How To Scale Charitable Impact Through Online Learning

Sep 19, 2024

Since the outbreak first began, several organizations have been forced to think about how they can increase their reach and maintain their presence in the local community through online means.

The charitable space isn't known as an early adopter of technology, however it is, in the words of Thrive For Good's Executive Director for International, James Woller. "Charities are generally more traditional and conservative in their efforts to expand. The Thrive team had to adopt an entirely new approach in order in order to move forward. it required risk by offering online training ," he explains.

Online learning is the thing that has allowed this charity to scale its reach. "Before the advent of online learning, we had impacted over 30,000 people. In the present the number is more than 80k. The number of communities we've reached has increased from 550 and close to 800. seven countries, to 47, and we're now expanding to places that we thought of." Woller says.

Another non-profit that's required to develop new ideas to meet the burdens posed by the covid-19 virus is Vayu Global Health Foundation. Prior to the outbreak Burke was on the road for several weeks to teach medical experts on the subject. As travel was no longer feasible since the outbreak, the Vayu team created a course in virtual education for all people around all over the world.

"We use strictly to offer education-related platforms," the executive director of Vayu, Thomas Burke. "Without all our efforts it is possible that we would have been stopped because of the pandemic ."

We spoke with Thrive For Good's James Woller and Vayu Global Health Foundations' Thomas Burke to talk about ways they could increase their influence in such an turbulent time for humanity. They could accomplish this by two methods through online teaching in addition to taking a look at the charitable sector through an increasingly progressive perspective. This is how they increased the impact of their charity initiatives:

1. Online Teaching

Thrive For Good

The population of the world is shrinking to two billion people and there is a lack of nutrients for them. For Thrive, For Good gives individuals and groups around the world tools to sustainably grow healthy and organic food sources to ensure their survival by providing education to those wanting to know how to cultivate foods for their own and their family, and also partner organizations who can implement the principles of Thrive in their programs. The organization produces close to one million Canadian dollars each month from the community gardens they maintain which is based upon 50 cents per meal.

Through alliances with Europe, South America, Africa and Asia, Woller says they could not expand their reach without the introduction of online learning courses.

Although online learning has helped make businesses more productive and expand, but it has also made it much easier to get over the hurdles posed by COVI-19. "Just this morning, I am on the phone with an associate in Uganda in a nation where boundaries are closed and mobility is a major issue... It's extremely challenging to get an instructor on-site at the moment, and that's why online learning is a great option ."

Woller states that their company saves a great deal of time and money by relocating to the internet. "We're cutting tens of thousand of dollars through the use of . If we had to deliver an actual training program using Thrive to every member of our partner's organization every month for a period of time and then scale it up, it's impossible to grow in the same way we do," he says.

Vayu Global Health

Thomas Burke, emergency doctor and professor in the Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, is the director of both his firm : Vayu Global Health Foundation and Vayu Global Health Innovations.

The Vayu Global Health Foundations is a charitable trust dedicated to identifying and implementing new solutions that have a large impact. These solutions can transform for maternal, newborn and child health. Its Vayu Global Health Innovations arm of the trust is a publicly-owned business, and therefore they're registered with 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 has developed medical devices designed to alleviate CPAP that Burke says is among the top killers of children less than 5 years old. The device used for treating this disorder has the capability to cut mortality down by 66%. Because most of these devices rely on electricity, they're costly for countries that are poor. The Vayu team came up with an option that is priced at $300- less than the cost of the gold standard CPAP device, which is worth $12,000which is of similar quality. It doesn't require electricity or bioengineering, making it accessible for those with limited resources to make use of. By using it, users are able to instruct local physicians on how to make use of the gadget.

The CPAP course was a huge achievement, they're now developing a second training course for medical professionals to learn to use their newest device called oxygen blend. It's usually priced at $1,200 but they've designed the exact device that costs just $50 for kids suffering with pneumonia or who have difficulty breathing.

Not only does the virtual platform allow to communicate with a wider range of individuals, but it also assists in standardizing the education of medical devices. "We have master educators around the globe, however there isn't enough. The training we receive helps make sure that we have a uniform training that is provided and also the conducting tests. is here to stay for our benefit," he says.

2. Using a progressive lense

Thrive For Good

Woller asserts that the traditional methods aren't always effective in increasing the impact of charitable causes. "The fundamental nature of charity's existence is based upon donations and charitable contributions. Traditional relationships between a the individual donor, Philanthropist, as well as the organization responsible for running the program face difficulties when scaling up," He explains. "Donors don't like seeing their money going towards technology upgrades... They'd prefer to have the money go towards initiatives... Through the improvement of capabilities through technology the possibilities for growth increase ."

The company's ideas have come from studying organizations currently focusing their efforts on organic agriculture as well as nutrition, and further increasing the efforts. "We didn't have to double the budget in order to achieve a double effect. We've switched from a B2C model, to one that's B2B. It is more convenient to see ourselves as Java in your personal PC. We don't need to become Dell or Apple. We could white label everything we're doing. This is a fantastic idea in the world of charitable ."

They've managed to increase the scale of their efforts by utilizing the internet, Woller explains. "We received a call from an organization located in India that has dozens of training facilities, over 18,000 employees and community members in addition to thousands of people who are beneficiaries. We were contacted by them with their concern about the situation of food security in India along with covid-19's crisis as well as their request to push all of their training to the"Thrive. That's scale."

Woller holds a strong belief in the value of charities that are willing to try new ideas and taking chances. Their online training was a risk that paid dividends. "I consider that two cases of creativity in the area of charitable work is required. For a positive impact, you must take risks. I'm really glad we decided to try online learning," the professor says.

However, Woller acknowledges that risk taking can be a bit scary Woller believes that the results could be amazing and is an inherent aspect of the process of entrepreneurship. According to him "Ninety percent of enterprises are unsuccessful, but entrepreneurs stay moving forward ."

Vayu Global Health

Vayu Global Health Innovations Model Vayu Global Health Innovations relies on the establishment of a strong revenue base that allows them to be self-sufficient and expand their services without the need for contributions. "This is an exceptional model within the realm of charitable giving," he says.

By using an advanced lens, they've been able the internet to provide an online learning experience. This means that they're in a position to reach an even larger audience than when they rely solely on in-person training. "We can think bigger with across populations and health systems more effectively than programs for demonstration ."

When it comes to online education, Burke believes that the outcomes are as great in the effort that you place into. "You must be aware that it isn't easy to create educational resources that are of the highest quality," he says. "Teaching includes some form of enjoyment as you seek to grab the attention of your students. It can't just be about giving information. You need to be having fun and creative. Enjoy the process ."

Burke suggests charities work with people from the areas that they're working with when constructing their resources. "It's a great idea for organizations to collaborate with local people rather than having the concept of being an Americanized instrument that they want to drop into the ocean. I doubt that it can succeed," he says.

The bottom line is that establishing an online program is an exciting step within the realm of charitable work which will dramatically boost the potential of an organization to expand. Making a risk, being innovative, and thinking out of the boundaries can assist the charity to increase its power and reach.

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