Networks: One good turn

Malcolm Scovil, RSA Fellow and founder of online venture Leap Anywhere, tells us why he’s challenging the public to have a good time doing good

“The idea came to me when I was sitting on my sofa last summer with nothing special to do. I decided to go online and look for a volunteer opportunity that weekend, but none of the charities I spoke to could offer me anything immediately. I realised that it was hard to do good – and that’s one thing that shouldn’t be difficult.

“When I surveyed 500 people about their involvement in charitable activities, I found that as many as 80 percent had not done anything for a good cause that year – either because they didn’t know what to do, it required too much effort or they felt there was nothing in it for them. Putting these findings together with the surge in interest in social media, I decided to launch an online social network offering people simple, tailored ways to help charities.

“Since our launch in June, we’ve signed up 140 charities – including Oxfam, Peta and Amnesty International – to the venture, Leap Anywhere. The idea is to match consumers with charity events that will interest them – anything from rock festivals to dragon boat racing. We’ve got 100 volunteers helping us generate content, so it’s a great way of engaging young people who might otherwise struggle to find work.

“It’s still early days but we’ve been overwhelmed by the fantastic opportunities coming our way – proof that Generation Greed is behind us and Generation Generosity is here. My aim is to grow the number of charities that work with us from 140 to 1,000 and to increase membership significantly. I’m looking forward to working with the RSA to set up a network for social entrepreneurs so that we can work together to find more effective ways of marketing social enterprises. Good things are bound to happen if you get good people together!”

Get involved

If you are interested in joining a new network for social entrepreneurs, please email Clare Reilly.