The Royal Australian Mint (RAM) has been awarded the ‘Best CashTech Award’ for its Donation Dollar at the recent CashTech Innovation Awards held earlier this month at the Future of Cash Conference in Istanbul, Türkiye.
Presented by thinktank CashEssentials and cash ecosystem technology provider Sesami, the CashTech Innnovation Awards recognised innovative companies that leverage software and modern technology to improve cash services, including the promotion of cash acceptance and enhancement of its overall efficiency, affordability, and sustainability.
Additional winners were Managecash Personal as ‘Best CashTech Innovator’, for its app-based solution to access cash using a QR code, and Cash Perks as ‘Best CashTech Startup’ for its solution facilitating cash disbursement at local ATMs through SMS.
Although legal tender, the Donation Dollar has been designed specifically to be donated, rather than spent, by Australians. The world-first $1 coin donation initiative was launched in September 2020 as a ‘remind[er] to give, not only in times of crisis, but all year round’.
The coin is intended to promote charitable behaviour and provide a tangible and accessible way for people – who have the means – to enjoy the benefit of giving a small amount more frequently.
Australians are able to donate the coin as they would with any other cash donation – to a cause or charity, local business, or even bank it and return the coin to circulation whilst donating the amount somewhere else.
Working in partnership with Mentally Friendly, the RAM conducted extensive research into the coin’s design to strike the right balance between a visually different and easily noticeable product, but one that was not so different that people would prefer collecting rather than circulating it. Consumers also had to be able to understand what to do with the coin once they receive it, ie. concept awareness.
Designed to be instantly recognisable, the coin features a distinctive green centre with gold ripples emanating from it, symbolising the ongoing impact each Donation Dollar has makes to those who need it most. ‘Donation Dollar’ is inscribed prominently above the central motif, with ‘Give to Help Others’ written below the centre. The obverse depicts the Jody Clark effigy of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Launched on International Charity Day, the coin received the full endorsement of the Community Council of Australia (CCA), a group of over 50,000 charity organisations based in Australia.
To accompany the launch of the coins, RAM released a series of printable worksheets, posters and stickers for schools, charities, and businesses, to promote the initiative. A partnership with newsXpress stores also enabled Australians to swap their standard $1 coins for Donation Dollars to then circulate the coins themselves via any charitable donation.
The RAM plans to release one coin for every Australian – 25 million in total – noting that if all Australians donated one Donation Dollar a month, it would raise an additional $300 million annually. Following an initial launch of 3 million coins, an estimated 6 million coins entered circulation between 2020 and 2022, with RAM announcing last year the progressive release of 5 million more.
Over 2.9 million Australians reported finding a Donation Dollar in their change, with nearly two-thirds (63%) donating the coin as intended 1. The Donation Dollar has already influenced an incremental $58 million in additional donations since its launch.
With the average lifecycle of a coin noted as 30 years, the RAM aims for the Donation Dollar initiative to have an even longer life as a tangible reminder of the importance of giving back, asking Australians to think of coins as more than one half of the cash transaction picture. The Mint used the International Day of Charity 2022, which marked the two-year anniversary of the initiative, to remind Australians of the potential positive impact of the coin.
‘We believe the Donation Dollar has the power to make a real difference’, said Royal Australian Mint CEO, Leigh Gordon. ‘We encourage Aussies to double check their change, pockets, car consoles and saving jars for the Donation Dollar. The power lies in the hands of the receiver to decide where their coin will make the most impact.’ As one of the taglines of the Donation Dollar project suggests, ‘if you have one, or find one, give one’ – a simple but powerful statement for a unique and impactful initiative.
1 - According to a Brand Awareness Q1 2022 study commissioned by the RAM.
