How Can You Scale the Charitable Impact Through Online learning?

Sep 19, 2024

Since the outbreak started, a number of charities have been forced to reconsider how they can improve the effectiveness of their mission and keep their presence locally through online methods.

The sector of charitable giving isn't an industry known as one of the first to adopt modern technology but it does as per the Thrive for Good International Executive Director, James Woller. "Charities tend to be more traditional and cautious when it comes to the way they expand. The Thrive team had to adopt something completely different to make progress, and it involved taking a risk by offering virtual education ," he explains.

The introduction of online learning has enabled this organization to extend its reach. "Before it was an issue of affecting more than 30,000 individuals. We're now impacting more than 80k. The number of communities we've reached grew from 550 in close proximity to 800. seven countries, and 47 and now we're expanding to places we've never dreamed of." Woller says.

Another non-profit that must be innovative in order to remain ahead of the challenges caused by the covid-19 virus is Vayu Global Health Foundation. Prior to the epidemic, Burke traveled every couple of weeks to teach medical professionals on the spot. Since traveling to the clinic was no longer feasible, the Vayu team created an online course that allows to train people from all over the world.

"We exclusively use it to educate our users," says Vayu's executive director Thomas Burke. "Without  the platform, our work would have been slowed to slow halt because of the outbreak ."

We spoke with the Thrive For Good's James Woller and Vayu Global Health Foundations' Thomas Burke to find out the ways they can increase their influence in such an uncertain time around the world. We discovered that they can do this through two methods through online teaching as well as considering the sector of charity through a more progressive perspective. This is how they increased their impact on charity

1. Teaching on the internet

Thrive For Good

2 billion people aren't getting the nutrition they require. Thrive For Good gives communities worldwide with skills to sustainably grow healthy organic and natural foods over long-term sustainability by offering those who understand to grow food for themselves as well as their family along with other organizations who can implement Thrive's teachings into their initiatives. On average, the organization creates around 1 million Canadian dollars per month of the food they grow in their communal gardens that are based on the principle of 50 cents per meal.

Through collaborations in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia, Woller says they couldn't have been able to spread their message to all corners of the globe without the introduction of online classes.

While online education has increased the size of the company, it's also allowed it to better deal problems posed by covid-19. "Just today, I had one of my phone calls with a partner in Uganda in a country that has a border locked and movements are completely limited... It's extremely difficult to arrange an in-person trainer currently, and that's why the online training option is so effective ."

Woller claims that their business is saving a significant amount of cash by moving to the web. "We're cutting thousands of dollars by the use of . If we had to offer a physical training session with Thrive to each of our members for a single month, it would not be feasible to grow to the extent we do," he says.

Vayu Global Health

Thomas Burke, emergency doctor and Professor of emergency medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, manages both the organizations he founded : Vayu Global Health Foundation and Vayu Global Health Innovations.

The Vayu Global Health Foundations is a trust for charitable purposes which focuses on finding and supporting breakthrough solutions that can transform the way we think about health to improve infant, maternal and children's health. Its Vayu Global Health Innovations arm of the trust is a publicly traded benefit organization, that is to say that they're a part of the World Health Organization as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as well as have a deep commitment towards global health as well as the community.

In Vayu They've developed medical devices to ease CPAP and bronchial asthma which Burke says is among the highest killers of youngsters who are younger than 5 years old. The respiratory device required to treat the condition is able to cut the rate of death by 66%. Since most devices require power, they're expensive for those with low incomes. The Vayu team has come up with the solution for $300, which is a small fraction of what it costs to purchase the gold-standard CPAP device worth $12,000 -and it's of the same quality. It does not require power or bioengineering making it easy for those with limited resources to utilize. By using , they're equipped to instruct local doctors on how to operate the machine.

Because the CPAP training has been extremely successful, they're now creating a second course that will teach medical professionals on how to utilize their latest gadget that is the oxygen blend. It's normally priced at $1,200 but they've created the same device at just $50, which can help children suffering from asthma or who have difficulty breathing.

The virtual platform make it possible to reach many more people. It also aids in standardizing the training of medical devices. "We are able to possess master instructors from every nation, however it's not sufficient. The training allows us to enhance the quality of the instruction and also to test. It is on the way to all people." Trainer says.

2. Utilizing a progressive lens

Thrive For Good

Woller states that the traditional method may be ineffective to increase the charity's impact. "The essential nature of a charity's existence is dependent on donations and charitable giving. The traditional relationship between patron or donor and the organization which runs the program faces certain challenges when scaling it up," he states. "Donors aren't always keen on having their money go towards technology upgrades... Their preference is to spend their money on programmes... However when you build capabilities through technology, it's feasible to expand ."

The Thrive's unique approach to sustainability has been based on studying the existing organizations that are focused on organic farming and nutrition, as well as enhancing their efforts. "We weren't required to double the amount of money that we must spend to boost our effectiveness. We've changed from a B2C model to one that is B2B. We prefer to think of us as Java inside your personal PC. It doesn't matter if we're Dell or Apple. We are able to use white-labeling to describe what we do. And that's innovative in the charitable space ."

They've seen an increase in the scope of their activities after they joined the web, Woller explains. "We have been recently approached by an organization located in India with a number of training centers, with 8,000 employees and community workers and millions of beneficiaries. We received a call from them with concern about the current food security situation in India along with the covid-19 issue and requested that we shift all their education to the Thrive. That's scale."

Woller is a firm believer that charities are crucial to exploring new ideas and risk-taking. Their online education was an experiment which resulted in great result. "I think a couple of examples of innovation in the area of charity work is needed. In order to make an impact, we need to make a risk. We're very happy we decided to take a chance on online learning." He says.

However, Woller acknowledges that risk taking may be scary However He believes that the result can sometimes be unexpected and is part of the entrepreneurial process. He says "Ninety percent of companies fail, yet entrepreneurs stay running ."

Vayu Global Health

Vayu Global Health Innovations model Vayu Global Health Innovations relies on building a solid financial base to become self-sufficient and expand their operations with no need to make contributions. "This is a truly unique concept in the field of charitable giving" He states.

By using an advanced lens, they're capable of delivering online-based training. They're now capable of reaching an even larger number of people than would be if they only use in-person instruction. "We can think a lot larger with regard to across-populations and care systems much more easily than the demonstration programs which ."

In the case of online learning, Burke believes that the result is only as effective as the effort you're putting into. "You need to be aware about the truth that it'sn't easy to produce quality educational material," he says. "Teaching is often engaging as you attempt to attract viewers' attention. viewers. It shouldn't just be about providing facts. The key is to have fun and have a sense of imagination. Have fun by playing with your ."

Burke suggests that organizations collaborate with locals in the community they're working with on to create the tools they use. "It's beneficial for organisations to work with local people rather than have an Americanized instrument that they're attempting to dump into the ocean. It's not going to succeed," he says.

It is clear that the creation of an online course is a thrilling step in the charitable space which can greatly enhance the capacity of an organization to grow. The risk of taking a chance, being innovative and thinking outside of the boundaries can assist organizations increase their influence and impact.

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