19 May 15 10×10: 3 charities, 1 dragon, 5 minutes, $10K.

There are many non-profit and social enterprise organisations in our community helping people. How do you decide which ones to support? If you’ve never given philanthropy a go and you’re curious to put your toe in the water without needing to commit to long-term giving, then maybe 10×10 is for you.

Who (or what) is 10×10?

10×10 is a philanthropic initiative formed by a creative group of individuals from Sydney. For the past two years, 10×10 has hosted events in Sydney and Melbourne. They provide much-needed support and awareness to a wide range of causes, from suicide prevention to medical research. In that time, they have raised more than $60,000 for the participating not-for-profit and social enterprise organisations. How awesome is that?

How it works.

10×10 is not like other philanthropic ventures. The process for managing charitable donations is unique and for good reason. It’s aim is to make philanthropy available to anyone who is interested.

Each event is set out this way:

  • 100 people purchase a $100 ‘ticket’. This acts as their charitable donation on the night. So each event raises at least $10,000.
  • When you arrive, you are given 2 x ‘$50 notes’ (not real money) and asked to hang on to these because you’ll need them later on…
  • Three diverse charitable organisations are then given five minutes each to ‘pitch’ their organisation and its objectives to everyone at the event. It’s like the Dragon’s Den (or the Australian equivalent, Shark Tank), but with a focus on charitable organisations.
  • The ‘Dragon’, a special guest who is generally a well-known philanthropist, may ask the organisations some questions to help them persuade the attending 10x10ers to give more.
  • Once the pitches are over, you choose who you want to give your $50 notes to and place them in the appropriate boxes.

The events are held in CBD locations. There’s awesome food and drink and you’ll get to meet a bunch of like-minded and inspiring people.

The buzz at a 10×10 event is contagious. You can’t help but be moved by the organisations pitching their cause to you. People are genuinely interested to learn more about who is attending, the organisations involved and most importantly, why people are getting involved in philanthropy.

What happened at the most recent 10×10 event?

The most recent 10×10 was held here in Melbourne on the 27 March. It was generously hosted by Little Red Pocket. Heading up the event was 10×10 Dragon, Jan Owen. The Melbourne committee for this event involved co-chairs Finn Kelly and Zoe Warne, and supporting team members Ngoc Le, Dom McKenna, Karina McKenna, Grace Richards, Angela Porras, Emma Challands, Vivi Chau, Michael Whytcross, Sam Street, Matthew Prouse and Rebecca Boles.

The three charities that pitched on the night were:

The event was a resounding success. Not only did we hit the $10,000 target but people donated more on the night to the participating organisations and this tipped us well over the $10K mark. It was great to see so many first time attendees. It highlights the growing awareness and participation in 10×10. We were even able to recruit the next organising committee on the night of the event!

The awesome community response is a result of 10×10 making philanthropy a fun and emotionally engaging experience. It’s an event where people can meet and get to know the organisations they are supporting. One where they can clearly see how their contribution will go towards making their world a better place.

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