Spotlight: Calgary’s uEnd:poverty

Calgary-based uEnd:poverty is committed to making donating to extreme poverty-ending projects around the world easy, with 100% of the funds donated through the organization going to projects.

With over $730,000 donated in five years and nearly 150 projects to date, the impact of uEnd’s uPowered initiatives has reached over one million people across 22 countries worldwide. The site, uend.org, boasts, “If we were all to redirect a mere 5% of the billions of dollars that we already spend each year on gifts, there would be enough to eliminate extreme poverty in about 15 years.”

uEnd’s unique organization allows contributors to donate in the form of gift card purchases, where users can then view multiple projects and decide which ones to donate their money to, and how much.

Their newest campaign, uPowered, is currently seeking 5,000 people to join for $5 a month. Comparable to the price of a fancy coffee, bottle of beer, or bag of movie theatre popcorn, each monthly contribution powers their teams website, staff, workspace, expansion and most importantly, the ability to potentially triple the dollars given and double the number of people reached.

Participating uPowered members get to take part in making key decisions in the organization, receive free coffee from Dave Hockey at Higher Ground in Calgary, have special opportunities to visit project locations with uEnd founder Jay Baydala, and the warming, overall satisfaction knowing you’re changing the world. (And really, isn’t giving the greatest gift of all?)

Giving up one coffee a month to help change lives? Yeah…that’s notable.

Click here to head over to the uEnd:poverty site and check out their current events and causes.