Group collecting can be a total nightmare, especially when people are not all around at the same time. Just ask anyone who is in charge of collecting funds for a baby shower, big birthday present or even a major wedding gift. There will always be someone who wants to pay by cheque, doesn’t have the cash on them or perhaps people live all over the globe.
Well, this is where Swoosch.it come in to save the day. Swoosch is the fastest and easiest group savings website, solely for personal fund raising. Like most great ideas, Swoosch came when Founder Achille Traore realised there was a gap in the market when he was trying to raise funds for his friends Stag Do.
Having been the person who was always responsible for collecting for presents when I worked in an office, I know I would have LOVED it to be around then and I have found it even more invaluable in this digital age when people live all over and often group collections involve people living in different cities.
I decided to put Swoosch through a couple of tests. Firstly it is the husbeasts 50th Birthday coming up and his work have used it to collect funds for his birthday gift. His company has 5 offices and Swoosch worked really well as it meant that one person could send out the email and control the central collection, rather than having to involve people from each office.
Secondly, I used it to collect funds for a friend who is going through a tough patch. My friend is part of a large online community with people all across the UK and even further afield. Using Swoosh made collecting funds simple for me. I sent out an email including the pot details and people could give what they chose and also leave a personal message too.
It is so simple for both the collector and people giving too. The only way I would improve it is to integrate Paypal, as a lot of people would have loved to be able to contribute using Paypal funds.
Other than that, we LOVE it and can see it being used for so many different things.
Open your collection pot today and you could win £100 added to your pot just in time for Christmas! Swoosch.it
What a great idea! I know that whenever we do collections at work, people always say that they don’t have cash on them and it is true that we often don’t these days, so this would be perfect as it makes it so much easier for people to contribute.
Hi Nikki, Thank you for the warm comments. I’m Rachel from Swoosch, we are getting lots of positive feedback about the platform and are looking for various different ways to spread the word. Let us know if you have any ideas? 🙂
What a good idea! I’d never really thought about it before, but these occasions where lots of people are paying for something crop up quite often. It’s particularly good for when the collector doesn’t know everyone as it’s particularly awkward asking strangers for money!
Hi Sarah, totally agree. We see that it would be useful for many occasions in people’s personal lives. Such as Hen and Stag parties, raising funds for group gifts for baby showers or birthday’s. People can even ask for contributions towards their Honeymoon rather than a wedding gift. Or to save for travelling. There are many different use cases and as with Jen’s experience, she used it for a great cause to help out a friend.
This sounds like an excellent service, especially with more people living in different countries these days.
Hi Nell, thank you for the great feedback. We think it would solve a lot of problems and end many head aches in the process, making it quicker and easier to organise money in a group. Let me know if you would like to trial the platform. We would love to hear about your experience of Swoosch?
I can see the benefits of using this system for collecting from many sources – however I agree that a PayPal integration would make it even better.
Hi Nadine, I’m Rachel from Swoosch. Thank you for your positive feedback. We are looking to integrate PayPal and Apple Pay in the new year. Feel free to run a trail and let us know how you get on. We would love to hear about your experience.
Thanks, Rachel
What a great idea……wonder if it will work for the PFA too, collecting money for events is a nightmare
Hi Kara, Is that the Parents and Friends Association? It works particularly well with collecting money for events. For example, paying for tickets and raising money for charity events. It is also beneficial in that you can keep a track of who has paid so you know who to thank or who to issue tickets to.
That sounds like a great idea – it would be great to use it to collect for weddings too!
Hi Kate, Swoosch can be used a few times across the organisation of a wedding. It can be used to help organise and collect money for the hen and stag parties. To save for the big day itself between family members. And to request contributions towards the honeymoon, or to list the gifts you want and their prices. People can then contribute knowing you will get something you want/need. When people contribute they can also write a personal message. Are you currently planning a wedding?
Oh this is a great idea, I often collect money for our class teachers so will definitely check this out.
Hi Emma, people have used it before for their class teachers gift. Works really well to collect from the parents and get a bigger gift. Remember we have the competition running up to Christmas too! 🙂