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Crowdfunding platform builds charitable donation into investment process

Paulo Rizal February 16, 2021

2 min read

VentureCrowd investors will now have the option to make a charitable donation to a children’s charity when they invest in any of VentureCrowd’s financial products such as startups, or property development projects, on deal entry.

Once an investor commits capital to a product, they will then be offered the chance to direct a portion of their investment to The Smith Family, with funds going directly towards providing education-related funding for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

VentureCrowd is also hosting a permanent partnership page on its website which will allow investors to make a charitable donation to The Smith Family without the need to invest in a financial product.

Donations will be aggregated by VentureCrowd and will go towards supporting The Smith Family to fund its Learning for Life program and partner program, Kidpreneur.

With one in six Australian children and young people living in poverty, this new partnership between VentureCrowd and The Smith Family aims to help the charity in its work to break the cycle of disadvantage through supporting a child’s education.

The Smith Family’s Learning for Life program provides around 58,000 students living in disadvantage with financial support for school essentials, access to additional learning materials and mentoring programs. The Kidpreneur partner program is an immersive, teacher-led program where primary school children use a project-based approach to build their very own microbusiness.

“Our investors demand opportunities to support organisations that fund new futures and solve problems, and this is exactly what The Smith Family does through their work. By working towards solving the issue of childhood poverty and equipping children with the tools that they need to build better futures for themselves, VentureCrowd’s alignment with The Smith Family couldn’t be closer, and I am excited to showcase this opportunity for our customers to invest in the future of Australia,” said VentureCrowd CEO, Steve Maarbani.

“Our company exists to support Australian entrepreneurialism, and the first step on the journey to success is quality education for every single child, regardless of their background. It is amazing to see a program such as Kidpreneur being offered to children from such a young age. Australia is a country of innovation and is brimming with talent that comes from very diverse backgrounds. If we can have children thinking with an entrepreneurial mindset during their schooling, then Australia as a while will be reaping the rewards for decades to come,” Maarbani said.

The partnership between the two organisations comes at a time when many Australians are grappling with adversity. Around 58,000 disadvantaged children and their families receive support through The Smith Family’s programs, and this support is more vital than ever due to the devastating economic impact caused by COVID-19.

“The economic impact of COVID has been far-reaching and has disproportionately affected families already in poverty prior to the pandemic. It has exacerbated already challenging and stressful circumstances for our families and students living in disadvantage. Further support will be vital to keep young people engaged in their learning,” said The Smith Family’s Head of Strategy and Philanthropy, Judy Barraclough.

“The pandemic has confirmed the need for the whole community to work together to tackle issues of disadvantage,” she said.