By KIRSTY WILSON

More than $600,000 has been raised just $1 at a time by Australian organisation i=Change for charities that aim to empower women and girls globally.

Group founder Jeremy Meltzer said a lot of the money raised had come from millennials, largely because they wanted to buy from brands that gave back.

“Millennials hold $2.5 trillion in spending power and are aware of where they are spending this,” he said.

“These millennials are very alert to disingenuous marketing; their nose is very well refined to the bullshit meter.” 

A study by Cone Communications CSR in 2017 found 87 per cent of consumers bought a product because the brand supported an issue they cared about.

“Millennials are saying: tell us what you’re doing, engage us in your purpose, we want to buy from brands that give back,” Mr Meltzer said.

i=Change was started because Mr Meltzer felt many companies weren’t transparent enough in telling consumers how much of the funds they raised were actually received by charities.

“We don’t know how much is being raised, we don’t know the impact it’s having on communities,” Mr Meltzer said.

“When buying from a brand that is aligned with a charity, consumers like to know exactly where their money has gone and what cause it has helped,” Mr Meltzer said.

i=Change lets customers choose where their dollar goes from a selection of programs that are currently working to empower women and girls around the world. Those programs include help for Rohingya refugees (in partnership with Plan Australia), and providing education for rescued children in Nepal (in association with the Adara Development).  

“Brands are giving back to women and girls empowerment as they are also selling to women and girls at the same time,” Mr Meltzer said.

i=Change partnered with retailers – including Pandora, Camilla and The 5TH – across the country to raise $1 at a time from every online purchase made, in preference to previous models that asked customers to make a contribution in addition to their purchase.

A report by BigCommerce found millennials spent six hours a week shopping online and 67 per cent of millennials preferred shopping online to in-store.

i=Change hopes to reach one million women and girls around the world by the end of this year.

• Home page image from http://www.iequalchange.com