Kokena is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that manages online resources to help people and businesses give one to one another. The word “Kokena” means “joy, to be happy”. We promote the joy of giving through the GIFT System. We invite other charitable organizations to partner with us and use this system as way to promote the joy of giving among their members as well.

The Give-It-Forward Tracking System (GIFT System) empowers people and businesses to create giving groups where members “give-it-forward” to one another and track the net results of their mutual giving.  It empowers non-profit organizations to multiply their goodwill by encouraging recipients of their beneficial influence to join and actively participate in “give-it-forward” networks. Members of these social giving networks are encouraged to give gifts (cash, products, services, etc.) forward to others in an amount equal to or more than the value of the gifts they received and to donate an amount of up to ten percent (a tithe) of the received value to the sponsoring non-profit organizations.

What is the impact of one act of charitable giving? How does that impact multiply if the receiver of a gift shows their gratitude by giving it forward? In the movie entitled “Pay It Forward” an investigator tracks a path of giving back to a young man whose initial acts of kindness benefited so many people. We have a natural desire to thank and even reward those who have been kind and generous to us.

The GIFT System provides a way for a member to track the influence of giving in both directions. The “ancestral” gifting tree contains persons whose acts of giving currently impact the member, and the “descendant” gifting tree contains persons to whom the member’s acts of giving currently benefit. When a member gives back to another member in their ancestral gift tree, they are essentially “rewarding” that person for their acts of giving. It is totally voluntary; there exists no obligation to do so, but it is natural for us to enjoy circles of giving among friends. The GIFT System’s patent-pending methods automatically adjust the gift amounts around such circles to reflect current gift balances in these gifting trees.

A secondary act of thankfulness espoused by the GIFT System is for members to support the sponsoring charities by donating a portion of the gifts received. Although the traditional amount is a tithe (10%), members are welcome to donate any amount they feel expresses their gratitude.