Gramble and the Charity Model Explained - Nerd Age

We are seeing a huge trend towards mobile games. We are also seeing a huge trend towards charities in business. Both charities and social gaming are huge sources of revenue for companies. Cue Gramble, an apparently European (They also won a Netherlands award) company judging by their Youtube not being fully in English.

A Disclaimer

While we are giving you the hard facts, we know that many people have their heart in the right place. We are not suggesting anyone is wrong for following this model. We just want to inform you, the reader, of how many non-profit businesses handle their charity work.

How Charities like Gramble really work in business

In business, and in the business of gaming, non-profit businesses are not the same as the Red Cross or such. Multiple foundations and non-profit organizations might take assistance from various kinds of software (to know more, you could try here) to first understand their clientele, and know more about social impact measurement. They can also become successful not only by getting charity status, but by funneling your money into tax breaks. We will use ourselves as an example:

Nerd Age does a save the starving Japanese children marathon. We tell you that it is going to Japan to save those who are still not on their feet after the tsunami. This is an intentionally silly example, but others have done this. We are going to be giving it to them. It will go to them. However, we fail to tell you that we get a fat tax break from the funds you gave us, and we donated in our name. We’re getting a huge tax break. You feel like you did something helpful. However you could have just donated the money directly to a real charity. It would likely have gotten there faster or at least as fast and may have done more good. There would also have been no change for us siphoning any money off. Plus, you might also have been able to save some money on your taxes if you gave directly. Although, giving to a donation campaign led by some other company could also provide the same benefits to you; maybe clarify this with your accountant, or if you don’t have one, then this is probably a good time for you to search for “tax services near me” and get a trusted one. In either case, do your research before you donate, because maybe some organizations save a lot of money by you giving them more!

That is how a great many charities work. Gramble is a bit different from the one you donate to directly. They funnel the money to other charities when you go through them. This is an equally successful model that groups such as the Humble Bundle and others have used. However, it is no less beneficial to them as a group. It also garners you a ton of positive free press. The NFL is another example of an organization that runs as a non-profit, but is incredibly profitable. A great many businesses also take some money off of the top for “administrative costs” and such. This can lead to some excellent salaries for those working with them.

Moreover, senior executive pay is a hugely controversial workplace topic in the charity sector. Some people even cite high salaries as one of the main reasons for not giving more to charities. Additionally, some charity employees, especially those working for smaller organizations, often speak out against the six-figure salaries paid by some organizations, arguing that these huge pay packets run counter to the values of the sector, and make their own paystub seem insufficient.

A Decision as Gamers

This is a serious trend in gaming. Companies such as Starbucks used charity donations to get to the top. Gramble can certainly use the same trend to get to the top. As gamers, we have to wonder whether we want this or not. For many, they are fine with having Gramble handle most of it. They are fine with any organization like this doing so. As for myself, I’d rather contribute personally or in the name of my own business. You have to sit down and make your own choice about this.