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The Art of Wishing FAQs: Making Sense of Scotland’s Gift Economy

Last Reviewed: 7 July 2015

Ross Dundas

General

Q. What Is The Wishing Tree? The Wishing Tree is Scotland’s first Peer-to-Peer Support Network for Start-up businesses trading under 3 years and third sector organisations (Known as wishers). In particular we aim to support entrepreneurs from disadvantaged or particularly challenging backgrounds start and succeed in running they’re own business. This allows them to gain opportunities that they otherwise would not receive and allowing people to make a greater contribution to society via their inherent talents, passions and skills regardless of their background. In addition we provide additional private sector resources to local charities in the communities in which we operate to further their charitable aims. We do this through the process of a Gift Economy offline at the events that we run currently in the pilot area of Aberdeen City and Shire and Scotland wide from late 2015 via an innovative digital platform. Which aims to connect them with subject matter experts from established businesses who are keen to donate their services, develop better CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), re-engage with their local communities and forge new relationships. (Known as granters). The Wishing Tree also offers the opportunity to dramatically improve the support framework more generally for businesses in Scotland into a more cohesive framework that is less restricted than traditional public sector mechanisms such as Business Gateway but still accountable via the Community Interest Companies regulator. It also encourages member companies to put relationships and community engagement instead of pure financial gain at the heart of their operational activities; something that the recent recession has clearly demonstrated a need for.

Q. What Is A Gift Economy? A gift economy is a mode of exchange where services, products and other resources are not sold, but rather given without an explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards. It is not a barter economy where in contrast there is an explicit exchange of goods or services for money or some other commodity. Gift economies work on the basis of relationships, reciprocity and an agreement to work for the benefit of society and our local communities as a whole rather than for personal gain. This creates a level playing field and equal opportunities for everyone on the basis of their determination to contribute to society regardless of their socio-economic background or other factors.

The Wishing Tree project aims to apply this principle to small businesses which in turn become larger businesses to try and encourage companies to advance gift economy principles and policies as a core component of their business on an evolutionary basis so that as society adopts gift economics over a long period of time money until we reach a point where the primary consideration in innovative projects is the benefit that they bring everyone not just commercial gain to private shareholders. Our mission in short is to eliminate the statement “But we can’t afford to” from all discussions surrounding the advancement of science, medicine, the arts, engineering, technology and humanities and other noble pursuits.

Q. What Is The Wishing Tree project’s legal status? Are you a charity? The Wishing Tree is a social enterprise. We are currently supported by a number partner organisation that are also members of Aberdeen Business Network.

The Business Wishing Tree CIC (our legally registered name) is a Community Interest Company limited by guarantee registered in Scotland. Our registration number is SC490707.

A social enterprise unlike an ordinary limited company operates primarily for the benefit of the communities it serves instead of its shareholders or members. In our case this will mean each of the 32 local business networks and their constituent members that we will eventually support throughout Scotland. (ABN Included!). A legal mechanism known as an “asset lock” further protects these principles. Every November we have to prove to the Community Interest Companies regulator that we are doing what we said we were going to do: Develop a Peer-to-Peer support network for start-ups in independent business networks throughout Scotland. In effect this makes YOU as a member a partner, albeit on an informal basis. We are not a charity in the legal sense since charities are prohibited from generating revenue through trading activity and are wholly reliant on funders and donations from the public. It is possible to claim tax relief on social investments and support for CIC’s such as ours. The rules for doing so are complex and you should speak to your accountant about this. For more information look at this PDF from HMRC: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/389925/investors-guide.pdf

It is likely however in the future if the project is successful that we will setup a separate charity within the same group, which provides seed capital where appropriate in addition to gifts to young and innovative entrepreneurs, operates entrepreneurial hubs and fills challenging wishes that haven’t been filled via the main Wishing Tree project. This is unlikely to be available until 2016 without major external investment or the creation of a trust, which fulfils this purpose that’s crowd funded by the business community itself.

Q. How did the Wishing Tree name come about? The Wishing Tree name came about on the basis of an Asian custom particularly in Japan where people hang wishes at Shinto shrines called “Ema” where they wish for prosperity and good fortune. Our founder, Ross Dundas, also found that people sometimes do this at weddings on wooden trees. Ross thought it would be a great idea to do the same at business networking events for start-ups thus the name The Wishing Tree. Q. I heard there is a magazine with the same name, is that anything to do with you? There was a wishing tree magazine, which was distributed in Aberdeenshire, run by a lady called Anita Bell, which was designed as a magazine to be distributed locally to carers and parents of children with special needs. As of January 2015 the magazine is no longer published and Anita is pursuing other projects. The Business Wishing Tree CIC (T/A The Wishing Tree) has no plans to publish a magazine at this time or attempt to acquire any assets from this business. The fact that the businesses shared the same name was an accidental co-incidence. We wish Anita her well with all her future endeavours. Q. How do I support The Wishing Tree? We accept donations big and small both to the project itself and to the Start-ups we aim to support. Call us on 0333 6000 550 to discuss how you can help support Scotland’s game changers and innovators. This doesn’t necessarily have to be money and some of the most invaluable support involves skills donation and volunteering.

In addition established businesses can engage our local business marketing services such as event sponsorship, by attending our events and donating products and services to the start-ups that we support. We’d love to welcome you as a member to our network!

Q. What Is the relationship between Aberdeen Business Network and The Wishing Tree project? A. ABN is our networking partner organisation for the Aberdeen City and Shire region of Scotland. The relationship is informal in nature and in the spirit of a gift economy no money is involved. We just firmly believe that ABN is a model of what a regional business network should be and therefore is the perfect location to operate the pilot of the project. A pilot program allows us to find out if the offline event based components of the project work properly and if so what can we do to further enhance it.

In the long run we will support ABN in growing its membership in the start-up community and The Wishing Tree eventually will provide the rights to utilise the Wishing Tree events format on a licensed basis along with marketing assets and resources and eventually an optional powerful technology platform that could be used to improve services. In return Andrew Smith (ABN's Director) is providing support, advice and feedback on the development of The Wishing Tree offline events and eventually the innovative technology platform which Intellicore Ltd are developing which will underpin The Wishing Tree website.

Q. If you’re a Gift Economy, how come you still charge for some things? The current business model for the Wishing Tree is transitional by design, it takes into account where we are just now in terms of economics and balances it with the vision of what ultimate success will look like: Money no longer being a barrier to entrepreneurship, innovation and one of the key factors in our everyday relationships with others outwith our friends and families. We try and focus our currently necessary revenue generation activities on those most able to do so, established businesses and business networking operators. I would again stress that The Wishing Tree is a non-profit organisation. Our revenue generating activities serve to cover the costs we incur and also further our goals.

Q. Which charities does The Wishing Tree support? The Wishing Tree’s nominated charities in our Articles of Association are Epilepsy Scotland and The Princes Trust.

The reason we chose these charities is because Ross Dundas, The Wishing Tree’s founder suffers from an idiopathic variant of the disease and is keen to support research and other sufferers. In the case of the Princes Trust this is because we firmly support the work that they do with Young Entrepreneurs in advancing their projects. This is enshrined in our constitution that we support these organisations and indeed should anything happen to the project in the future it would be a condition that any surplus assets are donated to these organisations.

That being said one of our key goals is to enable charities to gain access to the resources they require to further their charitable objectives without money being a barrier to doing so. As a result in our role as a business support organisation we support a wide variety of third sector organisations through our day to day operations.

The Gift Economy

Q. Why should I help other people? If I do one thing for "Free" won't they just expect it from me all the time? This question kind of misses the point of a gift economy. The whole point is to support one another with our projects without expectation of monetary payment. Everyone in a community has inherent gifts and talents and things they enjoy contributing and

sharing. You still have the choice of whom you share those talents with. The more however you contribute to your community, the more the community will recognise that contribution and want to help you in your endeavours. People who are selfish and fail to take a long term strategic view with their business relationships will find themselves isolated in the long run and will ultimately fail. The more you give therefore in a gift economy, the richer you'll be. Remember. Money is an agreement. It only has value because we agree it does. One of the primary consequences of that agreement is that it requires the monetisation of relationships into services and the consumption of natural resources into goods. This has wider consequences than we realise in the narrow context of that particular transaction, particularly for the innovators in society.

Q. Why should be bother with a Gift Economy? Money has worked fine for thousands of years, what makes you think it needs to change? I'm realistic that the Wishing Tree project alone, even if my vision is fully realised it is an electron-microscopic step forward in a transition that is inevitable from the "Me" economy to the "We" economy. That is that we do things for the common good that is based on the advancement of Science, Medicine, Social Welfare, The Arts, Technology and other noble pursuits instead of short-term personal gain. The current system is unsustainable as its based on perpetual growth which in turn is based on perpetual debt that creates intolerable societal inequality and dangerous levels of consumption that are environmentally dangerous with the levels of population growth we are experiencing in a wider context. There are 1426 billionaires, on this planet of 7.2 billion people. Nearly 1/2 of the world's population — more than 3 billion people — live on less than £1.25 a day. More than 1.3 billion live in extreme poverty, that's less than 60p a day. 1 billion of that 3 billion living in poverty are children. Those 3 billion people suffer because they don't have the right binary values in a banks computer system or enough cotton paper in their pocket.

It all seems kind of ridiculous that we have allowed such levels of inequality that allow 85 people to have the same accumulated wealth as half of the worlds population combined to be tolerated. Greed is not good. 1980s style trickle down economics is a spectacular failure. We're just not ready to accept it yet. When you get time, watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB5HOYdlGE8

Q. What are the main rules of The Wishing Tree? There are several fundamental principles, which participants and members of The Wishing Tree must adhere to. Whilst we understand that the economic concepts and social values that the Wishing Tree represents are relatively new and we aim to accommodate this learning curve; organisations that fail to adhere to these principles may face appropriate sanctions relative to the circumstances decided by the board of The Wishing Tree and/or The Director(s) of the partner business network(s) concerned. By attending our events or registering on our website we take it as your implicit consent and acceptance of these principles by yourself and for and on behalf of the organisation that you represent. We take alleged breaches of Rule 1 particularly seriously as some wishers may have personal circumstances, which you are not fully aware which makes them vulnerable. As a result unchallenged breaches could undermine wisher confidence and precipitate the collapse of the whole project. If you are in any doubt as to whether or not a wish is compliant with the rules or you need advice about fulfilling a wish you should speak to your event host or e-mail info@thewishingtree.org.uk.

1.! Under no circumstances must you demand monetary payment or immediate barter of goods or services of equivalent value for fulfilling a wish. Nor may wishers wish for or persistently demand money in an attempt to undermine the Gift Economy. Breaches will be dealt with as follows:

Grant Violations If a wisher raises a grant violation complaint with us having not being able to resolve the matter with you direct through friendly consultation and it is subsequently upheld depending on the wisher’s preference/circumstances at a minimum you will either be:

a.! Asked to donate the amount in full you asked the Wisher to pay to The Wisher themselves (if they are a registered Charity/CIC)

OR

b.! Asked to donate 50% of amount you asked the Wisher for to The Princes Trust and the remaining 50% to Epilepsy Scotland.

OR

c.! Be asked to display a public apology for 14 days on the front page of your website, or all your social media feeds. if you have neither then such an apology must be made at the next Wishing Tree: Networking event.

AND

Asked to pay a fixed penalty of £350 to cover the Wisher’s ticket fees for the next 10 Wishing Tree Networking events at the established business rate.

Your user website registration will be suspended and you will not be permitted to attend any further events until you provide evidence that these actions have been taken. If you refuse to make the required donations and/or apology the ban will become permanent company wide, and you will forfeit any compensation rights that you may have ha under contract with ourselves (e.g. Sponsorship) Wish Violations It is our belief that incidences of these will be extremely rare as usually people act in the good spirit of the event/platform and a friendly warning is usually sufficient, however persistent offenders will be permanently banned from Wishing Tree events and our website.

2.! Members will aspire to ensure that their products, services and monetary profits that they accrue will do no harm and will be for the benefit of all.

3.! As socially responsible entrepreneurs we must be the change that we want to see in the world. We must always remember that serving our community is far more important than selfish short-term private gain and the acquisition of monetary wealth. Money is a tool we must all currently deal with; don’t let it make a tool out of you.

4.! The more you give in the community, the richer you’ll be. Don’t be stingy with your grants, if you can fill a wish in full, do it! Do a good job, build a relationship and you’ll win a client and in some cases a supplier too for life.

5.! Grow the roots and branches of The Wishing Tree, tell a friend and spread the word because the more people and organisations that takes part, the stronger we’ll be.

Offline and Events

Q. How do I book tickets for a Wishing Tree event? For the moment all tickets must be booked here: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-wishing-tree-6787102461

This is likely to change in when our website launches. Regardless events will always also be listed here on our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/thebizwishingtree), our twitter feed (@businesswishes) and on our partner business network’s website.

We also allow “Walk-In” registrations at our events and we accept all major credit and debit cards (including American Express). These are however subject to availability and it is highly recommended that you book in advance to avoid disappointment and minimise costs.

Q. What’s the deal with the Tree with tags hanging from it at your events? This is our physical Wishing Tree! The appearance and tag colours may vary slightly from event to event; the principles however are the same. The tree is at the heart of the support mechanisms that underpin our peer-to-peer support network. On the tree there are 2 sets of Tags. One set representing Wishes and The other representing grants. Your event host will clearly state during the event introduction, which is which. Wishes may only be hung from the tree by organisations that have been designated as start-ups either at check-in or during the registration process or approved third sector organisations. Grants however may be hung on the tree by anyone regardless of the status of their organisation. On each tag it will clearly state the detail of the Wish or the grant and who made it. During the course of the networking event we attempt to find a match and give both the wisher and granter to talk about their challenge and the proposed solution. At the end of the event all the wishes and grants are posted online and promoted to encourage people to help or contact the granter company.

Q. I found a Wish/Grant Tag with just a number on it? What’s going on? You’ve just found a secret wish or an even rarer secret grant! This is because the person that made the wish or grant does not wish to be publically identified. This is usually because the nature of the wish is sensitive or the grant is very generous and the donor does not want to be embarrassed. These wishes or grants are hung on the tree by event staff and correspond to a number in a purple book that only they have access to which has full detailed information on the wish or grant. These wishes and grants will not publicised anywhere but The Wishing Tree website and even then they are published anonymously until the point of offer/acceptance.

Q. What format do your events take? Our current 2 core event formats are:

“Networking” (2½ hours) – 50% Structured 50% Open Networking: •! Registration and Open Networking 30-45 minutes •! Introduction – What Is the Wishing Tree and What We Do. Run over of the rules. (5 to

10 minutes) •! 60 Seconds round – Elevator pitch from everyone in the room. •! Place wishes/offers on the tree/open networking – 30 minutes •! Featured wishes and Offers. Select 2 of the best wishes and granters from the tree

and let the wisher and granter explain their wish/offer and a bit more detail about their business. 10 minutes each

•! Presentation from the sponsor. 10 minutes. •! Open networking/More wishes on the tree/Next Events/Featured Web Wishes and

Close - 30 minutes “Gurus Den” – (3 hour event) 100% pitches with feedback and discussion – mastermind group format. 10 Minute pitches followed by 10 mins of Q&A •! 6 experts at the event in a board room style format, 5 from core sectors: Commercial

Law, HR, Sales/Marketing, IT/Tech, Accountancy and Finance plus one from any other sector. Startups get the opportunity of getting the benefit of a room full of

experienced business owners providing feedback and solutions to issues which are hindering their respective projects progress.

There are other event formats under development, which we are not ready to share at this time. Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date with future announcements. Q. How much are tickets? Unless otherwise advertised on the event details start-up tickets (trading under 3 years) are on a pay what you can basis. Established Businesses £35 + VAT. If you sponsor an event you get 2 guest tickets in addition to you own free of charge.

Q. What payment methods do you accept at events? We accept all major credit and debit cards via our iZettle Mobile Chip and Pin Point of Sale system which runs on our Apple iPad. Please note that we do not normally accept cash payments at our events for security and banking reasons. If you do insist in paying cash please note that we are unable to provide change and the excess will be retained as a donation. It is highly recommend therefore that you ensure that you have a valid credit or debit card or book in advance via Eventbrite. We recognised this was a pain point during the development phase of the project which is why we accept even obscure cards that you may not have even heard of such as JCB and Diners Club. Cards accepted include: - MasterCard - Visa - American Express - Maestro - V pay - Visa Electron - JCB - Diners Club Q. Do you support e-ticketing? We support e-ticketing only via the Eventbrite app. You’ll need either an Apple iOS Device such as an iPhone or iPad or an Android device such as a Samsung Galaxy or Google Nexus. Your event host will scan the QR code in your e-ticket and check you into the event. Q. How much does it cost to Sponsor a wishing tree event? Generally speaking £299.99 +VAT per networking event or table at our “Ask The Experts” event. However for a quotation that is appropriate to your individual circumstances we recommend that you contact us.

In the future we may run special events such as pitch competitions and awards ceremonies. The pricing for sponsorship packages will vary for such events and will be announced along with the event.

We also occasionally run sponsorship competitions among start-ups to give them a chance to sponsor our events for free. In addition we also from time to time may offer free sponsorship slots to registered charities. With the exception of the 2 noted above preference will be given to local charities in the community in which the event is held.

Q. How do I sponsor an event and what do I get for my sponsorship fee? Simple. Just get in touch with us on 0333 6000 550 and we’ll be happy to help. Generally speaking sponsorship of events includes:

•! Temporary Signage and advertising display rights that are appropriate to the venue and event.

•! A 10-minute speaker slot. We insist however that this is NOT a sales or a “give me money” pitch, as this is a major turnoff for audiences. It should be an insight into your experiences and expertise.

•! Mentions on our social media channels •! The right to distribute marketing materials and conduct marketing activity at our

events. •! Sponsored by strapline on tickets and pre-event promotional materials. •! 2 Free attendee tickets in addition to your own complimentary ticket. •! The opportunity to conduct a contest or business card draws if you wish within your

timeslot. However this should be consider a baseline and there may be additional features at different events. We also reserve the right to vary the sponsorship package for operational reasons but in the unlikely event that this happens we will give you as much notice as possible along with the opportunity to cancel and receive a full refund if your not happy with the changes we have to make. Q. I’m interested in offering my venue for Wishing Tree Events? In Aberdeen we have a preference of using Merchant Bistro where possible to do so. This venue has a capacity for around 50 people. This is because it is a start-up business founded in 2013 and therefore deserves our support, not to mention that according to TripAdvisor it is one of the Best Restaurants in Aberdeen. We would consider an alternative venue for an event in excess of this headcount, however as we are a non-profit we would expect you to at least consider volunteering your venue for free.

Venues often find that if revenue is a consideration that they generate this from drinks and snack sales as unless otherwise stated we utilise all profits towards supporting the project and venue hire costs limit our ability to do so. In addition venues that host our events often see a significant increase in bookings and patronage from our attendees. We are currently in the process of reviewing potential venues for Aberdeenshire, particularly Inverurie. If you are interested in offering your location as a venue, please contact Theresa Day on 07919 996329. For venues elsewhere in Scotland you should contact the group leader in that region unless indicated otherwise on the event details.

Q. Why are you only having events in Aberdeen City and Shire? We can’t wait to bring The Wishing Tree Events to other cities and regions in Scotland. However the project is still in its infancy and we only have very limited resources at present. We are focused on getting the Gift Economy started, the website launched and building momentum and awareness in our goals.

If you’d like to bring The Wishing Tree to your town or city then please get in touch. We offer a generous compensation package to group and assistant group leaders which offers a supplemental income that fits around existing business commitments in addition to raising your personal and company profile.

Q. How do I get a cool ultra rare gold Wishing Tree badge that I’ve seen at some Wishing Tree Events? This is the badge worn by Wishing Tree Gold Members. These badges will only be available to social investors, major contributors, sponsors and members of The Wishing Tree Board/SBNR and by invitation. The badges bring with them unique responsibilities and benefits. If you want to increase your chances of your organisation receiving an invitation some things you can do include:

•! Regularly attend Wishing Tree Events

•! Like and Follow us on Social Media Channels.

•! Actively recommend The Wishing Tree to your business contacts, clients and suppliers.

•! Donate resources or volunteer to help The Wishing Tree itself without expectation of financial payment.

•! Actively participate in the Gift Economy at our events and our website (when available) by making and granting wishes in line with your organisations status in the economy.

•! Have a high entrepreneur score on the website (When available).

•! APPLIES TO NON-THIRD SECTOR ORGANISATIONS ONLY: Your organisation does something amazing without expectation of financial payment, which makes a long-term positive impact on the community in which it operates.

•! Having a clearly defined and published corporate social responsibility policy and engage in ethical trading where you always consider the impact of your activities to those you have a duty of care to and the environment first even if that means that you have to incur a financial loss to your business, cease trading or undergo radical restructuring to prevent such damage.

Becoming a Gold member of The Wishing Tree either on an individual or corporate basis is a serious long-term commitment and will involve you as an individual or your organisation becoming a Director of The Wishing Tree and joining one of our 2 governing boards. Please refer to your invitation letter and the documentation enclosed with it, speak to Ross Dundas or email info@thewishingtree.org.uk for further information. There are only 100 invitations available in Scotland, 6 in Aberdeen City and Shire. IMPORTANT: Please note you cannot solicit Wishing Tree Gold membership. You must be invited by an existing board member or nominated by a member of The Wishing Tree or its partner business networks.

The Wishing Tree Website

Q. What’s up with lack of website? We’re getting there! The website should be in public beta by the end of the summer. All complaints and nagging should be directed to barry.booth@intellicore.co.uk. We love Barry. But he’s the only one who knows when the website will be done. Q. Will I be charged to register on the Wishing Tree Website? Absolutely not. Registration will always be free for both Wishers and Granters regardless of the length of time you have been trading. This is regardless of the size of your organisation. We want to encourage people and the companies they work to engage in random acts of

kindness, in particular the national listed organisations and banks who have years of making up to do for the damage that they’ve done to our communities. Imposing a charge to participate would be counter productive. You must however at the time of writing have a registered company which can be verified against companies house records. This is known as “The Sole Trader Issue” and we’re hoping to have a solution in a future version of the site. Q. What is Online Premium Member Status and how do I get it? Premium member status can be obtained either by purchasing the required website credits or redeeming the required number of achievement points accrued from granting and making wishes across Scotland. This will bring benefits equivalent to premium membership, which includes:

•! The ability to embed an explainer video into your profile page •! The ability to embed a YouTube channel feed into the page •! Banner Branding in addition to the logo. •! Embed Company Blog Posts into your profile •! Key Team Member Profiles. •! 10% discount on advertising •! Premium Member Banner and Icon •! The Ability to Post Events In your location and category.

Q. What are credits and achievements? In order to translate the natural givers gain dynamic online from offline we had to design a system whereby the more generous you are the more points you accrue towards your Entrepreneur Score, which can in turn be redeemed for credits to obtain premium services.

You can also receive additional points by discovering certain hidden features or carrying out secret tasks on the website. Can you find Andrew’s infamous Jack Bauer achievement? Or Amy Robertson’s “I Love It, Amy!” achievement named after the brilliant designer of The Wishing Tree branding?

Q. Do you have an up to date screenshot you can show me? I haven’t seen a new once since July 2014!? Unfortunately not. As much as I’d love to show you up to date screenshots I simply don’t have any.