What’s your idea?

The concept is to provide a site similar to www.elance.com but rather than companies paying freelancers, the freelancer gives up his/her time for free and the company pays the project costs direct to a charity.

The freelancer gets the kudos of having provided their skills in exchange for actual dosh which goes to a good cause and the company get to make a donation AND get their project completed into the bargain.

A badge/widget system similar to Justgiving’s will allow freelancers to show how much money they’ve ‘raised’ via the site which could be displayed on their blog/website.

What is the social need or challenge your idea could address?

Lots of freelancers (webdesigners, artists, writers, coders, marketing professionals, etc) would love to use their skills to help a charity and many do by carrying out probono work. However it would be great if their skills could be used to provide services for businesses while raising actual money for charities at the same time. This would provide a vital additional revenue scheme for charities during these difficult economic times.

What’s really new about your idea?

While freelancer/outsourcing sites are by no means new, the difference with this approach is that the site would redirect money to good causes while allowing freelancers and businesses to address their corporate social responsibilites.

What inspired you to come up with your idea in the first place?

Lots of my friends freelance but they’ve always moaned that the only way they can use their skills to help charities is by doing probono work with the charities themselves or by donating their profits. Many of them barely have profits to donate and some of them are unsure which charity to donate to! The system I’m proposing would allow freelancers to get the recognition they deserve for their work while contributing to a good cause.

From 1-5, what stage of development would you say your idea was in?

1 - early stage.

This is still very much a concept right now, no work has been done to get the Kudos site started. In fact the name Kudos is one I came up with five minutes ago. Early discussions with freelancers have been positive and if businesses can pay a market rate for a service whilst ALSO donating to charity then it’s win-win for them.

What can we do for you?

I’d need a Geek, Funder and mentor, in that order.

This idea was submitted by Ross McCulloch.

Ross McCulloch manages the development of an innovative charity triptych - Family Support Partnership Lanarkshire.  The partnership brings together a wide range of counselling, mediation and support services for children and families. Ross is also the founder of ThirdSectorForums.co.uk, an online community where social entrepreneurs and non-profit types learn, debate and connect. He has worked across the public, private and voluntary sectors in areas such as community planning, economic regeneration and children’s rights. Ross sits on the Big Lottery Fund’s Fair Share Trust Scotland Panel, which has channelled some £6.1million to community groups across the country.