And as they do, they outgrow clothes, shoes, equipment and toys.
Small Change is here to help give your pre-loved goods a new lease on life.
Track your impact
Understanding the impact of a program is essential to determining its impact. Tracking a secondhand item throughout its lifecycle as it moves from person to person can generate important data and assist in creating a positive future for the program.
We track that impact using blockchain technology through our SmallChange tokens. Blockchain can keep a record of the history of each donated item. This allows us to track the movement of the item through its lifecycle and helps us create data sets based on the age of the child/ren, location, how long the item was used for, and can even help to connect communities and share stories through these shared goods.
Tracking items usage also ensures that items do reach their intended recipient. This helps create transparency within the charity and allows charities to remain genuine and trustworthy in the eyes of the donors and the general public.
Additionally, tracking items helps donors feel like they are personally helping and involved in the donation process. Many individuals have emotional connections to preloved items and want to know that their items are still being used and appreciated. And if we find a strong match between donors and recipients, it’s likely that their future unwanted goods can find a second life.
Allowing donors to watch their item move through its lifecycle also builds a relationship between the donor and the charity. This makes the donor more likely to donate their items in the future through the same charity and prevent more items from entering landfill.
Lastly, tracking also allows us to identify areas where individuals need more support. According to RemoteOpShop.org, about 15% out of Australia’s 22 million population live in rural and remote areas. Individuals in these areas are more likely to need affordable second-hand items and are less likely to donate items due to the lack of accessibility and availability of charity stores.
By tracking items and their impact, we can see which areas are receiving needed items and which areas may be being left behind. Additionally, we can see which specific items are in-high demand in specific areas and ensure that when items are donated, we can prioritise those locations.
Giving where it matters
We have analysed data from the census and combined it with other geography-based measures of socio-economic status to match the impact of your donations to where it counts.
As more people use SmallChange, our algorithms will improve to match profiles. We will connect you with a community of givers who are making small differences in how they give a new lease on life to children's clothes, and these differences stack up!
About our givers
As a giver, you’re helping to continue the life of your goods by giving them to a family in need. In return, we’ll credit you with our small change token based on the value of your contribution and the quality of your goods. These tokens can be used at any of our partner providers to purchase new-to-you clothes, toys, uniforms and equipment, or contribute towards a tax-deductible charity donation.
You can drop off your donations at any of our partner stores.
You’ll be able to track the impact of your gift through our app, to see how many more lives your generosity can touch, and how these memories can avoid the landfill, helping to reduce our community’s environmental footprint by reducing demand for new garments.
Reducing the amount of discarded clothing and toys in landfills brings important benefits that go beyond just dealing with waste. One big advantage is that it helps lower the amount of carbon footprint. When we throw away these items in landfills, they break down and release gases that contribute to climate change. By not putting them in landfills, we're helping to reduce these gases and their effects on the planet. Another important thing is that it stops dangerous chemicals and plastics from getting into the environment. Landfills have the potential to release harmful substances that can contaminate soil and water, causing pollution. By keeping clothes and toys out of landfills, we're making sure our surroundings stay cleaner and healthier for nature and us. Overall, when we make sure less clothing and toy waste ends up in landfills, we're taking steps toward a better and more balanced environment for everyone.
Even better! Shipping/postal costs that occur when the partners send the much-needed items from donor to recipients will be eligible as a tax offset for the partner. This allows us to keep the costs low, gives the partners an important incentive and supports our sustainable donation system.
About our partners
Our charity partners are the superheroes that allow SmallChange to thrive!
Join us in witnessing the tireless dedication of our partners, forging swift and efficient connections between donors and recipients. With our partners strategically positioned across major Australian cities, we're not just stopping there – we're determined to extend our reach to touch as many lives as possible. As we approach 2024, a bold mission emerges: to venture deeper into rural, regional, and remote communities through a fleet of dedicated trucks. Imagine the impact as we roll into smaller locales, gathering their contributions and delivering precisely what's needed. Our journey is one of shared compassion, a road that leads to empowerment and fulfillment in communities often overlooked. Stand with us as we drive change, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, heart by heart.
Data Story
Data-driven, community-actioned
Using the latest census data, we look at the profiles of local schools and child care centres - considering their socioeconomic profile, growth, and other community factors such as welfare receipts to build a picture of where the demand for pre-loved children's clothing, uniforms, toys and equipment might be most appreciated.
Our analysis takes place at the "Statistical Area 2" level, which represents roughly a suburb or locality. Using open data sourced from the ABS, ACARA and the Department of Social Services, we have built initial profiles on each community to identify where are the families with means to give and the age of the children in these communities.
As SmallChange rolls out, we will be able to build better matching algorithms by looking at what makes a successful match, as families who give goods will likely have children with similar interests and the right age for matching with a receiving family.
Description of Use
Used to build a profile of the local area and to identify potential communities in need. Lower ICSEA and SEA quartiles indicate higher levels of disadvantage. Conversely, higher ICSEA indicate higher levels of advantage.
Finding potential donors to support families in need
How can we identify where families who might have second-hand baby and children's goods to donate live, and estimate the volume of goods that could be donated to families in need through organisations such as Roundabout?
Eligibility:
Eligible submissions will support organisations such as Roundabout to identify where families with items to donate might be, how many items they may have, and/or the impact of cost of living on service demand and/or donations.
How can you showcase data in a creative manner to respond to ESG challenges? How can we present and visualise data to stimulate conversation and promote change?
Eligibility:
Must use a least one Australian relevant dataset - combining datasets preferred.
Rises in the cost of food, rent, and petrol have caused Tasmanians to draw on accumulated savings or term deposits to manage expenses. How can we use open data to identify areas where government support would be most impactful to support Tasmanians with the rising costs of living?
Eligibility:
Must use at least one Australian dataset.
