ikifu.org, a new generation of donation platform using gamification concepts, launches its beta website in Japan

i-kifu, a new donation platform, launches its website which aims to promote and support NPOs with a new twist: by making it like a game. This unique concept makes donating and supporting NPOs fun and easy, so give it a try. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) March 01, 2012 - i-kifu, (Tokyo Japan, CEO Nhat Vuong), proudly announces the launch of " ikifu.org", a new donation platform that combines the power of social networks and gamification concepts to encourage more people to contribute to the society.

Their vision is "to use technology to simplify the way people contribute to society and make it fun!" This is materialized in a platform where individuals, NPOs and corporations work together in a mutually beneficial environment. They bring a refreshing twist to NPO support by making use of technology including the internet, Social Networks such as Facebook and Twitter, and in the near future, mobile and smartphone applications.

ikifu.org is strongly focused on transparency and even lets the donor specifically choose how they want their donation to be spent by the NPOs, by browsing through the NPOs' project wish list. Each wish comes with a picture that helps donors visualize the impact of their specific donation amount. For example "Donate 1 book for a student for 1000 Yen." Once donations are received, each NPO is asked to post a monthly activity report to provide regular feedback to their donors.

At its launch, i-kifu attracted 23 NPOs who have already posted 27 projects that aim to solve issues in both Japan and other parts of the world. Donors can browse through very exciting projects from 7 categories (Environment, Education, Natural Disaster, Animals Protection, Social Issues, Children, Health) and can decide to support projects in two different ways: 1) Volunteering by sharing some interesting facts related to the project to his/her friends on facebook/twitter to raise awareness about these global issues and 2) Contributing financially by making a donation.

Here's the kicker. When a good action is made, ikifu.org rewards the users with "karma points" and the goal is to collect the most points to become a Karma leader. Only the top 5 five users will be displayed on i-kifu's homepage and will be socially acknowledged for their contributions. i-kifu is currently considering other types of social rewards as well. Currently, donations can be made by credit card payments (Visa/Master).

After their launch, i-kifu will be working on increasing the number of NPOs' projects, finding corporate sponsors, partners, and expanding its services so that more people and companies can make social contributions and have more fun.

* Gamification is a concept to use game design techniques in non-game fields in order to encourage people to adopt them and to engage in desired behaviors.

Media Contact
Akira Takahashi, COO
i-kifu, General Incorporated Association

About i-kifu, General Incorporated Association
Founded as legal entity: October 31st, 2011
Address: 1-2-9 Nishi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Representative： Nhat Vuong, Founder/CEO

About Nhat Vuong, Founder/CEO
As a Vietnamese war refugee, Nhat Vuong was born in Kuala Lumpur and grew up in Switzerland. He graduated from HEC Lausanne with a major in Management and Marketing in 2006 and came to Japan in 2007 with a latent desire to help NPOs in his future. He started working in the IT sector and specialized in social network marketing when he joined Wizcorp, a web technology venture company in 2008. While working there, he found a way to combine his passion with his interest in the concept of gamification and decided to start i-kifu, a social venture, which would provide online fundraising services to Japanese non-profit organizations. In 2010, he received an award from NEC Corporation and in December 2011, received a 2nd award from the American Ambassador John V. Roos for his early proposals for i-kifu.

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