A model aid story

Does "aid" work? I don't know.

This question often makes me want to define "aid." What is "aid"? Is it charity? Does it mean giving away large sums of money, or materials, or time?? I don't know. I don't think so. I think that's a really narrow definition of the word "aid." And within that definition, I know LOTS of "aid" projects that don't work. "What works" has rarely been studied. So I do my own studies. When I come across a good story, I run over it several times and try to come up with my own conclusions of what made something work.

This morning, I came across this story on TED. And I'd define it as a model "aid" story. There is giving, there is receiving, there is development. There is even the white man's burden portion of the "west" giving to the "east." Better still is that there is success, happiness, joy, humility, beauty, lessons on both sides, and a great story.

There shouldn't be one "aid" model. Not everyone can go out and do work in the field. Not everyone can give millions of dollars. The best "aid" stories are organic, and are customized around the giver and the receiver (hence the success of the Secret Millionaire). The receiver gets what he/she most needs; the giver gives exactly what the receiver needs (ideally suited to the giver's strengths); and ultimately both the giver and receiver exchange roles. Both learn, both are connected, both are humbled.

Watch this. Tell me what you think.

Spotlight: The Secret Millionaire

Photo credit: Strevo

I never thought about this, but giving away money is just as hard as applying for it. The Freakonomics blog was the first to bring this to my attention, when sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh asked readers What would you do with $70 Million?? I don't think I'd ever considered that it was hard to give away money. Excess funds have never been an issue for me, rather its been the latter.

On a recent flight through the UK, I stumbled upon a program called The Secret Millionaire. The show follows undercover millionaires as they search for worthy people and programs to distribute their money amongst (rumor has it that an American version will soon debut in these parts). I'd honestly never seen philanthropy from their point-of-view---the difficulties of figuring out who to trust, who would most benefit, and how to take a social investment furthest. At the end of each episode (I saw two), the millionaire finds several worthy causes and is humbled by the act of giving, and the recipients are most grateful and humbled by the act of receiving. Both describe it as life-changing. I wish most philanthropy was this personalized, and this gratifying.

There are many lessons to learn from this program. The viewer gets to see several points-of-view including that of the donor and that of ordinary people who are potential recipients. You also get exposed to the complexity of charitable giving or receiving. Even midway through my first episode, I found myself deep in thought. If you get a chance, I would urge you to check the show out (you can see episodes online, though I haven't figured out how!)

Here's a sample:

Writeup on Terry George

Teaser:


And an interview with Terry after:

What would you do if you had $70 Million??

(photo source: Tracey Olson)

So here's a premise that made me realize that giving away money is about as hard as getting it. You can weigh in on this debate yourself here. Still, here's a gist:

What would you do if you had $70 million??

This is the dilemma faced by Michael, a 31-year-old who will soon inherit a large sum of money.

For reasons that the truly wealthy will immediately understand, Michael has been advised to set up a foundation. “I have to donate about $70 million over the next decade,” he laughs. “Or maybe it’s $50 million. I can never remember.” [...]

So here's what happened:

[...] If he followed the traditional path, Michael would set up a charity, and then donate about 3 to 10 percent of his endowment each year. But, he says he wants to exercise his charity in a slightly different way:

1) I want to give it all away in ten years.
2) I want to give it away only in the U.S. — I can’t stand these people who give money overseas when we need it at home.
3) I won’t give a penny to schools. I think its unconscionable that Gates is paying for schools; that’s the government’s job.
4) I don’t want to give anything less than $1 million at a time. Meaning, no small grants.

So what says you?? Give your input here.

The power of one

(image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/welshwitch36/491686117/sizes/m/#cc_license)

This post will combine topics from all the past posts - field work, technology, the power of voice and media...

Often people come and tell me (and even I sometimes think this)..."I am only one person, what can I possibly do to make an impact?" How can I change the world??" This applies even to folks who say "how can I get field experience without any resources??"

Like Jessie M. in my previous post, I'll try to highlight people as I come across them, particularly earlier in the stages of doing something...people who are starting small, but whose ideas are on the verge of "snowballing." Or even otherwise, hopefully the stories behind people whose ideas have "snowballed."

Today I'll give you three examples of people who have come up with simple ideas that are making waves. (I must add here that this does not mean these are model methodologies of social enterprise. You don't have to do what they've done...you can come up with your own. These are just modelable examples of people making a difference in the best way they know how).

A few of the major commonalities between them is that these projects are young (less than 2 years old), with young founders (early 30's and below), were self-funded, and are using a business model (where the selling of a commodity is involved) to raise money (if they are raising money).

1. Uncultured.com: Inspired by a speech given by Jeffrey Sachs (noted economist, author of The End of Poverty, and Professor at Columbia University), Notre Dame graduate student Shawn went to Bangladesh on a short, self-funded project to find his own answers to what caused poverty. He created short videos or "thought journals" of his search, which are archived on his site and on YouTube. He's also kept a blog. Its interesting to watch how his thinking has evolved over time. Already his media has caused a mini-snowballer. In his latest post, he actually asks people not to send him supplies and money...rather on focusing on making being aware and better people a priority in their lives!

Here's a sample of one of his videos:




2. Charity: Water: This organization was started by 30 y/0 photographer Scott Harrison, who had an epiphany when drinking a $16 margarita in NYC. Scott had just hopped off a boat where he had spent a year volunteering for Mercy Ships . In that minute, he saw opportunity...$16 would have paid for an African family's meals for a month. (Prior to his stint in Mercy Ships, he had spent 10 years as a marketing/brand manager for the fashion industry).

So he started Charity:Water. People could buy a $20 bottle of drinking water, and all the profits went to drill wells in some of the poorest countries in the world. In two years (I think...his site doesn't make it clear when charity: started), Scott has drilled 470+ wells in 9 of the world's poorest countries. Check out their blog and site. Here's a great preview:



3. Source Chocolate: In 2005, Jeffrey W founded an organization amend.org to reduce road traffic injuries in Africa. Turns out that road injuries are the leading cause of death for children between ages 10-24 (WHO, 2004). Who would've known?? Well, Jeffrey decided that he had to do something. But his programs were costing money and he didn't want to keep begging for money from foundations. He had just started a program in Ghana, and Ghana is the world's largest producer of cacao. So he decided to sell high-end chocolate sourced from Ghanaian cacao into U.S markets and use 100% of the profits for Amend.org programs. It was Ghanaian farmers helping their own children. Thus was born Source Chocolate Co. Source is only a year old, but you can buy some of their yummy chocolate on their site. Also check out Amend.org's work. (image below courtesy of http://www.sourcechocolate.org)