November 1 2024
Sandra van Beest nominated for Changemaker of the year by Change Inc.
On November 28, Change Inc. will present the Changemaker of the Year award. This honor is given to the person who has been featured in our interview series of the same name over the past years and has taken bold steps to drive sustainable change. This year, there will be both a jury prize and a public award, meaning you can also vote for your favorite Changemaker.
Article is in Dutch.
October 21 2024
The Social Handshake is expanding!
Attention Charities! The Social Handshake is expanding!
Until now, donors on our giving platform could choose from a limited selection of charities, but that’s about to change.
October 17 2024
Nominated for the Smart Sustainable Sisley Award
"These entrepreneurs are committed to a greener, more livable world and are an inspiration in the field of sustainability. Who deserves the Smart Sustainable Sisley Award this year?"
This article is written in Dutch.
October 10 2024
Emergency aid via Emergency Giving
Wherever they are, we provide Emergency Aid to people in need through Emergency Giving. Support the victims in the Middle East together with your employees.
October 7 2024
Jeroen as our new CCO!
We are proud to introduce Jeroen Elsinga as our new CCO!
Our goal is to make doing good as easy as possible and to create as much impact as we can for a better world. To achieve this, we aim to grow even further until #PayrollGiving is a standard benefit offered to every employee across the Netherlands. This way, every employee can support charities directly from their salary, with tax benefits, for maximum impact.
September 29 2024
Quote article
Raymond Cloosterman has been donating 10% of Rituals' profits since this year. How do other entrepreneurs view this? Sandra van Beest: "If you mean distributed profits, that seems quite feasible to me."
Quote presents a statement and lets the conversation unfold between a supporter and an opponent. This time: should all (healthy) companies follow Raymond Cloosterman’s example, with Rituals donating 10% of its profits each year?
This article is written in Dutch.
August 28 2024
Good news! We are now a certified B-Corp!
At The Social Handshake, increasing the amount of good being done, has always been the key of our existence.
June 25 2024
More attention for #PayrollGiving
De Telegraaf and other Dutch newspapers are paying attention to #LoonGift. (Dutch for #PayrollGiving). In England, there has been massive donating via this hashtag. Could we also make this initiative a success in the Netherlands?
April 24 2024
'Payroll giving' popular with the neighbors: can you also make tax-efficient donations to a charity?
Payroll giving involves directly and tax-free donating a portion of your salary to a charity. This lowers the barrier to donating. The phenomenon originated in the United Kingdom and is spreading further. It is also gaining popularity in the Netherlands.
November 9 2023
These are the Challenger50: The most challenging entrepreneurs in the Netherlands in 2023
MT/Sprout presents the Challenger50: the fifty most challenging companies in the Netherlands. These entrepreneurs make an impact by doing things differently, better, faster or more sustainably than the established order.
September 18 2023
Changemaker Sandra van Beest: 'We want to make 'doing good' as easy as possible'
Many people want and can contribute more to a good cause, but 'it simply doesn't happen'. A shame, says Sandra van Beest. She founded The Social Handshake to make donating from your salary possible. “We make it as accessible as possible.”
March 1 2023
RTL News recommends The Guide
In 'The Guide', broadcasted on Wednesday, March 8th at 8:30 pm - six successful female entrepreneurs share their stories of seizing opportunities, achieving rapid growth, making an impact, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Three of them offer a sneak peek of their insights.
February 9 2023
Duurzaam Ondernemen: Support Türkiye and Syria (Dutch)
Through NoodGift, you can support the victims as an employer with your employees. The Social Handshake takes care of all the administration to double the donations of your employees and make a greater impact together. Will you join us? The whole article can be read via the link.
December 26 2022
Geld of je leven; effective donating (Dutch)
Caspar Nuijten was a guest on the radio show "Geld of je leven” (Money or Your Life) on December 26th to delve into #LoonGift as a highly effective way of donating. The episode can also be viewed via the link.
December 26 2022
Dit is de Dag; donating to charities, directly from your salary (Dutch)
Sandra van Beest-Otten was interviewed for "This is the Day" by the EO on the subject of how to effectively give to charities. The entire article can be read via the link.
December 5 2022
The Guide: podcast (Dutch)
In the podcast, ABN-AMRO talks to entrepreneurial women who have achieved success, growth, and impact with their business. Available to listen to via the link.
December 2 2022
The Social Handshake maakt energieteruggaaf doneren makkelijk (Dutch)
A good initiative for those who do not really need the 2 times 190 euro energy compensation: founder Sandra van Beest-Otten uses her donation platform with The Social Handshake to have the free government money roll in a different direction..
November 29 2022
Giving Tuesday: Amsterdam’s The Social Handshake helps you donate your energy reimbusement to charities
The war in Ukraine has led to a sharp increase in energy prices in the Netherlands. As a result, the Government of the Netherlands is taking several measures to help households and businesses offset the higher costs.
October 27 2022
The viewing, reading and listening tips from Sandra van Beest (The Social Handshake) (Dutch)
Every week, Mohi and De Ondernemer present the viewing, reading and listening tips of an inspiring entrepreneur. This time the three of Sandra van Beest, founder and CEO of The Social Handshake.
October 24 2022
Donating tax-free with your salary: this platform has already connected 30 charities and is growing fast (Dutch)
In a rapidly changing world in which threats such as war and climate change are getting closer and closer, a growing number of people feel the need to contribute. Do something good. Not only privately, but also in the workplace.
The Social Handshake is a platform that aims to assist both employees and employers in this. “We work with payroll giving,” says founder Sandra van Beest. “Through our platform, employees can support charities tax-free directly from their salary under the name LoonGift.”
October 13 2022
Sandra van Beest (The Social Handshake): ‘We can do this better with employers’ (Dutch)
Founder and CEO Sandra van Beest wrote a contribution in response to an article by Follow The Money, that discussed the large sums of money that fundraising organizations make off of charities. Charities often depend on this kind of organizations for their donations, since it usually is more expensive to raise funds in-house. With Payroll Giving, 100% of all donations go to the charities. This way, all donations are used for their intended purpose! Sandra’s contribution was published by Online Kenniscentrum Duurzaam Ondernemen.
October 7 2022
Sandra van Beest Business Partner of the Week at BNR Zakendoen (Dutch)
Last week, Founder and CEO Sandra van Beest was Business Partner of the Week at BNR Zakendoen. Each day from 13:30 until 14:00, she joined host Thomas van Zijl at BNR News Radio, where she asks guests questions, brings in the news of the day and tells about The Social Handshake. You can listen to Sandra’s contributions via the video.
October 4 2022
Payroll Giving: giving to charity via your salary (Dutch)
Vakblad Fondsenwerving interviewed Founder and CEO of The Social Handshake Sandra van Beest about Payroll Giving and The Social Handshake.
October 4 2022
Sandra van Beest speaks at event Powerful Purpose Stories - Inclusive Funding by Kula and Purpose Club
On Diversity Day, Founder and CEO Sandra van Beest speaks about inclusive funding, alongside Saskia van den Ende (Senior Director at Antler) and Esther Leloux (Co-Founder at We Are Eves). Moreover, there is a panel discussion and a lot of interaction regarding inclusive funding.
Even with attention for diversity and inclusion, there still exists a gender cap when fundraising. During this event, everyone, employee, founder or investor, can share lessons learned and discuss the way to a more inclusive ecosystem, together with the panel.
When and where: Tuesday, 4 October at 19:30 CEST at KW9 (Kromme Waal 9 in Amsterdam). Sign up for the event via the button below.
September 22 2022
Sandra van Beest speaks at webinar ‘Appreciating and rewarding in tight labor market’ by AWVN (Dutch)
For growth companies, Dutch employers’ association AWVN hosts a webinar on appreciating and rewarding in a tight labor market. On behalf of The Social Handshake, Founder and CEO Sandra van Beest will speak about impact benefits that appeal to the new generation of employees. Luiza Dimitrowa from Sharesquare will discuss rewarding your employees through stocks or stock options.
During this meeting, AWVN will go into detail about the question how growing organizations can use their reward system to attract and retain employees in this tight labor market. Are innovative rewarding options the solution or does a more traditional structure offer enough guarantee? These and other questions will be discussed that morning.
When: Friday, 30 September 10:00 AM - 12:00 noon CEST
Click the button below to sign up for the webinar.
September 20 2022
The Social Handshake named as fintech startup for good by Silicon Canals
Silicon Canals names The Social Handshake as startup that makes doing good easy through fintech in their list of ten fintech startups for good
September 8 2022
Interview with Sandra van Beest in Quote (Dutch)
Quote interviewed our Founder and CEO Sandra van Beest about The Social Handshake. She describes both the advantage of making impact together with Payroll Giving, as well as the advantage of employee engagement and retention that Payroll Giving offers for employers. Lastly, Eva de Mol from CapitalIT gave her advice as an expert, where she mentions that Payroll Giving completely suits the spirit of today’s age.
September 6 2022
Sandra van Beest as guest at BNR Nieuwsradio (Dutch)
On 6 September, our Founder and CEO Sandra van Beest was a guest at Zakendoen on BNR Nieuwsradio for a conversation about Payroll Giving and Bonus Giving. Together with host Thomas van Zijl and Business Partner of the Week Suze Gehem from De Groene Grachten, Sandra discussed the support of charities, the benefits of giving straight from your salary and entrepreneurship. Sandra can be heard starting at 1:16:30.
September 5 2022
Sandra van Beest nominated for Entrepreneurial Woman 2022 Award
Our Founder and CEO Sandra van Beest has been nominated for the Entrepreneurial Woman 2022 Award in the category Philanthropy, alongside Laurentien van Oranje-Nassau, Steffi de Pous and Hanneke Verburg. With The Social Handshake, Sandra makes doing good more accessible. On October 6, the winners will be announced. You can vote via the button below.
September 1 2022
If investors call you fickle too, use your network (Dutch)
Our Founder and CEO Sandra van Beest wrote an article for MT/Sprout about her experience as a female entrepreneur in an investment round, and how she eventually succeeded using her network.
May 25 2022
Financing highlighted: €1.1 million growth money for ‘payroll giving’ by The Social Handshake (Dutch)
Legale Zaken wrote an article about the recent investment in The Social Handshake and interviewed our Founder and CEO Sandra van Beest.
May 20 2022
She makes donating money easier (Dutch)
FD Persoonlijk interviewed our Founder and CEO Sandra van Beest. The interview mentions the origin story of The Social Handshake and also refers to the recent €1.1 million investment.
May 19 2022
Doing good is going well: Startup The Social Handshake raises 1.1 million euros in financing.
Amsterdam May 19 2022 – The platform for ‘payroll giving’ The Social Handshake has secured €1.1 million in capital. Via the platform, employees can support charities tax-free, straight from their salary. The popularity of these payroll giving donations has increased exponentially. With this investment, the Amsterdam-based startup therefore wants to sustain the rapid growth and develop complementary products. The investment was led by JEX and Velocity Fintech Capital. Boralis and various startup founders also took part in this investment round.
May 9 2022
Sandra van Beest speaks at the Februaricongres (Dutch)
Sandra van Beest, Founder and CEO of The Social Handshake, was a guest speaker at the Februaricongres in Tilburg. This yearly event centers around trends in the labour market and focuses on the future perspective of students.
Everyone is fallible, it is possible for even the most idealistic student to look in the mirror in 5 years and discover that they barely contribute to a better world anymore. That is why she makes doing good easy. So that everyone with good intentions can contribute. It happened to her, too. Having started out in the charity sector, she made the transition to the corporate world. It was busy and gradually, she contributed less and less there, until she received a wake-up call. Her daughter was born around the time that the crisis in Syria occurred. Like many others, she wanted to do something. But she also realised that she hardly contributed anything to a better world anymore. After asking around, it appeared as though many others hardly acted upon their ideals. But the good intentions were not the problem. At the Februaricongres, Sandra explained how to prevent this from happening and how to (better) express your ideals.
February 3 2022
These are Amsterdam’s powerhouse female entrepreneurs to watch in 2022 - Part 2
Our Founder and CEO Sandra van Beest was named as a game changer in the Amsterdam startup ecosystem by Silicon Canals.
December 21 2021
The Social Handshake makes doing good easier and cheaper
Innovation Origins published an interview about The Social Handshake with our Founder and CEO Sandra van Beest.
December 19 2021
The Social Handshake on De Nieuwe Economie (Dutch)
The Dutch television program De Nieuwe Economie on RTL Z made a report about The Social Handshake and interviewed our Founder and CEO Sandra van Beest.
December 14 2021
The Social Handshake: making giving easy
Impact Investor published an interview with our Founder Sandra van Beest about The Social Handshake in their newsletter.
December 10 2021
Doing good is going well: these Amsterdam-based companies and initiatives are giving back to the world
Silicon Canals published an article about Amsterdam-based companies and initiatives that give back to the world. Christmas Giving by The Social Handshake was described as one of them.
December 6 2021
De Jurist (Dutch)
De Jurist published an interview with our COO Dewi Hamwijk-Habermehl about Payroll Giving.
November 19 2021
The Optimist (Dutch)
The Optimist has published an article about LoonGift following the interview with our founder & CEO Sandra van Beest by ‘Geven is Leven’.
October 14 2021
Sandra van Beest at the #CESUnveiled panel
Our founder Sandra van Beest had the honour to be a guest at the #CESUnveiled panel to talk about Tech for a Responsible Future. The panel was moderated by Constantijn Van Oranje-Nassau.
June 3 2021
Fintech startup to watch
The Social Handshake is one of the fintech startups to watch in the list of Silicon Canals.
May 18 2021
Sandra van Beest named ‘Founder of the Month’ by We-Rise
We-Rise aims to boost female entrepreneurship together with City of Amsterdam. With #founderofthemonth they share inspiring stories of women, who decided to kick off with their own business. Sandra was interviewed about the founding of The Social Handshake and lessons learned.
February 10 2021
SUBLIME (Dutch)
‘Nieuws van de Vooruitgang’ of SUBLIME wrote an article about Payroll Giving (LoonGift)!
December 1 2020
Business Insider (Dutch)
Business Insider wrote an article about the tax benefit and convenience of Payroll Giving.
December 1 2020
The Social Handshake launches online platform LoonGift (Dutch)
On ‘Giving Tuesday’ The Social Handshake launches the new initiative Payroll Giving (‘LoonGift’ in Dutch). This is an online platform for employers and employees, with which employees can make a monthly donation to charities directly from their salary.
March 18 2020
Sandra van Beest is in the list of Young Talents 2020 of the FD (Dutch)
The Dutch newspaper Financieel Dagblad presents the innovators of 2020 in their list of Young Talents. A list of young entrepreneurs and professionals, up to 35 years old, who set the tone in the Netherlands and abroad.
October 1 2020
LoonGift a promising initiative for employers according to De Dikke Blauwe (Dutch)
Philanthropy research expert Marc Wortmann of De Dikke Blauwe spoke with our colleague Noralie about LoonGift. De Dikke Blauwe is a platform with news, opinion and background on philanthropy.
