Fankind, founded by Anshula Kapoor, is an online celebrity fundraising platform that lets every Bollywood fan a chance to meet their favourite celebrity. But in order to do so, they need to donate for a cause. The platform curates and brings to life celebrity-related experiences for fans and also helps raise funds for social causes and charities.
Kapoor tells us more about the platform and why it is important to spread smiles in today’s world.
How it started
Kapoor tells us that the idea behind this happy startup came from her own experience. Often people would approach her and plead with her to help them meet her actor brother Arjun Kapoor. “Thinking from a larger perspective, the idea seemed like an interesting one and I decided to go ahead with it, spread smiles and make dreams come true of every true blue Bollywood fan,” says the youngster.
The online organisation has already roped in big names like Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Sonakshi Sinha, while influencers and celebrities from various lines of work will also be joining forces with Fankind.
How it works
With each celebrity association, Fankind curates an authentic, money-can’t-buy experience and associates it with a charity (a registered NGO in India) of the celebrity’s choice. These experiences go beyond the standard meet and greet. They give the fans a chance to see a more real side of the celebrity by getting an opportunity to interact with them. Fankind has run campaigns like Bake a cake with Alia Bhatt, Paintball with Varun etc in the past. Each campaign is live on their website for a period of 30-45 days. Once it is live, anyone residing in India who wishes to meet that particular celebrity, can participate by pledging an entry fee of Rs 200.
On the conclusion of the campaign, Fankind randomly selects one winner who gets an opportunity to do the fun activity with the celebrity. Out of the total contributions/ earnings from the campaign, 70 per cent is given to charity. Give India, India’s trusted online donation platform is the philanthropy partner.
While spreading smile and cheer through such unique initiatives, Fankind aims to make philanthropy a centre of their mission. So far, it has concluded its campaigns with Varun, Alia, Sonakshi, Karan Johar, Sara Ali Khan, Kartik Aaryan and YouTuber Prajakta Koli.
Talking about how Fankind is different from the other fundraising platforms, Kapoor says that while most fund-raising platforms support a cause, Fankind also believes in creating an experience for people who are donating. “When it comes to Fankind, it is a win-win situation for the donor and the one receiving the aid. It is all about happiness and the ability to help someone and making their dreams come true,” says Kapoor.
The most recent campaign by Fankind is with Kriti Sanon. A lucky winner will be chosen from the entries received who will get a chance to spend the day at the beach with the actress and also indulge in water sports like the jet ski. The expenses will be taken care of by the platform and the winner also gets to bring a friend along. For this initiative, every donation made will help the Freedom Fellows Education Fund run by Kailash Satyarthi’s Children’s Foundation which provides education to children who are survivors of sexual abuse. Every Indian donor gets an 80G tax exemption certificate for their donation.
Kapoor explains that the fans are chosen randomly through a third party to maintain transparency so that everyone gets a fair chance to meet their favourite celebrity. She cannot control her excitement when she lists out names she would want to meet if she has to use Fankind to meet a celebrity.
“I am a fan of Ratan Tata, so he is surely on my list and Bollywood-wise I am obsessed with Hrithik Roshan so I would want to meet him. There are a couple of more too. I have a very long list of celebrities that I would want to meet through the platform,” says Kapoor excitedly.
The young founder also points out that they are working on a model to incorporate celebrities from various fields and not limit them to the entertainment industry alone. “We are also working to take the platform to an international level, and there are a couple of things still that we will be releasing in the near future,” concludes Kapoor.
The Fankind format
