Crowdfunding to help the homeless

Entrepreneur Alex Stephany has launched a new digital platform called Beam which allows people to fund employment training for homeless people in the UK. It’s a new way to use crowdfunding technology to help the homeless rebuild their lives by getting them back to work. Donors can either support a specific individual or have their donation benefit the overall campaign. All the money raised goes towards employment training, career advice and the search for stable work opportunities. Full details of exactly how the money is spent can be found on the Beam website.
Homeless people are nominated to take part in the scheme by registered homelessness charities. A suitable training path is then chosen and a funding campaign set up. After they have found employment, Beam members are given the option to repay their funding by donating to future members’ campaigns. To date, every recipient who has found a steady job has opted to re-donate the full value of their ‘Beam Boost’ to help others in the program. Mr Stephany hopes that Beam will make it safer and easier for donors to help create long term solutions for homeless people.