Case Study 2 – Bank of Happiness
Areas of impact: Finance
Social enterprise location: Estonia
Short description of activities:
The objective of the Bank of Happiness is the exchange of good deeds between people. To become a client, an Estonian must register online, listing the useful things that he or she can do for others (grocery shopping, walking a dog and fixing cars). They are also given the opportunity to list any services they require (having some clothing altered or their windows cleaned).
The Bank of Happiness aims to broker a million good deeds every year. In this way, one million small problems are solved and one million people get to know each other through these positive experiences.
Why it's a social innovation:
It’s a virtual bank that trades purely on good deeds. The added value of the project is the creation of community capital and cohesion among the participants. Participants receive stars of thanks as payment for their completed deeds; a string of stars after the name of a person could be an important factor for a prospective employer, community, politician, school or other civic scenario. In addition to building community values and networks, the bank aims to generate well-being by helping people to solve their problems and those of others.
What is its design aspect?
The central design of the Bank of Happiness is a software development, through which the matching and making of good deeds is coordinated.
For every good deed made through the Bank of Happiness, a ‘Thanknote’ is given. Thanknotes indicate that the holder cares and helps according to his/hers abilities and offers an alternative value system to that of conventional capital.
The ‘Thanknote’, printable from the bank’s website, is offered by the grateful recipient in lieu of money, inscribed on the back with the date and nature of the deed. The note can then be passed on to another participant in exchange for a good deed. There is no system of equations to codify how one deed compares with another; the system is self-regulatory.
Main actors and interactions (including stakeholders, networks, services and revenue streams):
- Estonian citizens
- Estonian civil society
- Tiina Urm, a 26-year-old who helped to think up the idea (the closest individual that the Bank of Happiness has to a manager)
- Rainer Nolvak, an Estonian internet entrepreneur who now runs Curonia Research, a company that specialises in technology start-ups
Another group delivering similar work:
The Fureai Kippu system in Japan issues credits in exchange for assistance to senior citizens. Family members living far from their parents can earn credits by offering assistance to the elderly in their local community. The credits can then be transferred to their parents and redeemed by them for local assistance.
Social Impact:
- Pursues a change of values in society, increases social cohesion, encourages mutual trust and develops community
- Aims to turn the focus of the society to the status of happiness
- Results that bring forward important changes in individuals; the media report on these good stories and so the values are echoed in society
- Performing the deeds themselves inspire a feeling of happiness
Economic Impact:
- Thanknotes allow those members of society with little opportunity to earn money (eg the unemployed, people with disabilities or the elderly) access to goods and services that might otherwise be unavailable to them
Environmental Impact:
- Encouraging people to exchange their skills in a local, needs-based way means that the environmental impact is minimised
Links:
www.bankofhappiness.org
Bank of Happiness Facebook Group
Orkut Bank of Happiness Group