a mountain can raise sponsorship by asking their friends and family to pledge small actions.

The DoNation was set up by Hermione Taylor, a former masters student in environmental technology, who was disillusioned by the credit crunch and the endless sponsorship requests she was getting from friends. She realised that the environment didn’t need people’s money as much as it needed their action and The DoNation was born.

The company works with individuals, companies and universities, helping them to encourage friends, employees and students to take small actions and environmentally friendly pledges in their everyday lives.

Whether it's taking shorter showers, using the stairs instead of the lift, or empowering employees to become advocates for sustainable living within and outside work, The DoNation provides a website for people to link up and donate by doing rather than handing over cash.

Since it began 6,387 pledges have been made. A remarkable 232 tCO2 has been saved through confirmed pledges and in a recent survey 92 per cent of users said they had actually changed their habits as a result.

The main focus now is on the newly launched Dogoodforbusiness.com, a new platform for business-led pledges.