SEPTEMBER | FEATURE
Karma
police
My Cause UK is empowering
people to raise money for a
charity of their choice – while
attending festivals for free
Words: Stuart Wood
“T
his hi-vis breaks down
barriers. You’re here to
reflect people’s happiness,
and be the best version of yourself.”
Rob Wilkinson, founder and
director of My Cause UK, is delivering
his morning briefing to a team of
volunteers at Lovebox Festival, in
London’s Gunnersbury Park. The
majority of those listening are in their
teens and early twenties, but all are
wearing the same bright pink hi-vis
vest, emblazoned with My Cause’s
heart-on-hand logo.
Across the course of two days, these
volunteers are giving up their time
for a charity of their choice, assisting
as stewards at the various entrances
to the site. Once their shift ends at
6pm, they’re given a day pass and a
meal ticket, and are free to enjoy the
remainder of the festival.
“It’s a win-win business model for
everyone involved,” says Wilkinson.
“Young people who have plenty of
spare time but not much spare money
choose a cause they care about. We
charge the festival organisers a
staffing fee for their time, and donate
the money directly to each chosen
charity. In return, the organisers get
to tell a positive story about affecting
sustainable social change.”
My Cause’s goal is to bridge
the gap between charities and
a younger generation that is
increasingly switched on to social and
environmental issues. It seems a match
made in heaven – and one that has
already raised £150,000 for over 700
charities across the UK.
“I’ve worked in the charity sector
for a long time, and some of their
fundraising methods are quite out of
date,” says Wilkinson. “A tombola at a
festival isn’t going to raise a whole lot
of money from a young audience – but
monetising their time will.”
My Cause was founded in 2015,
after Wilkinson had spent eight years
working with charities including
Cancer Research UK and Oxfam, while
moonlighting as a festival steward
manager. He realised that the insight
he had into these two worlds had
opened up an opportunity to connect
charities and festivals together, solving
fundraising and volunteering problems
for both.
Wilkinson spoke to the directors and
ops team at Boomtown festival, and in
2015 took a team of 50 volunteers to
steward one of the festivals gates. They
raised nearly £3,000 for 35 charities,
and have gone from strength to
strength since.
In it together
The bright pink hi-vis vests which My
Cause volunteers wear are a deliberate
choice from an organisation that puts
a special emphasis on community.
Wilkinson wants his volunteers, above
all, to be approachable advocates
for both My Cause and their chosen
charities.
“Many of our volunteers come to
the festival alone, and make friends
with the people working their shift.
We encourage that, and try to create
a community atmosphere around
our work - we want our volunteers
to have fun, but also to be engaged in
the causes they’re contributing to. If
volunteers are working for a cause,
and for the people around them, they
are more invested in fulfilling their
duties properly. Our drop-out rate
is incredibly low compared to other
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