Source: Toucan
The charitable giving app Toucan has acquired DonatePal as it seeks to strengthen its offering and make donating fun, flexible and accessible.
With many similarities in both apps, as well as the same core vision to bring digital transformation to the sector, combining forces has enabled Toucan to significantly grow its donor base.
DonatePal’s users can now continue to donate to their favourite causes on Toucan and build a portfolio of three charities to give to on a monthly basis, or make one-off donations as frequently as they choose.
Toucan is also pleased to announce the appointment of DonatePal founder, Zishan Sheikh, as a board advisor. Zishan brings considerable experience of the charitable giving sector to Toucan as the fintech company seeks to grow its user base and unlock dormant millennial donors.
Zishan co-founded DonatePal with his brother, Umar, in 2019. The pair realised that giving to multiple charities, customary in the lead up to and during Ramadan, was a convoluted process, with donors having to set-up direct debits and fill in personal details multiple times for each separate donation. Having different frequencies of giving - such as daily, weekly or monthly - meant the donation process was not easily accessible.
DonatePal allowed users to give to multiple charities at once, with a one-off donation automatically split among the user’s chosen charities. Its user base grew organically through word of mouth, demonstrating the demand for a digital giving solution.
DonatePal’s expertise in providing a platform for Islamic charities has been instrumental in formulating Toucan’s upcoming Ramadan campaign, where users can now donate daily throughout the month of Ramadan. This will provide a new generation of Muslim donors with a modern platform for charitable giving.
Matt Crate, CEO of Toucan, added: “We first contacted DonatePal in the first year of its launch, as we were keen to find out more about Zishan and Umar and explore a possible collaboration. Our common mission meant it made perfect sense to combine forces and for Toucan to acquire DonatePal. It is an honour to have Zishan onboard as an advisor during this transformational period; Zishan shares our desire to help charities grow in a time where they are struggling, as well as focusing on the user experience of our app. Zishan and Umar were able to build a substantial user base mostly through word of mouth, and this insight will guide Toucan on its mission to revolutionise the sector.”
Zishan Sheikh, Board Advisor for Toucan, said: “We have seen a big shift in buying, working and travelling habits in the last few years. As a result, some of the major industries have seen a significant digital transformation. The charitable giving industry is yet to catch up. Toucan offers donors an option beyond the conventional collection buckets and removes the need to set up multiple direct debits with all your favourite charities. We have seen that donors are often passionate about more than one charity or cause, so allowing them to create a giving portfolio is a wonderful feature in the Toucan app. Toucan has an exceptional team and I can only see wonderful things to come, as the company grows. I am looking forward to seeing how I can be of assistance with my experience from DonatePal.”