At its simplest, a method of assuring donors that money donated will be/was used for the purpose it was given. At its root, a sea change in transparency and the relationship between the cause and its funders.

With the rise in popularity of the "pledge" model of crowd-funding, currently used by some 30-40 websites to raise sometimes $millions to create seed investment capital for creative projects, product launch ideas, philanthropic activities, charity events etc., it is important (if this model is not to become invalidated), that the integrity of each contract (the pledge and its intended purpose), is maintained.

Receipt of the donated funds to the applicant is already protected by the process of the fund-raising platform, but precious few safeguards for the donor exist, except those put in place by some platform owners (which it could be argued are biased).

The viability of the whole process for worthy causes is easily put at risk by a general lack of oversight and the corrupt or careless practices of the few.

I would like to see a foundation with a mandate to monitor and maintain open standards in all forms of public funding the "Open Funding Foundation", but I will settle for "crowdfunding pledges" for a start. To do this, among other modalities, the foundation would need to create and operate an open technology based integrity monitoring system, which could be used for each contract:

(a) To ensure this form of funding remains in the public interest and of value to both the donor and the intended recipient.

(b) To maintain the integrity of the basis upon which the donation was sought and transparency of the final purpose for which the donation, once obtained, was used.

(b) To provide the necessary assurance for donors to fund only projects which aspire to this level of openness and transparency in assuring the money donated is used for the purpose intended.

I would like to be involved in this project personally and would much appreciate hearing from anyone else who thinks this a worthy cause.

Terence.