Gucci 'Chimes for Change' funds projects in 81 countries

After VAT, the concert raised $3.9M USD to support projects in the three key focus areas of the CHIME FOR CHANGE campaign: Education, Health and Justice.

The CHIME FOR CHANGE campaign, launched in February 2013, presented its first major fundraising event, THE SOUND OF CHANGE LIVE, a global concert held on 1 June at London’s Twickenham Stadium.  The concert brought together some of the world’s most talented artists and renowned activists to raise funds and awareness for girls and women.

Headlined by CHIME FOR CHANGE co-founder Beyoncé, the concert raised funds through ticket sales, mobile giving and online donations. Through Gucci's underwriting of the concert event, each of the 50,000 concert goers was able to donate the full value of their ticket price (less VAT and service fees) to projects of their choice.

Donations were allocated to 84 different non-profit partners through Catapult, the first crowd funding platform dedicated to advancing the lives of girls and women. CHIME FOR CHANGE selected Catapult as a strategic partner to ensure transparency, accountability and measurable impact, by allowing the CHIME FOR CHANGE community to choose exactly where their donations go and to track the results of their contributions.

“Gucci has a long history of supporting girls and women, and we know that the solutions exist all around us. There are hundreds of credible, dedicated organizations around the world actively supporting the advancement of girls and women,” said CHIME FOR CHANGE Founder and Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini.

“My vision for CHIME FOR CHANGE was to facilitate further awareness and fundraising by bringing together a global community to support the important work that is already happening. This is the first time in history that CHARITY concertgoers have been able to choose where their money goes.”

THE SOUND OF CHANGE LIVE concert was broadcast in more than 150 countries globally reaching an audience of one billion viewers, enabling people from around the world to support real change for girls and women.

“The partnership between CHIME FOR CHANGE and Catapult channeled the generosity and enthusiasm of a massive global audience,” said Catapult Founder Maz Kessler. “By using the collective power of the crowd, CHIME and Catapult together tap into an increasingly solutions-oriented culture, enabling people to engage directly and transparently with those working on the frontlines for girls’ and women’s education, health and justice.”