How to Scale Impact of Charitable Causes by online learning
Since the outbreak started the charities that have suffered from it have had to rethink how to scale the impact of their work and sustain their local reach through digital methods.
The field of charitable giving isn't a well-known industry for its early adopting of modern technology, however according to Thrive For Good's executive director for International, James Woller. "Charities tend to be more conventional and cautious when it comes to growing. It was necessary for Thrive to take a different approach in order to go ahead. This meant risk-taking and providing online training ," He states.
Introducing online learning is what's helped this institution expand its reach. "Before it was a matter of impacting around 30k individuals. Now, we're impacting around 80k people. The communities that we've reached has increased from 550 to close to 800, seven nations to 47 and we're going into countries we never could had imagined," says Woller.
Another organization that needs to develop new ideas to remain ahead of the issues brought about through covid-19 includes Vayu Global Health Foundation. Before the outbreak, Burke was traveling every several weeks to teach medical professionals on the subject. Since travel was not practical, the Vayu team created an online course that allows for online training and reach out to people all over the world.
"We employ Vayu solely for educational platform," the executive director of Vayu, Thomas Burke. "Without all of our efforts it would be impossible to bring the outbreak until the end of time because of the spread of the pandemic ."
We spoke with the Thrive For Good's James Woller and Vayu Global Health Foundations' Thomas Burke to learn more about how they managed to increase their impact at such a volatile time of the world. We found out that they were able achieve this through two ways: teaching through the internet and examining the charity world through a more progressive lens. This is how they increased the impact of their charity efforts:
1. Online Teaching
Thrive For Good
The world's population is dwindling to two billion and they don't receive sufficient nutrition. Thrive For Good provides individuals as well as communities across the globe with the tools needed to produce sustainable organic, nutritious products that will last long-term sustainability. This is done by offering people with the ability to grow foods for their own and their loved ones in collaboration with organisations that can incorporate Thrive's teachings into their programs. The organization earns around 1 million Canadian dollars each month from produce from their gardens in the community which is dependent on 50 cents per meal.
Through partnership agreements through partnerships Europe, South America, Africa and Asia, Woller says they are not able to scale their reach without the introduction of online classes.
Learning online hasn't just increased the size of an organization, but it's also made it easier to deal with the issues triggered by covid-19. "Just this morning, I made an email conversation with my partner from Uganda and the border is closed and all movement is prohibited... It'd be tremendously complicated to have an instructor visit in person right now, which is why online learning is ."
Woller claims that the company is saving tons of resources due to their move to the internet. "We're cutting tens of thousands of dollars since the use of . If we were to deliver a physical trained Thrive instructor for each of our partner organizations for one month, it'd be impossible to scale up in like we have done" the consultant says.
Vayu Global Health
Thomas Burke, emergency doctor and Professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, is the director of his organization on : Vayu Global Health Foundation as well as Vayu Global Health Innovations.
The Vayu Global Health Foundations is an organization for charitable causes which focuses on identifying ways to support innovative approaches with a high impact that can be transformative for newborn, maternal and children's health. The Vayu Global Health Innovations arm of the company is a public benefit corporation that means that they're registered with the World Health Organization as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and fully dedicated to promoting global health and community.
The company Vayu they've developed medical devices to help relieve CPAP and CPAP, which Burke declares is among the most deadly killers among children under five. The machine used for treating this condition is able to reduce the risk of dying by 66%. As most respiratory devices use electricity, they're very expensive for use in countries that are poor. The Vayu team has created the device at $300- just a half of what is required to purchase the traditional CPAP device which is priced at $12,000, and It's the same quality. The device doesn't need electricity or bioengineering expertise which makes it accessible to people with minimal resources to use. Through the use of this device, people are equipped to train local doctors about how to use the device.
Because the CPAP training is highly successful, the company is currently working on another course to teach medical professionals on using their newest device, that's an oxygen blender. It's a typical cost of $1200. The company has designed the perfect device at just $50, which can help those suffering from pneumonia or having difficulty breathing.
Not only does the virtual platform permit increase the number of users they can also help establish standards for the training for medical equipment. "We do have master teachers from each country, but it's not sufficient. Training allows us to ensure the standardization of the education that is offered and also to test. It is on the cards for our students," the instructor states.
2. By using a lense which can be in a progressive
Thrive For Good
Woller states that traditional strategies isn't always the most effective method to increase the charity's impact. "The fundamental nature of a foundation's existence is dependent upon donations and charitable contributions. The relationship that has been established between donors or philanthropists and the organization that runs the program poses some issues when scaling," The author explains. "Donors do not necessarily wish to see their cash going toward improvements in technology... Most would rather spend their money on programmes... With the improvement of capability through technology It is now possible to expand ."
The company's innovative ideas have resulted from taking a look at companies that are already focused on organic farming and nutrition and extending the efforts of these companies. "We weren't required to boost our budget to double our contribution. The company has shifted from the traditional B2C model to a B2B model. It is our preference to view our services as Java within your personal computer. you don't need to be Dell and Apple. We can categorize our work as white work that we produce. This is a fantastic idea for the world of charity ."
They've managed to increase the scale of the scope of their work since moving to the Internet, Woller explains. "We have been contacted recently by an organization located in India that has a variety of training centers, 18,000 staff and community members and thousands of beneficiaries. We received a call from them in concern over the situation of food security in India and also the woes of covid-19, and they are asking us to move all their education through Thriving. That's scale."
Woller is a firm believer in the value of charitable organizations looking for new ways to do things and putting their faith in the process. Their online education was a gamble that produced great rewards. "I think that a few doses of innovation within the area of charity work are needed. In order to make an impact, it is necessary to take risk. We are glad we took the choice of going online for education" He adds.
However, Woller admits that taking risks may be scary but he is of the opinion that results are often unpredictable and are an inevitable aspect of the entrepreneurial process. Woller states that "Ninety percent of businesses are in failure, but entrepreneurs manage to go on ."
Vayu Global Health
Vayu Global Health Innovations model Vayu Global Health Innovations models are based on the building of a solid revenue base that allows them to be independent and expand their activities and not rely on donations. "This is the most distinctive approach for charitable organizations," he says.
With the help of an sophisticated lens technology, the company has now successfully delivered online training. They're now in a position to reach a broader population than when they only use instruction in person. "We can think bigger with across populations and health systems much easier than the demo programmes are able to ."
In the case of online learning, Burke believes that the results are just as good in proportion to the time and effort you invest into. "You need to be aware that it's not easy to make high-quality educational materials," he says. "Teaching requires some type of entertainment in order to attract the attention of your viewers. This isn't about just imparting details. You must to be creative and be able to enjoy yourself ."
Burke suggests that charities collaborate with locals from the areas they're teaching for their materials. "It's an excellent concept for organizations to collaborate with locals instead of pursuing the idea of being an Americanized instrument which is trying to carry into the sea. I doubt that it can be successful," he says.
For a summary, developing online classes is a thrilling step that can be a game changer in giving to charities and will boost the capacity of an organisation to expand. Making a risk, being imaginative and thinking outside the norm could help an organization enhance their reach and effectiveness.
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