Tales from a Chimper

I’ve been working with Chimp for about six months, so of course I have a Chimp Fund. I use it, too. Not with as much creativity as founder John Bromley, but I put money in regularly and send it out.

The thing is – I’m starting to have fun with it. That’s right, not just writing about it, but really enjoy giving (and getting) within Chimp. Here are a few anecdotes to show the possibilities in action.

I pay for my vices
I’m notorious for forgetting to actually attach documents to my emails. It’s embarrassing, but we all have our quirks, right? Mine is now going to benefit charity.

We Chimpers have set up a Giving Group that we each contribute to for our “vices.” So now every time I forget to attach something, $2 goes into the group fund. Last week, the pot grew by $6 from my shame alone.

I like things easy
I set up a recurring donation because, well, I’m kind of lazy. So every month my fund grows without me even having to think about it. It gets better though. John matches our donations through Chimp’s Corporate Fund, so I get extra money automatically every month.  I get a little thrill when I see my bank account grow, and it turns out I’m the same with my “charity bank account.”

We give more when it’s easy
Erin, our office coordinator, was involved with a bike ride for charity a couple months ago. She had to raise $1,000, so set up a Giving Group and invited everyone in the office. Granted, we might be more inclined to give than people in other offices since we work in the charity sector, but she raised $700 in a single day – just one day, from a dozen people.

The reason I think she got so much so quickly? We all had it ready to give. At least that was the case for me. I didn’t have to think, “Do I have money to spare?” I had already donated the money (when I put it in my Chimp Fund), so it was just a matter of who I’d give it to. The cash was all queued up to go when Erin asked. If I’m honest, I gave even more than I probably would’ve if it was coming out of my wallet.

I got money, too
Another Giving Group anecdote: I got married a few months ago and went on my honeymoon immediately after. While I was away, the rest of the Chimpers set up a group and all added money to it. We came back to $430 that we now get to give to charity; so we’re starting our marriage out with some good karma thanks to my co-workers.

The extra fun part was reading the comments everyone left on the group’s page. The well wishes were great, but the guys trying to out-give one another was hilarious.

Do you have any Chimp anecdotes to share? We love hearing the different ways people use it – like one person on Twitter who puts $5 in his fund every time he hits the snooze button. Add your anecdote below.

– LST