How To Scale Charitable Impact Through Online Learning
Since the pandemic's start numerous charities have been forced to reconsider how they can increase their impact and maintain their local presence through virtual ways.
The charitable space isn't an industry that is famous for its early adoption of new technology though it is, in the words of Thrive for Good's international Executive Director James Woller. "Charities tend to be more traditional and conservative in their efforts to grow. The Thrive team had to adopt an entirely different approach to get ahead, which required taking risks and offering virtual training ," he explains.
Online learning was the thing that has helped this nonprofit increase its impact. "Before it was a matter of impacting around 30,000 people. In the present, we're affecting nearly 80,000. From 550 communities and close to 800. seven countries, to 47 as well as expanding to countries that we could never have imagined of," Woller says. Woller.
Another nonprofit that's needed to come up with new ideas to stay ahead of the burdens posed by the covid-19 virus can be found in Vayu Global Health Foundation. Before the outbreak, Burke was traveling every couple of weeks to teach medical experts in the field. Because traveling was not feasible and the Vayu team developed an online program to provide training and reach individuals from all over the world.
"We make use of it solely to provide education platforms," says Vayu's executive director, Thomas Burke. "Without the platform, our work could have been brought to an end because of the epidemic ."
We spoke with the Thrive For Good's James Woller and Vayu Global Health Foundations' Thomas Burke to learn more about how they were able to expand their reach in an uncertain moment around the globe. We learned that they were able to do so in two ways: By teaching online as well as looking at the charity sector through a more progressive lens. The following is the way they grew their charitable impact:
1. Teaching online
Thrive For Good
The world's population is dwindling to two billion and they don't receive the nutrition they require. Thrive For Good equips individuals and communities around the world with tools to sustainably produce healthy, organic foods for life by training both people who are able the art of growing food for themselves and their families in conjunction with organisations that can incorporate the Thrive's principles into their own programs. On average, the organization creates more than a million Canadian dollars per month of foods in their community gardens based on 50 cents per meal.
Through partnerships in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia, Woller says they could not have gotten their message across the globe without the introduction of online courses.
Not only has online learning made the business more efficient but it's also made it easier to overcome the obstacles posed by covid-19. "Just this morning, I was on a call with a colleague in Uganda, where the borders are locked down and mobility is severely restricted... It'd be incredibly difficult to find an in-person trainer right now, which is why online learning can ."
Woller claims that the company is saving tons of resources since moving online. "We're cutting tens of thousands of dollars by making use of . If we were to physically send a trained Thrive instructor to each member of our partner's organization for a month but it's impossible to scale in the way we've done," he says.
Vayu Global Health
Thomas Burke, emergency doctor and faculty member at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, runs both branches of his company : Vayu Global Health Foundation and Vayu Global Health Innovations.
The Vayu Global Health Foundations is an charitable trust that is focused in identifying and providing innovative solutions with a high impact that can be transformative for maternal, newborn, and the health of children. Its Vayu Global Health Innovations arm of the organization is a public benefit corporation which means they're a member of the World Health Organization as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and are fully committed to global health and the community.
In Vayu the company, they've developed medical equipment that can help ease CPAP and bronchial asthma, which Burke states is among the highest killers of young children younger than five. The device used to treat the condition has the ability to reduce the rate of death by 66%. As most respiratory devices require electricity, they're costly for poor countries. The Vayu team came up with a solution for $300 -- just a fraction of what it costs for the gold standard CPAP device worth $12,000 -and it provides the same high-quality. It doesn't require electricity or bioengineering support making it easy for those with limited resources to use. With the help of this device, people are able to train local doctors on how to use the device.
Since the CPAP training was extremely successful and they're developing another program to train medical professionals on how to utilize their new device that's an oxygen mixer. It's normally priced at $1,200 but they've made the same product at just $50, which can help children with pneumonia or difficulty breathing.
The virtual platform enable to expand the reach of people it also aids in standardizing the medical device training. "We have master trainers across the world, but it's not sufficient. This training helps us ensure the standardization of the teaching methods and also to test. will be with the rest of us." He says.
2. Using a progressive lense
Thrive For Good
Woller claims that conventional methods can prove difficult to grow the charitable impact. "The fundamental nature of the existence of a charitable organization is built on donations and charitable giving. Traditional relationships between a donor or philanthropist and the charity delivering the program presents some challenges as it relates to scaling" He explains. "Donors don't necessarily want their cash going toward technology upgrades... It's their preference to prefer see their money go towards programmes... However when you build capabilities through technology, it's possible to grow ."
The Thrive's innovative approach has been based on studying organizations currently focusing their efforts on organic agriculture as well as nutrition, and further increasing their efforts. "We weren't required to double the amount of money we have to spend in order to increase our impact. We've changed from a B2C model to a B2B one. We like to see ourselves as Java within your personal computer. it doesn't matter if we're Dell and Apple. It's possible to label our work as white we do. This is a new approach within the realm of charitable ."
They've managed to increase the scale of their efforts since moving to the Internet, Woller explains. "We received a call from an organization from India that has dozens of training facilities, over 18,000 people employed and community members, and millions of beneficiaries. They contacted us with their worries about food security in India along with the covid-19 crisis, and asked us to move their entire training program through the Thrive program. That's scale."
Woller firmly believes in the importance of charities trying new things and taking risk. Their online education was a gamble which paid off with great results. "I think a couple of doses of innovation in the field of charitable work is required. In order to make an impact, it's necessary to take risks. I'm really glad we made the decision of trying online learning" the professor declares.
Although Woller admits that risk taking may be scary However, he thinks that the results can often be surprising and are a natural part of the entrepreneurial journey. He says "Ninety percent of all businesses fail, but entrepreneurs keep running ."
Vayu Global Health
Vayu Global Health Innovations model Vayu Global Health Innovations Model is based on the development of a robust source of income to become self-sufficient and increase their efforts without relying on donations. "This is the most unique approach in the charitable space," he says.
Through the use of an advanced lens, they've used the internet to provide online education. It means they're in a position to reach a broader population than if they were to solely use in-person instruction. "We can think a lot more broadly with regards to populations and systems of care more readily than demonstration programs ."
If you're interested in online learning, Burke believes that the results are only as good in the amount of effort you put in. "You must be aware that it's not simple to create quality educational material," he says. "Teaching includes some form of fun as you attempt to capture your audience's attention. This shouldn't be just about delivering information; You have to be creative and have fun with it ."
Burke also advises that charities collaborate with locals of the communities they're teaching when creating their materials. "It's good that charities collaborate on projects with local people rather than having the same idea of an Americanized instrument that you're trying to throw over the Atlantic. I doubt that it will succeed," he says.
To summarize, creating an online class is an exciting move in the realm of charitable giving and can greatly boost the ability of an organization to expand. Taking risks, being innovative and thinking out of the box can also help a charity increase their influence and influence.