“Sometimes you have to make something to make a difference” are words that one wouldn’t expect to hear from a national mint but The Royal Australian Mint dares say them. And they are said with the intent of surmising what their world-first initiative is set to achieve. Recently, The Royal Australian Mint has created the “Donation Dollar”. Designed to be “the small coin made to make a difference”, donation dollars have been created to serve as reminders for people to give and one is being minted for every Australian, creating millions of reminders to give.
They have redesigned the Australian $1 coin with a call-to-action to donate it to those in need. The initiative features other layers of firsts. It’s the first Australian $1 coin to feature colour and be characterised by an interactive design. Wherein the green centre is designed to wear down as the coin is donated. Ultimately this will reveal ripples emanating from its centre to symbolize the ongoing impact the coin makes in the lives of those in need.
As a true form of transformative branding, the release of “Donation Dollar” has begun a behavioural shift in the perception of the power of physical currency and the important role it plays for charities, not-for-profit organisations and the lower socio-economic bracket; who rely very heavily on coin donations. The ‘2-month post-launch” donation statistics of the initiative show that it’s already beginning to have an impact on society and is only set to grow. For more information visit: www.donationdollar.com.au