How to Scale Impact of Charitable Causes By Using Online Learning
Since the pandemic's start numerous organizations have had to reconsider how they can enhance their reach and sustain their presence in the local community through online methods.
The charity sector isn't an industry that is known for its rapid 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 be successful that required risk by offering training via virtual ," he explains.
Online learning was the thing which has allowed this non-profit to increase its impact. "Before it was just a matter of impacting around 30,000 people. In the present the situation, we're impacting nearly 80.000. From 550 community and close to 800. seven countries, from 47 to expanding into countries you would never dreamed of." Woller says. Woller.
Another non-profit that's been asked to think of innovative ideas to keep clear of the dangers brought by the covid-19 virus could be found at Vayu Global Health Foundation. Prior to the outbreak, Burke traveled each week to instruct medical professionals in the field. Because traveling was not feasible and the Vayu team came up with an online course to give instruction and connect people from around the world.
"We make use of it to offer education-related platforms" Vayu's executive director, Thomas Burke. "Without it, we'd have no way to ensure that our efforts would have come to an end because of the epidemic ."
We sat down with Thrive For Good's James Woller and Vayu Global Health Foundations' Thomas Burke to learn more about how they were able to increase their reach during an era of uncertainty across the world. We learned that they were able to do so by two methods: teaching online as well as taking the charitable sector with a more open-minded view. The following is the way they increased their impact on charity:
1. Teaching online
Thrive For Good
The world's population is dwindling to two billion and they don't receive the nutrition they need. Thrive For Good provides people and communities across the world with tools that allow them to grow sustainable healthy organic food for the future through training for both those capable of cultivating food for themselves as well as their families, in collaboration with organisations that can incorporate the Thrive's principles into their programmes. In the average, the group produces more than one million Canadian dollars per month of vegetables in their gardens for community use based on 50 cents per meal.
Through collaborations in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia, Woller says they couldn't have spread their message to all corners of the world without the advent of online learning courses.
Online learning has not only helped the company become more productive, however, it has also made it easier to overcome the obstacles created by covid-19. "Just this morning, I was in a conference call with a colleague in Uganda in a country where frontiers are closed and mobility is extremely restricted... It's extremely difficult to locate an in-person trainer at the moment, which is why online learning can ."
Woller states that the firm is saving tons of resources since moving online. "We're cutting down on tens of millions of dollars by making use of . If we had to physically deliver a trained trainer from Thrive to every member of our partnership's company for a month, it's not possible to scale up the way we've done," he states.
Vayu Global Health
Thomas Burke, emergency doctor as well as a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, manages both of the branches of his firm : Vayu Global Health Foundation and Vayu Global Health Innovations.
The Vayu Global Health Foundations is an organization that's focused in identifying and providing innovative solutions with a high impact, which can have a transformative effect for maternal, newborn, and child health. Its Vayu Global Health Innovations arm of the organization is a publicly-owned corporation and is a member of both the World Health Organization as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and have a strong commitment to global health and the communities they serve.
In Vayu the company have developed medical equipment that can help reduce CPAP and bronchial asthma, which Burke says is one of the most deadly diseases that kill children under five years old. The equipment used in treating the condition has the ability to reduce the rate of deaths by 66%. Because most devices for respiratory use need electricity, they're expensive in countries with poor infrastructure. The Vayu team has come up with the solution at a cost of $300only a tiny part of the price for the standard CPAP device worth $12,000 -and it provides the same high-quality. It does not require power or bioengineering, so it is easy for patients with limited resources to use. Through the device, individuals can train physicians in the community about how to utilize this device.
Since the CPAP training was extremely successful and they're developing another training program for doctors on how to use their latest equipment, which is an oxygen mixer. It's normally priced at $1,200 however they've created the item for only $50 that can aid children suffering from respiratory problems or pneumonia.
The virtual platform enable to extend the reach of individuals it also aids in standardizing the medical device training. "We do have master teachers across the world, but that's not sufficient. Training helps us to make sure that we have a uniformity of our techniques of instruction and also to evaluate. It will be shared with all students." The man says.
2. Using a progressive lense
Thrive For Good
Woller states that the traditional method can prove difficult to grow the charitable impact. "The basic premise of the foundation of the charitable foundation is based by donations and charitable giving. The traditional relationship between a donor or philanthropist and the charity that runs the program pose difficulties when it comes to scale" He elaborates. "Donors aren't always keen on seeing their money going towards technology advancements... It's their preference to prefer see their money go towards projects... If you can build capability by using technology, you can expect to increase your capabilities ."
The Thrive's innovative approach was based upon studying companies that have a focus on organic agriculture, as also nutrition and further increasing their efforts. "We didn't have to double the amount of money we have to spend to boost our effectiveness. We've changed from a B2C model into a B2B version. We prefer to think of ourselves as Java in your personal PC. It doesn't matter whether we're Dell or Apple. You can categorize our work as white it doesn't matter what we do. This is a new approach within the realm of charitable ."
They've increased the scale of their efforts following their move onto using the Internet, Woller explains. "We received a call from an organization in India that has dozens of schools, 18,000 employees and community members, and millions of people who are beneficiaries. The organization contacted us about concerns about the security of food in India as well as the crisis of covid-19, and asked us to transfer their entire program of training to the Thrive program. That's scale."
Woller strongly believes in the importance of charities trying new things and taking risk. Their online education was a risk, but it resulted in great result. "I consider that two dosages of ingenuity within the realm of charitable work is required. To make an impact, you need to make a risk. I'm really glad we made the choice to try online learning" Professor says.
However, Woller acknowledges that taking risks isn't always easy, he thinks that the results can often be surprising and are a natural aspect of the entrepreneurial path. He states "Ninety percent of companies fail, but entrepreneurs keep running ."
Vayu Global Health
Vayu Global Health Innovations model Vayu Global Health Innovations Model based on the establishment of a solid source of income so that they can become self-sufficient and increase their work without the need for donations. "This is the most unique approach in the charity sector," he says.
With the help of an advanced camera, the school has utilised the internet to provide online education. It means they're at a point of being able to touch a broader population than if they had to rely on in-person instruction. "We have the ability to think more broadly with regards to people and care systems more readily than demonstration programs ."
If you're interested in learning online, Burke believes that the results are only as good as the effort you put in. "You need to be aware that it's hard to create quality educational material," he says. "Teaching involves some kind of fun as you attempt to capture your audience's attention. It shouldn't just be about delivering information; You have to think outside the box and have enjoyable doing teaching ."
Burke also advises that charities cooperate with the locals from the communities they're teaching when designing their material. "It's good that charities collaborate on their projects with local residents rather than having the same idea of the Americanized instrument you're trying to throw over the Atlantic. I'm not sure it'll succeed," he says.
In conclusion, establishing an online course is a thrilling move within the realm of charitable donations and will significantly boost the capacity of a charity to increase its reach. Taking risks, being innovative and thinking outside the box are also ways to help a charity increase their impact and reach.
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