Live-blogging from the Fourth Economic Sustainability Feedback Session 

NABUUR: Budget on staff and site. Income has been on donations/ foundations. Now running on 1m budget. Growth to 1000s of villages from 140 villages now will remain within 1m to 2m operating budget. Money come from foundations and will continue to come from them. Also Dutch lottery fund- 250m a year raised and goes to good causes – entered agreement to get $500K a year. Also regional companies w/ social responsibility budget – aim for 20 companies that would bring in $250K a year. Also selling cases – companies and NGOs looking for known, reliable cases (villages) selling at around $20K.

Q: Interested in scale. What happens with expansion when you have 10,000 villages and external costs begin to mount?

-    In villages there all small costs that need to be made – training, infrastructure – those costs are covered by “neighbors” and online volunteers
-    Widgets as way to connect
-    As villages grow so do online volunteers and their donations and ability to donations
-    Build local rapport with organizations financially involved

Q: Biggest issue seems to be raising money to grow to 10,000 villages. Where is the budget for growing the volunteer base?

-    First, in past w/ WTF oversaw 5-year growth from $11m to $55m
-    Find a way to tap into people and institutions
-    Always been involved w/ big growth
-    Must be made viral or it can’t grow
-    How do we make it viral? That’s what has to occur.

Q: Some of these projects begin with initial funding but costs go way beyond that quickly. Has that ever happened?

-    No, had has a 30 year track record of spending less than the budget

Q: Relationship with Kiva and Global Giving. Tap into those organizations and their resources. Also what about using pledge banks? Organized giving and doing.

-    Been trying to connect w/ both of those organizations, but they seem to be busy with their own things.
-    NABUUR does not want to be a stand-alone.
-    We have something that no one else has developed but it’s at its best when combined with other movements, organizations, etc.

Q: Comment on earlier query/ suggestion. This project could really prosper by being connected with other organizations, as could any of the ones presented here. Let’s all work on offering connection. “Connecting space between the dots”

MAPS 2.0 : Highly leverage NPO. Check maps2.humananet.org.

What are you spending $ on today: Less than $100K budget. Spent on staff and tech management. Money comes from in-kind donations and the like. Also rely on wonderful network of volunteers.
For Maps 2.0: rely on donations (individual/ business), corporate grants, earned income and looking at a membership plan.

Q: Initial budget is around $500 a month. But, what would you do if you had all sort of capital access.

-    Start-up that would implement a set of variables that would focus on using web tools, web development and feedback from field partners worldwide.
-    Experimented from scenes of simulated disaster (going to Indonesia shortly) and have found how simple and low cost are

Q: How are different from Google Earth?

-    Google Earth is one example of GIS tool that can be used for a set number of purposes
-    Google Earth can’t be used to address any and all NPO issues
-    Varied set of GIS tools is needed
-    Part of what we are trying to provide is the Why and How
-    You’ve got the tools but what are you going to do with them? MAPS 2.0 works to show how to use and shine the spotlight on success stories and ways to implement the tools

Q: Organizations are looking to improve effectiveness of their grantees. This would be a great pitch for funding.

-     Not just about tools, but about processes surrounding tools
-    It’s also about people using tools

Q: Are you considering unusual partners? The mining industry?

-    Yes, we specialize in unusual partners – interested in any and all sources of data
-    Tons of geospatial data that’s wasted each year – out there collecting dust
-    We are trying to be a connective tissue between possible partners

Genocide Intervention Network: Core staff and extensive student/ volunteer network. $1.5m to 2m budget range. 2008 up to $2.5m. Most of support comes from Humana United. Commitment from them through 08. Actually have room to grow. Looking at $40K to $50K for the project. Significant part of that would go to tech side and developing a way to contribute back to tech side – feedback, etc.

Q: Explain where money is going?

-    Individual donations – slightly more than half goes to supporting civilian protection in Darfur
-    When people make donation part of appeal is that part goes to peacekeeping in Darfur
-    The rest of donation goes to operational costs
-    Foundation funding goes all to operational costs

Q: What’s the value provided to activists?

-    Striving to build an ID to genocide movement
-    Splintered, segregated activist, particularly with Darfur
-    Unite cause and direct

Q: Your ability to generate funding is going to be based on your ability to show that the community you are creating is making a big difference. Reinforcing impact of community is something you should focus on taking to potential funding sources.

Q: Genocide is a mass-atrocity. But, people are more responsive to one-to-one conflicts and causes. How do you connect?

-    Genocide as a curriculum issue – getting people educated
-    Understanding the ID of genocide
-    Ultimately this project is based on leveraging social networks which are by nature one-to-one

Q: Connection with NGOs and the like?

-    On site training – effect locally
-    We try to focus on civilian protection, as there are a lot of humanitarian support groups.

Q: Demographic? I’d imagine they are young, what happens if conflict ends and/ or they grow out/ away from it?

-    Demo study – support among youth and then 65 plus
-    Waited toward student groups as that’s where it began
-    Also big with Jewish support groups
-    Diverse memberships, not waited any way

Global Women’s Leadership Network: Project has a lot of appeal fortunately. Spent over $100K last year – 90 percent toward program. This year $250K or so. First year was all volunteers. In the second year people had to be paid as new people are/ will be brought in. In country programs: we can run a full year of education in a country like Uganda for less than $10K a year. Funding from people paying for education (women are thirsty, incredibly so, for education opportunity). Encourage them to contribute – empowering. Also funds from partners - Global Giving and the like. Second piece is “motherships” or HQ – primarily funded by individual donations – from large to small. Also corporate donations and small amounts from people like eBay, etc. Just like a start-up we’ve scraped things together. For sustainability need people, publicity and partnership.

Q: Developed world has coming labor shortage. Every company is looking at developing something like this and rolling it into their CSR. Have you thought about establishing a single portal for companies doing such?

-    No, it’s been tough to get corporations on board
-    Gradually cultivating corporate interest (CISCO for example)
-    Hadn’t thought about portal – great idea

Q: Looking at a loss of 650K employees in the NPO sector in the next decade. Maybe this is an answer.

Q: How do you price for in country programs? How does that factor into costs?

-    Pricing is minimal - $1 a day for a leadership course

Q:  Putting price on it drives people to benefit the most from it. Empowers them and makes them not take it for granted.

-    yes it’s been an effective strategy

Q: What about diverting funds to developing online leadership tools?

-    really believe we can create online modules for leadership training
-    P2P style network
-    Right now one-on-one, in country is where it’s at as far as effectiveness

Q; Have you thought about crossing borders, integrating classes across country lines?

-    thinking along those lines
-    bringing women over from countries- their companies willing to pay
-    trying to figure out how to scale it

Q:  partnerships? Limitations? Mentoring?

-    Very important that we partner with others and start out by saying let’s forget about the past and go forward.
-    It’s not about what was done in the past, but about working together –men and women – to move forward
-    Re: mentoring – exploring how to build a mentoring network around this. Don’t want something rigid and based on numbers.

General

Q: How do you feel about Internet advertising?

Global Leadership Women’s Network: Not allowed by University
Genocide Intervention Network: Involved with Google Grants, but not really appealing
MAPS 2.0: Haven’t looked into it. Could bias or interfere with mission.
NABUUR: Don’t feel we need it
Aspirations: No banner ads, just annoying. Thinking of smart ads - nothing intrusive. But we are community driven so we’d love to have community ads.

Q: Any vision of the future or crazy ideas about new tupes of sustainable economic platforms that may emerge in the next five years?

 - Integrated technologies

 - Alternative types of capital. A way to monetize things we haven't thought of as things become less empirical. Also engaging for-profits.

- Increased corporate involvement

- Microfinance, microlending