Apparatus, methods, and programs for accepting donations

Abstract

To increase transparency regarding the use of donated funds when accepting donations. [Solution] When a donor accesses the organization's website (S202), the website is displayed (S203). The device 100 then transitions the screen of the donor terminal 120 from the screen displaying the organization's website to the chat screen (S204 and S205). After the type of donation is selected on the chat screen (S206), the device 100 sends a message for specifying the donation amount (S207). The device 100 uses the donation information received from the customer terminal 120 to send the donation application information to the organization server 130 (S208 and S209). The organization server 130 then sends an email to the email address included in the application information (S210), and the device 100 sends a message including the bank transfer details to the donor terminal 120 (S211).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus, a method, and a program for receiving donations.

Background Art

[0002] Charitable donations support the activities of organizations addressing various social issues. In addition to tax incentives, the increasing awareness of social contribution and the emergence of online platforms have led to active donation activities. For example, in Japan, the total amount of donations by individuals exceeds 1 trillion yen.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] However, many donors are not given sufficient information to determine which organization to donate to. In particular, the specific use of the donated funds is often unclear, causing hesitation in donating and the donor base not being sufficiently broad. To expand the donor base, an improvement in the trust from donors to the donation recipients is required.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of such points, and its problem is to enhance the transparency of the use of donation money in an apparatus, a method, or a program for receiving donations.

[0005] In this specification, "donors" include individual donors and corporate donors.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve this objective, a first aspect of the present invention is a method for accepting donations, comprising the steps of: transitioning the screen of a donor terminal from a screen displaying the website of an organization accepting donations to a chat screen; receiving input of donation information from the donor terminal to the chat screen, including the type of donation and the amount of the donation, wherein the type is an unspecified donation or a donation specifying at least part of its use; transmitting donation application information using the donation information to the organization server providing the website; and transmitting a message to the donor terminal including the bank account details for the donation.

[0007] Furthermore, a second aspect of the present invention is the method of the first aspect, wherein the message further includes a number for identifying the remitter, which is included in the email received from the organization server.

[0008] Furthermore, a third aspect of the present invention is the method of the first aspect, further comprising the step of sending a notification to the donor terminal indicating that the beneficiary corresponding to the intended use has made the donated funds available for use, provided that the type specifies the use of at least a portion of the donation.

[0009] Furthermore, a fourth aspect of the present invention is the method of the third aspect, wherein the beneficiary is a researcher.

[0010] Furthermore, a fifth aspect of the present invention is the method of the third aspect, wherein the beneficiary is a project.

[0011] Furthermore, a sixth aspect of the present invention is the method of the first aspect, wherein the type specifies the beneficiary individually.

[0012] Furthermore, a seventh aspect of the present invention is a method according to any of the first to sixth aspects, further comprising the step of sending a message to the donor terminal encouraging unspecified donations to be made rather than donations that specify the use of at least a portion of the donation, if the total amount of unspecified donations is less than a predetermined amount or percentage.

[0013] Furthermore, an eighth aspect of the present invention is a method according to any of the first to sixth aspects, further comprising the step of sending a message to the donor terminal encouraging the donor to make a donation without specifying the use of the funds rather than a donation that specifies at least a portion of the funds to be used, if the donor meets certain conditions.

[0014] Furthermore, a ninth aspect of the present invention is the method of the eighth aspect, wherein the predetermined conditions are conditions using the attributes of the organization.

[0015] Furthermore, a tenth aspect of the present invention is the method of the eighth aspect, wherein the predetermined condition is that the donor has made donations to the organization more than or equal to a predetermined number of times in the past.

[0016] Furthermore, an eleventh aspect of the present invention is a method according to any of the first to sixth aspects, further comprising the step of sending a message to the donor terminal encouraging a donation without specifying the use of the funds rather than a donation with at least a portion of the funds specified, if the amount satisfies predetermined conditions.

[0017] Furthermore, a twelfth aspect of the present invention is the method of the eleventh aspect, wherein the predetermined condition is that the amount is less than or equal to a predetermined amount.

[0018] Furthermore, a thirteenth aspect of the present invention is the method of the twelfth aspect, wherein the predetermined amount is an amount set by the aforementioned organization.

[0019] Furthermore, a fourteenth aspect of the present invention is the method of the eleventh aspect, wherein the predetermined condition is that the amount is a predetermined multiple or greater than a predetermined amount.

[0020] Furthermore, a fifteenth aspect of the present invention is a method according to any of the first to fourteenth aspects, wherein the step of transmitting the application information includes the step of inputting the application information into the website using a headless browser or an AI agent.

[0021] Furthermore, a sixteenth aspect of the present invention is a method according to any of the first to fifteenth aspects, wherein the chat screen is displayed in a language based on the settings on the donor terminal or a language specified by the donor using the donor terminal.

[0022] Furthermore, a 17th aspect of the present invention is a method according to any 1 to 16th aspect, further comprising the step of calculating an amount of direct expenses that can be accepted under a given target percentage of indirect expenses when the entire amount of the input amount is unspecified indirect expenses.

[0023] Furthermore, an eighteenth aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute a method for accepting donations, the method comprising: transitioning the screen of a donor terminal from a screen displaying the website of an organization accepting donations to a chat screen; receiving input of donation information from the donor terminal to the chat screen, the type of donation and the amount of the donation, wherein the type is a donation without specifying the use or a donation specifying at least a part of the use; transmitting the donation application information using the donation information to the organization server providing the website; and transmitting a message to the donor terminal including the bank account details for the donation.

[0024] Further, a 19th aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving donations, which transitions the screen of a donor terminal from a screen displaying the website of the organization receiving the donation to a chat screen, receives input of donation information including the type of the donation and the amount of the donation from the donor terminal to the chat screen, uses the donation information to transmit application information for the donation to an organization server that provides the website, and is configured to transmit a message including the transfer destination of the donation to the donor terminal, and the type is a donation that does not specify a use or a donation that specifies at least a part of the use.

[0025] Further, a 20th aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving donations, which includes the steps of receiving voice input of donation information including the type of the donation and the amount of the donation from a donor terminal, where the type is a donation that does not specify a use or a donation that specifies at least a part of the use; transmitting application information for the donation to an organization server that provides the website using the donation information; and transmitting a message including the transfer destination of the donation to the donor terminal.

[0026] Further, a 21st aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute a method for receiving donations, where the method includes the steps of receiving voice input of donation information including the type of the donation and the amount of the donation from a donor terminal, where the type is a donation that does not specify a use or a donation that specifies at least a part of the use; transmitting application information for the donation to an organization server that provides the website using the donation information; and transmitting a message including the transfer destination of the donation to the donor terminal.

[0027] Further, a 22nd aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving donations, which receives voice input of donation information including the type of donation and the amount of the donation from a donor terminal, transmits application information for the donation to an organization server that provides the website using the donation information, and is configured to transmit a message including the transfer destination of the donation to the donor terminal, and the type is a donation that does not specify a use or a donation that specifies at least a part of the use.

Effects of the Invention

[0028] According to one aspect of the present invention, by enabling a donation in which at least a part of the use is specified by the donor while showing an option of a donation without specifying the use, it is possible to increase the transparency of the use without significantly hindering the securing of indirect costs required for the organization receiving the donation.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0029] [Figure 1] It is a diagram showing a system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a diagram showing a flow of a method according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] It is a diagram showing a message for selecting a donation type according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] It is a diagram showing an example of a management screen for a donation-receiving organization according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0030] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment)

[0031] Figure 1 shows a system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The device 100 is a device for receiving donations and communicates via an IP network such as the Internet with an organization terminal 110 used by an organization that accepts donations, a donor terminal 120 used by a donor making a donation, and an organization server 130 that provides the organization's website.

[0032] The device 100 comprises a communication unit 101 such as a communication interface, a processing unit 102 such as a processor or CPU, and a storage unit 103 including a storage device or storage medium such as memory or a hard disk. The device can be configured by executing a program for performing each process or operation in the processing unit 102. The device 100 may include one or more devices, computers, or servers. The program may also include one or more programs and can be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium to form a non-transient program product. The program is stored in a storage device or storage medium such as a database 104 accessible from the storage unit 103 or the device 100 via an IP network, and instructions included in the program can be executed by at least one processor in the processing unit 102. The data described below as being stored in the storage unit 103 may be stored in a storage device or storage medium such as a database 104, and vice versa.

[0033] First, the organization accepting donations transmits beneficiary information regarding the recipient of the donation from the organization terminal 110 to the device 100 for registration (S201). The beneficiary information includes a name or designation and may further include at least one of the following: target amount, deadline, and bank account details. The bank account details can be for each organization or for each beneficiary. Examples of beneficiaries include scholarship recipients, disaster victims, researchers, and projects.

[0034] The organization may also transmit organizational information about itself to the device 100 from the organization terminal 110 at the same time as, or before or after, the beneficiary information. This organizational information may include a description of the organization's activities, its attributes, and the amount or percentage of its target indirect costs. Examples of such attributes include whether or not it has legal personality, its type, its year of establishment, any awards it has received, and the number of times it has been featured in favorable media coverage.

[0035] Next, when a donor accesses the organization's website using the donor terminal 120 (S202), the website is displayed (S203). The website includes a link to access a chat application for accepting donations provided by the device 100. When the donor selects this link (S204), the chat screen of the chat application is displayed on the donor terminal 120 (S205). This link can be selected, for example, by tapping or clicking a button on the website. In other words, the device 100 transitions the screen of the donor terminal 120 from the screen displaying the organization's website to the chat screen. In addition to transitioning to the chat screen, the chat screen may also be displayed overlaid on the organization's website. In this case, the chat application may be provided by the organization server 130 instead of the device 100.

[0036] The chat screen can be displayed on a web browser installed on the donor's device 120, or it can be displayed using the web content display function of a chat application installed on the donor's device 120.

[0037] Instead of chat, donors may be allowed to provide necessary input via phone call. For example, donors can provide voice input on a calling application provided directly or indirectly by device 100 by clicking or tapping to select a phone number or destination displayed on the organization's website. Device 100 may receive the donor's voice input in the form of voice data or in the form of text data based on said voice input.

[0038] Figure 3 shows an example of a message to be displayed on a chat screen according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the example in Figure 3, two types of donations are shown. One is a donation that is entirely used for a specific beneficiary, "Project A," and the entire amount is a direct cost. The other is a donation whose use is not specified, and the organization receiving the donation can use it for its own operating expenses, i.e., overhead costs. For the former, the donor may specify the amount or percentage of direct or indirect costs, and the final beneficiary does not necessarily have to be individually specified, as long as the entire amount or the amount or percentage specified by the donor is used for direct costs. For the latter, the entire amount may be used for indirect costs, or part of it may be used for indirect costs. Regarding the latter, rather than directly stating that it is an indirect cost, such as "Your donation will be used for our organization's overhead costs," it is preferable to describe the significance of indirect costs without directly mentioning them, using terms such as "organization," "capacity," "operation," "enhance," and "support," such as "Your donation will enhance our organization's capabilities" or "Your donation will support our organization's operations."

[0039] Device 100 may, if the donor meets a predetermined condition (hereinafter also referred to as "the first condition"), send a message corresponding to the first condition to the donor terminal 120 and display it on the chat screen. The first condition may, for example, be that the donor has made a certain number of donations or more in the past to the organization providing the website or using the chat application provided by Device 100. The first condition may also be a condition that uses the attributes of the organization providing the website. An example of such a message is one that encourages donations without specifying the use of the funds rather than donations with a specified use.

[0040] Then, after the type of donation is selected (S206), the device 100 sends a message to the donor terminal 120 to specify the donation amount (S207). The donation amount specified by the donor on the chat screen is sent from the donor terminal 120 to the device 100 (S208). An example of a message to specify the donation amount would be, "What size donation are you considering this time? Please choose the closest from the following: 10,000 yen / 30,000 yen / 50,000 yen." If the donor information described later is obtained beforehand or has already been obtained, the message can be tailored to that donor information. Furthermore, if the donor meets a predetermined condition (hereinafter also referred to as "the second condition"), the message can be tailored to that second condition.

[0041] Here, the process is explained as one in which the donor selects the donation type and then specifies the donation amount. However, it is also possible for the donor to specify the donation amount before selecting the donation type. Alternatively, the donor can select the donation type and specify the donation amount, and these can be transmitted simultaneously from the donor terminal 120 to the device 100.

[0042] When the donation amount is specified before selecting the donation type, the device 100 may, if the donation amount satisfies a predetermined condition (hereinafter also referred to as the "third condition"), send a message to the donor terminal 120 encouraging a donation without specifying a use rather than a donation with a specified use, and display it on the chat screen. The third condition can be, for example, that the donation amount is less than or equal to a predetermined amount. The predetermined amount can be the amount set by the organization as organizational information, the amount of donations to the organization, or the average, median, or mode of multiple amounts, or the amount of donations or the average, median, or mode of multiple amounts made by the donor to the organization or other organizations.

[0043] Device 100 may, if the donation amount meets a predetermined condition (hereinafter also referred to as the "fourth condition"), send a message to the donor terminal 120 prompting communication with the staff of the organization operating the website accessed by the donor, and display it on the chat screen. The fourth condition can be, for example, 300,000 yen or more, 1,000,000 yen or more, 2,500,000 yen or more, 5,000,000 yen or more, 10,000,000 yen or more, etc. More generally, the fourth condition can be a predetermined multiple or greater of a predetermined amount. The predetermined amount can be an amount set by the organization as organizational information, the amount of donations to the organization or the average, median, or mode of multiple amounts, or the amount of donations or the average, median, or mode of multiple amounts made by the donor to the organization or other organizations, and the predetermined multiple can be 10 times, a value set by the organization, etc. Examples of such messages include: "Thank you for considering such a generous donation. Would you like a staff member from the organization receiving the donation to contact you directly by phone or email? Phone contact preferred / Email contact preferred / No contact necessary."

[0044] Furthermore, if the total amount of donations without a specified use falls below a predetermined amount or percentage, the device 100 may send a message to the donor terminal 120 encouraging unspecified donations rather than donations with a specified use. The predetermined percentage may be obtained by the device 100, for example, as part of the organization information.

[0045] In addition, a message may be sent to the donor terminal 120 as needed, allowing the donor to select or specify donor information about themselves. Furthermore, the storage unit 103 may store the required items for donation applications for each organization, and a message may be sent to the donor requesting them to input the information corresponding to any missing items.

[0046] The chat screen displayed by device 100 on the donor terminal 120 can be displayed in a language based on the settings on the donor terminal 120 or the language specified by the donor. This allows donors to enter donation information even if the language on the organization's website is different from the language they use. For example, while it is possible to translate the text displayed on the chat screen into the language using machine translation, it is sometimes preferable not to translate the entire text. For example, in Arabic, terms such as "Sadaqah" and "Waqf" are synonymous or similar to "donation," and each has a different nuance, making translation unsuitable in some cases. It is preferable not to translate such terms and other expressions, or if they are translated, to use expressions specified by the organization accepting donations. The same applies to the following terms in Chinese. Device 100 may receive specifications of such expressions with translation constraints from the organization terminal 110. "Donation", "Donation", "Charity", "Fund"

[0047] Device 100 then uses the donation information received from the donor terminal 120 to send the donation application information to the organization server 130 (S209). As an example, Device 100 can access the donation application screen on the organization's website provided by the organization server 130 using a headless browser or an AI agent, input the application information using the donation information, and send it. Here, the application information includes an email address, which can be an email address used by the company operating Device 100, or an email address used by the donor. If the acquired donation information includes multiple donation types, Device 100 sends application information for each donation type to the organization server 130 simultaneously or separately, as needed. In this way, the interface with the donor is a chat screen, reducing the burden of inputting donation information, and application information is entered on the organization's website as before, thereby improving the donor experience without requiring significant development effort from the organization accepting donations.

[0048] Next, the organization server 130 sends an email containing the bank account details for the requested donation to the email address included in the application information (S210), and the device 100 retrieves the email and sends a message including the bank account details to the donor terminal 120 (S211). If the email from the organization server 130 includes a number for identifying the remitter, it is preferable to include that number in the message. If the donor includes the number in the remitter's name but does not include their own name, they can make an anonymous donation.

[0049] The recipient of a donation may be divided according to the type of donation: an account for indirect costs if the donation does not specify its use, and an account for direct costs or an account for each beneficiary if the donation specifies its use. If at least part of the use of the donation is specified, the recipient may include both an account for direct costs and an account for indirect costs. For example, the former could be the beneficiary's account and the latter the organization's account. Even if the use is specified, the recipient may be the organization's account rather than the beneficiary's account. In this case, after the donation is received, the organization may transfer the donated funds to the beneficiary's account or manage them as funds for the beneficiary.

[0050] Alternatively, if an organization accepting donations opens one or more new accounts for the chat application provided by device 100, device 100 can store the recipient's bank account details in advance. Therefore, after receiving an email from the organization server 130 in response to the submission of application information, such as an application completion email, device 100 can send a message containing the recipient's bank account details to the donor terminal 120. If the email from the organization server 130 includes a number to identify the donor, it is preferable to include that number in the message.

[0051] Furthermore, the server providing the website for the organization accepting donations, the server receiving donation application information, and the server sending the bank transfer details for donations may be separate servers, and in this specification, these will be collectively referred to as the "organization server."

[0052] After a donor makes a transfer, device 100 can, if necessary, access fund information regarding the transferred funds to determine whether the beneficiary corresponding to the specified use has made the funds available for use. Device 100 can, if necessary, send a notification to the donor terminal 120 indicating that the beneficiary has made the donated funds available for use. This fund information can be entered by the organization receiving the donation into the organization server 130 and retrieved by device 100 from the organization server 130, or retrieved using an API provided by the bank where the recipient account is held.

[0053] In this way, by offering the option of making donations without specifying the use of the funds, while also allowing donors to specify at least a portion of how the funds are used, it is possible to increase transparency regarding the use of donations without significantly hindering the organization receiving the donations from securing the necessary indirect costs.

[0054] (Second embodiment) The device 100 can calculate the amount of donations that can be accepted for a specified purpose if the total amount of donations for which no purpose is specified reaches a predetermined amount or percentage. Figure 4 shows an example of a management screen for a donation-receiving organization according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The management screen 400 shows an example where the total amount of donations for indirect costs for which no purpose is specified is 605,000 yen, and the total amount of donations for direct costs for which a purpose is specified is 50,000 yen. If the indirect cost rate is set to 10% in the organization information, the indirect cost rate is 92% at this point, so even if the accepted donations are for direct costs and cannot be used for the organization's operating expenses, the organization can accept an additional 5,395,000 yen in direct costs until the indirect cost rate drops to 10%, i.e., until the indirect cost rate drops to 10%.

[0055] More generally, in order to encourage donations without a specified use, the device 100 can calculate the amount of additional donations with a specified use that can be accepted, under a given target percentage of indirect costs, when the amount entered by the donor is entirely an unspecified donation. In addition, the device 100 can, if necessary, send the calculated additional amount that can be accepted to the donor terminal 120 and display it on the chat screen of the donor terminal 120 or output it as audio on the donor terminal 120. In this case, the device 100 can obtain the target percentage of indirect costs stored in the memory unit 103 and use it for the calculation. If the target percentage is not met, it may be considered that direct cost donations will not be accepted, but the device may also display or output a message on the donor terminal 120 encouraging donations of indirect costs. For example, in Figure 4, the device 100 may display the necessary indirect costs in place of the accepted direct costs.

[0056] Furthermore, in the embodiments described above, unless the word "only" is used, such as "based only," "depending only," "in the case of only," or "referencing only," it is assumed in this specification that additional information may also be considered. Also, as an example, the statement "if a, then b" does not necessarily mean "always b in the case of a" or "b immediately after a," unless explicitly stated otherwise. In addition, the statement "each a constituting A" does not necessarily mean that A is composed of multiple components, but includes the possibility that the component is singular.

[0057] Furthermore, it should be noted that the embodiments of the present invention described above are included in the disclosure herein, in any way that they are not inconsistent with each other.

[0058] Furthermore, for the sake of clarity, even if there are aspects of operation in some method, program, terminal, device, server, or system (hereinafter referred to as "method, etc.") that differ from the operation described herein, each aspect of the present invention is an invention that targets one of the operations described herein, and the existence of operation different from the operation described herein does not mean that the method, etc. is outside the scope of each aspect of the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0059] 100 devices 101 Communications Department 102 Processing Unit 103 Storage section 104 Databases 110 Group Terminals 120 donor terminals 130 Group Servers 400 Management screen

Claims

1. A method for accepting donations, The computer transitions the donor's terminal screen from a screen displaying the website of the organization accepting donations to a chat screen, The computer receives input of donation information from the donor terminal to the chat screen, including the type of donation and the amount of the donation, the type being a donation without specifying the use or a donation specifying at least part of the use; The computer transmits the donation application information to the organization server providing the website, using the donation information. The computer sends a message to the donor terminal including the bank account details for the donation. Includes.

2. The method according to claim 1, The aforementioned message further includes a number for identifying the remitter, which is contained in the email received from the organization's server.

3. The method according to claim 1, If the type specifies the use of at least a portion of the donation, the computer further includes the step of sending a notification to the donor terminal indicating that the beneficiary corresponding to the use has made the donated funds available for use.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, If the total amount of unspecified donations falls below a predetermined amount or percentage, the computer further includes the step of sending a message to the donor terminal encouraging unspecified donations rather than donations that specify at least a portion of the use.

5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, If the donor meets certain conditions, the computer further includes sending a message to the donor terminal encouraging them to make a donation without specifying how the funds will be used, rather than a donation that specifies how at least part of the funds will be used.

6. The method according to claim 5, The aforementioned specified condition is that the donor has made donations to the aforementioned organization more than or equal to a specified number of times in the past.

7. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, If the amount meets certain conditions, the computer further includes sending a message to the donor terminal encouraging them to make a donation without specifying how it will be used rather than a donation that specifies how at least part of it will be used.

8. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The step of submitting the application information includes the step of entering the application information into the website using a headless browser or an AI agent.

9. A program for causing a computer to perform a method for accepting donations, wherein the method is The steps include: transitioning the donor's device screen from a screen displaying the website of the organization accepting donations to a chat screen; A step of receiving donation information from the donor's terminal to the chat screen, including the type of donation and the amount of the donation, wherein the type is a donation without specifying the use or a donation specifying at least a part of the use; The steps include: transmitting the donation application information using the donation information to the server of the organization providing the website; The steps include sending a message to the donor's terminal containing the bank account details for the donation, and Includes.

10. A device for receiving donations, The donor's device screen is transitioned from the screen displaying the website of the organization accepting the donations to the chat screen. The system receives input of donation information, including the type of donation and the amount of the donation, from the donor's terminal to the chat screen, and uses the donation information to send the donation application information to the server of the organization providing the website. The donor's terminal is configured to send a message containing the bank account details for the donation. The aforementioned types are donations that do not specify how the funds will be used, or donations that specify at least a part of how the funds will be used.

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