From Idea to Impact: Politics Student recognised for social innovation
Politics student Derry Duffy won a Venture Further Award for co-founding 鈥楥ause鈥�, a zero-fee giving app empowering small charities. Inspired by the Cost of Living Crisis, the app connects donors with local causes, overcoming fundraising barriers.
The School of Social Sciences is proud to announce that one of our BSocSc Politics and International Relations students, Derry Duffy, has been awarded a prize in the Social Category of the Venture Further Awards 2025, at which the (MEC), at The University of Manchester, celebrated 25 years of enterprise education helping students launch impactful ventures. The event showcases the depth of entrepreneurial talent emerging from The University of Manchester.
Derry Duffy and a co-founder, Herbie Warner (a Theoretical Physics graduate) created 鈥楥ause鈥�, the first online giving platform built specifically for small charities, making it easier for them to connect with donors, raise funds, and grow. Cause removes the barriers that small charities face when fundraising such as high advertising costs, low visibility and lack of digital expertise. Through the 鈥榓pp鈥�, donors and charities can easily connect, either organically through data driven recommendations or through affordable, accessible and targeted marketing. Allowing small charities to have maximum impact is central to the mission of the 鈥榓pp鈥� so there are no platform fees or fees on donations for donors or small charities.
In Derry鈥檚 summer after his first year at university, he became aware of how the coming Cost of Living Crisis was likely to affect people, especially those who were already facing fuel and food insecurity. In response he thought it would be a good idea to set up a charity to support people in 91直播 through the Winter. However, the issue he couldn鈥檛 find an answer to was how to connect with local donors. He assumed a platform where small charities and local donors could connect would exist but it didn鈥檛. Derry and co-founder Herbie decided to create that platform, an 鈥榓pp鈥� that allows donors to find small charities that are doing work close to their hearts.
Derry reflects on receiving the award:
It means a great deal. Neither my co-founder or I come from a business background, so we experienced a degree of imposter syndrome when it came to saying we are going to start a business. By being able to gain both skills and experience through the process and receiving validation through winning the award, this process has provided us with the confidence to make 鈥楥ause鈥� a reality. The 鈥榓pp鈥� should be ready for launch in September. Stay posted!