How Can You Scale the Charitable Impact Through Online Learning

Since the outbreak began numerous charities have been forced to reconsider how they can increase the impact of their work and sustain their local presence through virtual means.

The sector of charitable giving isn't an industry known as an early adopter of the latest technology however it is, in the words of Thrive for Good's International Executive Director, James Woller. "Charities tend to be more traditional and cautious in their attempts to expand. Thrive's had to take an entirely different approach to get forward, and that involved taking on a risk by offering virtual training ," he explains.

The introduction of online learning has enabled this organization to increase its reach. "Before  it was a matter of impacting more than 30,000 individuals. Today, we're impacting nearly 80k. We went from 550 communities and close to 800. seven countries, to 47 and now we're expanding into places which we've never dreamed of." says Woller.

Another nonprofit that's needed to get innovative to stay ahead of the challenges caused by covid-19 is Vayu Global Health Foundation. Prior to the epidemic, Burke was traveling every few weeks to train medical professionals in person. Because traveling was not feasible, the Vayu team designed an online course that allows for training for people all over the world.

"We use strictly as an education platform," says Vayu's executive director, Thomas Burke. "Without , our efforts would have slowed to a halt due to the epidemic ."

We spoke with the Thrive For Good's James Woller and Vayu Global Health Foundations' Thomas Burke to find out more about how they could increase their influence in such an uncertain moment around the globe. We learned they could achieve this through two methods: By teaching online as well as looking at the charity sector through a more progressive lens. This is how they increased their charitable impact:

1. Teaching online

Thrive For Good

2 billion people aren't getting the nutrition they require. Thrive For Good gives communities worldwide with skills to sustainably produce healthy, organic foods for the long haul by providing people who are able the art of growing food for themselves as well as their family in conjunction with partner organizations who can implement Thrive's teachings into their initiatives. On average, the organization generates close to one million Canadian dollars per month of foods in their community gardens that are based on 50 cents for each meal.

Through partnerships in Europe, South America, Africa as well as Asia, Woller says they could not have gotten their message across the globe without the development of online classes.

Not only has online learning increased the size of the company, it's also made it easier to deal with the issues posed by covid-19. "Just this morning, I had a phone call with a partner in Uganda which is a place where the border is locked and movements are completely limited... It'd be extremely difficult to arrange an in-person trainer at the moment, and that's why online learning can ."

Woller states that their company has saved a lot of money by relocating to the internet. "We're saving thousands of dollars through making use of . If we were to deliver a physical training session with Thrive to each of our participant's group for one month and then it wouldn't be possible to expand in the manner we do," he says.

Vayu Global Health

Thomas Burke, emergency doctor and professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, runs both branches of the organization he founded : Vayu Global Health Foundation and Vayu Global Health Innovations.

The Vayu Global Health Foundations is a trust for charitable purposes that concentrates on finding and supporting breakthrough solutions that have a transformative effect to improve newborn, maternal and child health. The Vayu Global Health Innovations arm of the trust is a public benefit company, meaning they're signed with the World Health Organization as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and have a strong commitment to global health and the community.

In Vayu, they've created medical equipment to help relieve CPAP and bronchial asthma, which Burke claims is one of the highest killers of youngsters under the age of five. The respiratory device required to treat this condition has the ability to reduce mortality by 66%. Since most devices require power, they're expensive for countries with low incomes. The Vayu team came up with a solution that costs $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, which makes it simple for those with limited resources to make use of. By using , they're able to train local medical professionals on how to operate the device.

As the CPAP training has been extremely successful, they're now developing another course to teach medical professionals how to use their newest device, which is an oxygen blender. Normally priced at $1,200, they've created the same device at just $50, which can help children suffering from pneumonia or having difficulty breathing.

The virtual platform make it possible to reach more people, it also aids in standardizing the training for medical devices. "We are able to have master instructors from each country, but it's not sufficient. The training allows us to improve the quality of our training that is provided and also to test. It is on the way to the rest of us." the trainer says.

2. Using a progressive lense

Thrive For Good

Woller claims that traditional means can be difficult to grow the charitable impact. "The fundamental nature of a charity's existence is dependent on donations and charitable giving. Traditional relationships between a donors or philanthropists and the charitable organization that is delivering the program poses some issues in scaling up," he states. "Donors aren't always keen on seeing their cash going toward technology upgrades... It's their preference to prefer to spend their money on programmes... However when you build capacity via technology, it's possible to grow ."

The Thrive's innovative approach has been based on studying organizations already focused on organic farming and nutrition, and enhancing 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 prefer to think of ourselves like Java within your personal computer. We don't need to be Dell or Apple. We are able to white-label what we do. And that's innovative in the charitable space ."

They've managed to increase the scale of their operations since they went on the internet, Woller explains. "We were recently contacted by an organization in India with a number of training centres, 8,000 staff and community workers and millions of people who benefit. We were contacted by them with concern about the food security situation in India along with the covid-19 crisis, and asked us to move all their training to the Thrive. That's scale."

Woller is a firm believer that charities are crucial to exploring new ideas and taking risks. Their online learning was an experiment which paid off with great results. "I think a couple of instances of creativity in the field of charitable work is needed. In order to make an impact, it's necessary to take risks. We're very happy we decided to try online learning," he states.

Although Woller recognizes that taking risks may be scary However, he thinks that the result can sometimes be unexpected and is an inherent aspect of the entrepreneurial process. He says "Ninety percent of companies fail, but entrepreneurs keep going ."

Vayu Global Health

Vayu Global Health Innovations model Vayu Global Health Innovations model is based on establishing a solid income base to become self-sufficient and increase their activities without the need for donations. "This is a unique model within the realm of charitable giving," he says.

Through the use of a progressive lens, they've been able to deliver online training. They're now capable of reaching a larger audience than they could the case 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 that ."

When it comes to online learning, Burke believes that the results are only as good as the effort you're putting into. "You need to be aware of the fact that it's not trivial to create quality educational material," he says. "Teaching includes some form of entertaining as you're trying to attract the attention of your viewers. This shouldn't be just about providing information. You must to have fun and be imaginative. amusement with your ."

Burke also advises that charities work with locals within the communities they're working to develop the materials they use. "It's good for organizations to collaborate with local individuals rather than have an Americanized instrument which they're trying to throw into the sea. I don't think that is going to work," he says.

In summary, establishing an online class is an exciting step in the charitable space that can significantly boost an organization's ability to scale. Making a risk, being creative and thinking out of the boundaries can assist an organization increase its influence and influence.