Yes, Common Change is a registered Non-Profit Company (2016/004288/08) and Non-Profit Organization (NPO Number 177-802).

There are two ways to become a member: Either by creating your own giving group or by joining an existing group. After creating your personal account on the Common Change app or website, you’ll have the opportunity to create your own giving group. Your group will be unique and you’ll be able to write a group description and statement of commitment that reflects who you are. Each member of your group will be able to read and accept your shared hopes before joining. All that’s left to do is to invite others – friends, family members, co-workers, etc. – fund your group account, and then share, discuss and support need requests.

To close your Common Change personal account please send an email to support@commonchange.co.za with the subject “Close my user account” and we will take care of it for you and let you know once it is closed.

If you would like to close your giving group please send us an email at support@commonchange.co.za with the subject “Close my group”. If there are still funds in your group fund, please also post a request for the balance of funds so everyone in the group can vote and the funds can be paid out to the chosen beneficiary. If you would prefer that the balance of the funds be donated to the Common Change South Africa operations fund, please note that in the request. Once the gift has been sent your group will be closed out.

Common Change South Africa is headquartered in Cape Town, but our members are spread all across the country. Our sister-organisations, Common Change US and Common Change UK have headquarters in Oakland, CA and London, UK respectively.

The Common Change family of organisations were founded in the USA. Following the 2002 Jubilee Celebration in New York, Darin Petersen and Shane Claiborne began asking what the daily practice of collaborative giving could look like. Relational Tithe, Inc. was launched in January 2005 as an experiment among people desiring to live a more adventurous, relational, and passionate faith.

What began as an experiment among 17 people within the USA has grown to include people over the globe with a desire to participate. Since 2005, that small group of friends has expanded, touching the lives of over 1000 families and individuals in over 15 countries and distributing over $1,000,000 directly to people in need. In 2011, Relational Tithe began development on Common Change, a new “cloud-based” application – an online tool for groups all around the world to connect people and their resources to people in their lives.

Common Change South Africa was founded by Valerie Anderson in 2014 and registered as a non-profit company in 2015 with the core values to inspire South Africa, expand collaborative giving, and value people. Up to date, Common Change South Africa has shared more than R2 million to over 750 individuals and families.

Certainly not. Common Change is an open platform and tool which facilitates the practice of collaborative giving and relational generosity for anyone, regardless of faith or non-faith tradition.

When you join Common Change you have the opportunity to design your own giving group or join an existing group. Each group is unique, with a group description and statement of commitment that reflects who they are and what they want to achieve. Each group member is able to read and accept the shared hopes and expectations of the group, before joining. Groups could be oriented around a specific issue, geographic area, or group of people; or be more general in nature.

No. Anyone can donate to any group fund. However, only the members of the group will be able to submit and vote on requests from their group fund.

Groups decide how they want to donate to their fund and all donations to the fund are anonymous. Group members may want to commit to each giving a certain amount each month or could follow a more ad hoc approach and donate as an when they are able. Group members do not have sight of how much each other member has given, but can always see the total amount available in the group fund.

Common Change South Africa’s operations are donor-funded. 5% of your donation to your group fund will go to covering the operational costs of running your group (banking fees, web hosting, accounting, and admin fees associated with organising payments to those in need). The rest (95%) goes directly to your group’s fund.

Each group has an “Available Group Fund” and “Shared Amount” tab visible at the top of their group page. Only members of that group can see that amount. Members of the group will also be able to see what has been given, to whom, and when. If any further information is required, any donor may request a donor report or donation statement by emailing finance@commonchange.co.za.

Unfortunately not. Section 18A status restricts the kinds of activities groups can give to. We hold a value of people over products and moving funds directly to where they are most needed. By not being restricted to Section 18A activities, groups are able to give to a wider variety of needs.

Yes, you can. Login to your Common Change account and create or join a new group. All your groups will be linked to the email address with which signed up.

Once you are a part of a Common Change group you can invite others to be a part of the group. Rally your classmates, friends, family, teammates, colleagues or your entire neighborhood to collaborate in giving.

To invite someone to your group:

• Log in to the Common Change platform
• Click on the cog in the top right and then click on “Invite Friends”
• This should take you to the “Invite your friends” page
• Select the group to which you would like to invite someone
• Enter their details
• Click “Send” at the bottom of the form
• They will receive an email with details of how to sign up and join your group

You, and the other members of your group, do! Group members recommend needs, advocate for assistance, and collectively recommend where funds should be disbursed, via the voting process. Ultimate responsibility for administration and distribution of funds rests solely with Common Change. Therefore, Common Change performs a vital oversight function to ensure, to the extent of reasonable due diligence, that disbursements made conform to the vision, mission and Memorandum of Incorporation of Common Change, and that they conform to NPO and other compliance requirements.

Every reasonable effort is made to resolve any questions by contacting the Group Facilitator. Once Common Change completes their due diligence and approves the request, the benevolence is processed and disbursed.

“If the Group Fund shows we have R1000, is it at all possible for me to make a request for, say, R1200?”

Unfortunately not. The funds available acts as the cap for your group, with the knowledge that in most cases more funds will be being added regularly. You can only request up to the amount currently available in the Group Fund.

No, you may not. The way Common Change has been set up is to connect people with resources to those who have need of resources through the means of relationship. Only a member of a group can submit a request to their group for a need they know of. Also, outside people cannot “request” funds from your group or solicit help.

A request can be presented in a group that is on your behalf, but it should be made by someone else in the group. In this case, the member benefiting from the request should be the last person to weigh in.

Once you log into the Common Change site, navigate to “My Group” and click on “Submit a Need Request”. Fill in the request form and click the “Submit Request” button. The need will be automatically sent on to the rest of your group and the process will be set in motion.

Not all group members need to “weigh-in” because approval is based on group size and available funds in relationship to the request. The usual approval rate is between 65-75 percent of the group members with requests for bigger amounts requiring a higher approval rate.

There are two important pieces of information we need to process a request: The recipient information and the payment information.

Recipient information is the details of the end recipient benefiting from the gift, or the person you are making the request on behalf of. The recipient information must be entered when creating the request.

Payment information is the details of the person who is receiving the funds. This could be the actual end recipient, somebody who is making payment on behalf of an end recipient and being reimbursed, or a third party like a rental agency or school. This information can be entered at any stage during the request process but must be submitted before Common Change can process payment.

The Common Change group process has been set up largely to invite the wisdom of the individuals within the group in determining how best to meet a need. Group members are invited to wisely consider the ask that has been presented and try to find an answer to the question, ‘What is the best way that we can meet this need?’

If there is any hesitancy or there are questions that you have about a need and how best to meet it, share this with your group in such a way that seeks to explores the best way to meet the need in question. Ask questions, ask for clarification, suggest creative alternative solutions, or commit your time and energy to being part of the actual solution.