Act4Greece An initiative for the promotion of social

and development banking in Greece

2 | Case study act4Greece

Name of platform Act4Greece

Geographical focus Greece

Active since 2016

Crowdfunding model Donation based

Type of crowdfunding Take-it-all

Initiator and owner of platform National Bank of Greece

Strategic partners Alexandros S. Onassis Foundation, John S. Latsis Foundation, BodossakiFoundation, Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO, Hellenic Network for Corporate Social Responsibility

Platform website https://www.act4greece.gr/

Executive summary

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The National Bank of Greece, instrategic cooperation with organizationsand foundations of internationalstanding, initiated the crowdfunding

platform act4Greece. The objective ofthe platform is to enhance projects thatare needed by the Greek society.act4Greece is seen as the pioneerprogramme in Greece for the promotionof social and developmental banking.

Act4Greece mainly hosts projects fromNongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)and Greek Universities that seek fundsthrough the donation-basedcrowdfunding model. Seven areas ofaction are covered by the programme:1) Welfare, Health and Solidarity, 2)Social Economy and Entrepreneurship,3) Culture and CulturalEntrepreneurship, 4) Young andInnovative Entrepreneurship,5) Environment and Sustainability,6) Research, Education and Training,and 7) Sporting Activities.

All strategic partner institutionscontribute to act4Greece by offeringtheir know-how and by participating inthe selection process of the projects. Atthe same time, they aim at leveragingthe potential of the platform bybroadening and multiplying theresources (monetary and non-monetary) for projects that they alreadysupport.

The first successful project ofact4Greece was a cultural project. TheArt Theatre Karolos Koun managed togather over € 100,000 for therenovation of this ancient theatre inhalf of the campaigning time, whileact4Greece had only been live for oneand a half months. The OnassisFoundation was one of the mainsupporters of the Art Theatre projectwhile they have a special focus oneducation, culture, health and socialsolidarity.

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The act4Greece platform is acrowdfunding platform that waslaunched by the National Bank ofGreece (NBG) in February 2016. TheBank is the sole owner of the platform. Itis one of the strongest and largestfinancial groups in Greece. With 528branches, the bank has an extensiveservice network covering the entiregeographical area of Greece.

Act4Greece has a strategic cooperationwith organizations and foundations ofinternational standing, namely theAlexandros S. Onassis Foundation, theJohn S. Latsis Foundation, the BodossakiFoundation, the Hellenic NationalCommission for UNESCO, and theHellenic Network for Corporate SocialResponsibility. While the National Bankis responsible for the operation and themanagement of the platform, thestrategic partners support the initiativethrough their know-how andinfrastructures. The foundations involvedin act4Greece are part of a StrategyCommittee in charge of selecting theprojects that should be supported. Apartfrom hosting the projects on theplatform, usually the NBG and thefoundations are not offering anyadditional service. In some few cases,both the National Bank and the OnassisFoundation directly sponsored someprojects with donations (see section“Impact on the uptake ofcrowdfunding”).

act4Greece usually hosts projects fromNon-Governmental Organizations(NGOs) and Greek Universities. All fundsraised on act4Greece are on a donationbasis. The platform hosts projects thatfall in the following seven areas:

1. Welfare, Health and Solidarity,

2. Social Economy and Entrepreneurship,

3. Culture and Cultural Entrepreneurship,

4. Young and Innovative Entrepreneurship,

5. Environment and Sustainability,

6. Research, Education and Training,

7. Sporting Activities.

The National Bank of Greece decided toadopt a “bottom-up model”: once aproject is selected by the StrategicCommittee, it can run its crowdfundingcampaign on the website. When thecampaign has reached its funding goals,the implementation of the project isauthorized. In case the campaign doesnot reach the funding goal, three optionsare available: 1) ask the donors todonate their contribution to a differentproject, 2) pay the donors back and notimplement the project or 3) attempt toimplement the project with the fundsavailable. Hence, the platform followsthe take-it-all model.

About act4Greece

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Rationale for the partnership

The National Bank of Greece decided toestablish the platform to enter into anew market and to review its ownstrategies. The aim of the partnershipwith relevant Greek foundations is tohave a wider recognition of the platformwithin the society. All foundationsinvolved in act4Greece have thepossibility to participate in the selectionof the projects, thus increasing theirpositive influence on Greek society andfulfilling their main goals. Theestablished partnership allows thefoundations to get in contact with themost dynamic institutions of the Greeksociety, such as NGOs, Universitydepartments and small enterprisesfocused on cultural innovation.

act4Greece claims to be the first Greekcrowdfunding platform, with theNational Bank of Greece focusing on themobilization of financial resources fromwithin and outside Greece in order toguarantee a successful development ofthe platform.

Partnership modelSet-up

It was the National Bank of Greece thatdecided to contact the foundations, inorder to get their expertise on boardand to improve the quality of theselection process of the projects. Allactors that are currently involved in themanagement act4Greece are the sameas those who were present when it wasfirst established. There were no specificbarriers in setting up the cooperationbetween the bank and the foundations,but the set-up of the platform itself hadto overcome one major legal obstacle,when the Bank had to face a significantregulatory gap concerningcrowdfunding in Greece. There were noauthorizations (legal basis) on which tobuild a crowdfunding platform

operating through donations. The Bankasked for a law amendment, which waseventually approved by the GreekMinistry of Labour and SocialProtection.

There is no pre-established duration ofthe partnership set up between theNBG and the foundations. Similarly,there has not been any significantevolution of the partnership since itsstart in February 2016. Theircooperation started less than one yearago. Until now it did not meet anyspecific issue that requiredamendments, nor is there a plan toenlarge the collaboration with partnersin the near future.

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Model of cooperation

The organization of the partnership isdefined by the organigram of theact4greece initiative. There are threeinstitutional bodies in charge to manageall the aspects related to the platform:The Strategy Committee, theManagement Committee and theSupporter’s Assembly.

1. The Strategy Committee can beconsidered as the main body in theadministrative structure of act4Greece. Itis composed of seven members, eitherindividuals or legal entities. Currently it iscomposed of personnel from theNational Bank of Greece and fivefoundations/organizations, with furtherNBG officials as additional members. Thecommittees’ main functions are tomonitor the progress of the programme,to approve the implementing bodies foreach key area, and to approve theprojects proposed. Additionally, thecommittee is in charge of preparingguidelines for the ManagementCommittee and proposing new fields ofaction and activities. The committeemeets at least twice a year. It deliberateswith a quorum of at least one half plusone members are present.

2. The Management Committee isappointed by decision of the Bank’sBoard, and is in charge of running andcoordinating the act4Greece program. Inparticular, the committee is responsiblefor the preselection of the projects andthe submission of project proposals tothe Strategy Committee. It prepares andsubmits progress, monitoring,assessment and accountability reports tothe Strategy Committee. Beingresponsible by law for the managementof the program, the ManagementCommittee represents the mainconnection between the act4Greeceprogram and the NBG.

3. The Supporter’s Assembly iscomposed of representatives of theparticipants in the programme (projectholders) and more generally ofsupporters of the programme, whoseappointment is ratified by the StrategyCommittee. The Assembly is held at leastonce a year with the objective ofexchanging opinions and ideas regardingthe progress of the programme byreviewing its results.

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Impact of act4Greece

The impact of the act4Greece platformon the Greek crowdfunding industry hasbeen significant, according to theNational Bank. The period taken intoconsideration goes from February 2016to September 2016. The total numberof backers that have used the platformin the aforementioned period was2,907: there were 2,879 natural personsand 28 legal persons among them . Thetotal amount raised through theplatform over the same period of timewas € 852,298. With regards todonations, the average amount donatedis around € 21 per person.

During the period of February andSeptember 2016 the number of one-time visitors to the platform was598,688. The National Bank of Greecestated in an interview that the averagesize of the projects hosted onact4Greece is around € 192,900.

When considering the total number ofthe crowdfunding projects successfullyfinanced (from February 2016 untilJanuary 2017), each of the seven actionareas needs to be taken intoconsideration separately. Since theinitiative has only been running for lessthan one year, projects do not covereach of the areas.

1. There are two completed projects inthe area Welfare, Health and Solidarity:School Meals for Schoolchildren2015-16 in Greece, and Medical Care inIslands Phase I. Four projects arecurrently underway. The (expected)total funding amounts for this area is€ 1,822,620.

2. Concerning the Culture and CulturalEntrepreneurship action area, twoprojects are currently ongoing, and twoprojects have already been completed.The budgetary volume (fundingamounts to be raised) of this area isaround € 333,756.

In the context of Cultural and CreativeSectors, it is worth highlighting twosuccessfully funded campaigns:

I. The campaign for the Art TheatreKarolos Koun was the first successfulcampaign on the act4Greeceplatform. It achieved its fundingtarget of € 108,176 within threemonths, which is half the originallyscheduled time. The funds will beused to cover the need for repairsand renovation of the theatrefacilities. With the support of morethan 58 donators, and the verygenerous contribution of the OnassisFoundation, the Theatre was able tocollect the required amount.

Impact on the uptake of crowdfunding

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The Onassis Foundation – alongstanding supporter of the artsand culture in Greece and a strategicpartner and supporter of the ArtTheatre renovation project – was theinitial major contributor to thecampaign, offering 50% of the targetamount, i.e. € 54,100. At the sametime, the Foundation launched adynamic promotion campaign for theaction, encouraging people tosupport the project.

II. The target amount of €80,500 hasbeen fully raised for the restorationand preservation of the ancienttheatre of Cassope. Such funds willbe made available for the

funding of the studies required forthe restoration of this importantarchaeological and cultural venue.Diazoma, an association that seeks tosupport Greek ancient theatres andthe initiator of the crowdfundingcampaign, will offer a small reward toall donors. The donors will be invitedto a special event organized by theassociation where they will receivetheir reward.

3. The Research, Education and Trainingaction area presents one completedproject, with a raised amount of€ 64,317. The target amount of€ 125,000 has not been reached withinthe campaign timeframe.

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4. Concerning the four remaining areas,Social Economy and Entrepreneurship,Young Innovative Entrepreneurship,Environment and Sustainability and theSporting Activities, there are currentlyno projects underway nor previouslycompleted.

Considering the two successfully fundedcultural projects, the platformact4Greece has a minor positive impacton the institutionalization ofcrowdfunding in the Greek financingecosystem for CCS. Pooling fundsthrough the crowd for cultural projects isstill undeveloped in this country.

The whole crowdfunding industry inGreece is still very small and availabledata on the market are too scarce todraw conclusions from. According to theOnassis Foundation, the impact on theuptake of crowdfunding in terms ofproducing a sustainable crowd basis forCCS has not been achieved with thelaunch of act4Greece. However, theactivities initiated by act4Greece docontribute to a further development ofthe crowdfunding industry. The platformcertainly helps to channel thecontributions of corporate partners orbig institutions for the cultural sector inGreece.

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Impact on the project holders

Project holders who launch theircampaigns on act4Greece have theadvantage to publish their project on aplatform created by a public bankinginstitution of Greece. Hence, projectholders launch their projects with thehelp of a well-known body at nationallevel. At the same time, the CCS sectoras one focus area of the platform andthe support of foundations in the samearea, allows project promoters topropose specific project ideas, whichmight be more difficult to promote onother Greek crowdfunding platforms.Furthermore, the contributions of theGreek foundations to the selection ofprojects guarantee that the socialimpact of projects is carefullyconsidered with a minor focus on theirfinancial feasibility.

The National Bank of Greece isconsidering to extend the partnershipestablished for act4Greece to otherfoundations. The aim of the NBG is toincrease its influence over the mostdynamic realities among Greek NGOs,Universities, Institutes of research andstart-ups focused on the CCS Sector.

Act4Greece gives its strategic partner,the Onassis Foundation, theopportunity to contribute to culturalprojects that relate to their activities. Allendeavours of the foundation relate toGreece or Greek culture and civilization.As member of the board, their vicegeneral director advises act4Greece inCCS projects. The foundationcontributes in form of: time, publicity aswell as funds to the projects underwayon the platform. Furthermore, theOnassis Foundation also co-designs(ed)some of the CCS campaigns. Up untilDecember 2016 the foundation hassupported two projects in particular, theArt Theatre: Karolos Koun and theancient theatre of Cassope. Whereas inthe latter project they contributedmainly with non-monetary activities.

The main objective of the OnassisFoundation is to mobilize creativepowers and the society. Andcrowdfunding, hence the act4Greeceplatform, helps the organization to set aframework in supporting their activities.

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Case study author: European Crowdfunding Network

Layout: Jessie Pieters, IDEA Consult

Photos: Shutterstock

Do you have questions after reading this case study? Contact the Crowdfunding4Culture project coordinator: Isabelle De Voldere (IDEA Consult), isabelle.devoldere@ideaconsult.be

This case study is part ofthe EU funded projectCrowdfunding4Culture

Project partners: