Employers from the corporate sector will now be able to help employees and customers give to charity by supporting causes of their choice.

Imagine Foundation (IF) will be launching a new fundraising and community engagement platform that helps people convert unused loyalty reward points or air miles to the causes of their choice.

“By introducing sustainable fundraising revenue streams that don’t detract or divert from traditional charitable sources, we are providing corporate partners an opportunity to help their customers or employees support causes that are meaningful to them,” said Imagine Foundation Managing Director Ivan Schwartz.

“IF’s model enables individuals to donate their dormant loyalty points and air miles to the nominated causes of their choice, without putting their hands in their pockets. At the same time, IF assists charities to generate greater social awareness of their causes and as well as a real sense of community and social reciprocity with their supporters.

“We’ve reached the point where connection is key. Mindful individuals want to see where their donations are going, want to follow a story and this is exactly where Imagine Foundation comes in and takes ‘crowd funding’ to that next level.”

Schwartz said now is the time for charities to today’s consumers demand a real connection with their causes.

The IF platform will officially go live in July 2016, launching with the opportunity to convert rewards points from 60 corporate partners to dollars supporting the consumer’s cause of choice.