Bingo Night!

Playing online bingo is like stepping into the world of Narnia – a cyber world of chance and unusual acquaintances. Users go by names such as “Cherry” and “Brightstar”, they speak in code and simultaneously by tickets, play bingo, chat and “share the love” each time they donate their winnings to charity!

bingos.co.uk have a weekly charity night, and this week 12 August betterplace was featured for the second time as the chosen charity. The way it works is that the community of “roomies” playing bingo, can choose to “share the love” and thereby donate a portion of their winnings to charity, and a proceed from every bingo ticket sold also gets pooled.

This time, all the money donated went to a chosen project in Mali, where there is a great need for schools, classrooms, and infrastructure. The project is run by the Mali Initiative, and brought the project a step closer to fulfilling their needs!

Featured project: http://www.betterplace.org/projects/155

Thanks to all the “roomies” for your support! Until next time – 9 September – keep sharing the love!

The Web of Trust

This past week I was asked by a friend: “How’s it going with the ability to verify the authenticity of the charitable organizations, their admin to donation ratio’s etc? Obviously serious concerns for potential donors or am I missing something…?”

The answer: Yes, authenticity of projects is a serious concern.

Our solution: The “Web of Trust”.

betterplace welcomes not only projects from registered NGO’s, but also grassroots projects. These are projects that are not affiliated to a registered organisation, but are uploaded on betterplace by individuals from all over the world who have a specific need, or represents the needs of someone that they know.

Each project on betterplace is surrounded and supported by a network. The more feedback, comment and activity a project receives, the more likely people will trust its authenticity.

The Web of Trust is best explained through an example:

Simon, a middle-aged Mozambican lives and works as a gardener in Johannesburg. He has worked for the same family for many years. Each year he travels home with food, possessions and money to support his family and educate his children. His employer, the “Project Responsible” uploads his story as a project on betterplace, and sends out an email to all his friends asking for their support. Immediatly friends respond, not only because of their personal friendship to the employer, but because they have met Simon, and some register as an “Advocate” for the project – vouching for its authenticity. A few months later, another family friend is traveling by car up to Maputo, and promises to transport some goods to Simon’s family, and meets the children. He returns and registers as a “Visitor” of this grassroots project on betterplace.

And so the web of trust spreads and grows, gathering support and momentum.

We believe that the connection between people – the users of betterplace – is the best credibility filter that any project can go through. Thereby establishing a new quality methodology for evaluating grassroots projects.

Paul Resnick coined the term SocioTechnical Capital in a paper called “Beyond Bowling Together: SocioTechnical Capital”, and speaks of the importance of building social capital with social resources such as Trust, thereby making it easier for people to work and play together.

His views support the theory behind the betterplace Web of Trust: “A network of people who have developed communication patterns and trust can accomplish much more than a bunch of strangers, even if the two sets of people have similar human, physical, and financial capital available. The productive capacity can be used to benefit individuals, the network as a whole, or society at large.”

For those who feel more comfortable with formal structures – they also have the choice of donating to projects that are run by registered NGO’s on betterplace. And furthermore, if you as a user do not trust the authenticity of a project, we encourage you to flag it to our attention, and in the future, with more advanced technology, we will be able to pick up “patterns” of fraud for example in the repetition of text etc.

People believe their friends before any form of advertising or marketing campaigns. It is this core human quality of trust that we depend on to make a better place!

P.S from Joana: Today I saw a very relevant post on Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing blog on Trust is a triangle – why and how to get it

Philanthropic Travel

Over the last decades, tourism has exploded into a booming industry. Families and individuals across the world often measure their quality of life in relation to their time spent on holiday. Hard-earned savings are spent on the days or few weeks spent in “exotic” places, enjoying the natural and cultural resources of the area.

As travelers and holidaymakers, how often have we stopped to ask ourselves what lasting footprints do we leave behind in the places we visit?

Tourism is largely considered a boost to the host country economy. Tourists bring foreign currency into the country, businesses are boosted and tourism can help motivate preservation and conservation of unique cultural, natural, and historic resources.

However, when badly managed, tourism can also destroy environmental and cultural distinctiveness, perpetuate great disparities in wealth, and limit education.

“Geotourism” is the new buzz-word in the tourism industry. The term was coined by National Geographic senior editor Jonathan Tourtellot and his wife Sally Bensusen, in response to requests for a term and concept more encompassing than ecotourism and sustainable tourism.

Geotourism is defined as: tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place-its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.

Taking it a step further, National Geographic in collaboration with Ashoka Changemakers, have set up The GeoTourism Challenge.

The goal of the Geotourism Challenge is to identify and showcase innovators – individuals and organizations – that support geotourism and present remarkable examples of innovation that demonstrate ways for tourism to do the most good and the least harm.

Deadline for entry was 16 April. The so far 210 applications will be shortlisted by a panel of judges, and on 28 May, the public is invited to vote and comment on the finalists.

Travel philanthropy offers a truly meaningful element to travel and a valuable culture exchange that ultimately deepens global social consciousness.

They say a change is as good as a holiday – perhaps it’s time for your holiday to make a change!?

The Skoll Forum: Looking back – moving forward

The Skoll World Forum 2008 has drawn to a close – I feel energized, stimulated, encouraged, inspired – and utterly exhausted.

How many times in the last few days have I repeated the words:
/betterplace – an internet platform for philanthropy. /
/We link those who want to give to those in need of receiving.
We are German.
We are European.
We are expanding.
We seek partners. We seek projects. We seek users.
It was also a pleasure meeting you.
Here’s my business card.
We will be in touch./

The event was well organised. The delegates were enthusiastic. The speakers profound.
From Jimmy Carter, Jody Williams and Karen Tse, to Paul Farmer, Ashraf Ghani and Al Gore – these were but a few of the great speakers at the forum that guided the discussion on the responsibility of social entrepreneurs to overcome the challenges in today’s world.

And although the words of these powerful individuals have sunk deep into my mind, leaving me to process and digest their message for long after this Forum is passed – it is not these voices that have left the deepest impact – but rather a small “community” of individuals that share a similar vision and understanding of how the internet can be used as a lever to make real change.

In the very beginning of the Skoll Forum, at the Opening Plenary Karen Tse spoke of how individuals can be connected through shared ideas that often transcend traditional cultural borders.
It is this sense of “connectedness” that has left the greatest impact. Connected because, as delegates, we share the unique experience of the Skoll Forum. Connected because we share a common vision for overcoming the many social challenges of our times. And connected because betterplace, like other internet based organisations, provides a solution to linking people, ideas and support across the globe.

Fighting Landmines – The Hero Rat

This is one hot link tipp I just got from Line – who is currently attending the Skoll World Forum in Oxford:

Rats have a very fine sense of smell and are can be trained for landmine detection. A great idea, and a fun website. Go check it out now! Adopt a rat!

P. S.: I would have loved to adopt one straight away but the page is ‘under repair’. They better fix it soon.

“We are here” – The Skoll World Forum 2008 in Oxford

The start of Skoll World Forum 2008 has been as unpredictable and refreshing as the (much discussed) weather in Oxford.

The rain was drizzling down on the front door steps of the Said Business School as newly arrived delegates gathered to complete their registration and begin the first of a 3 day forum on Social Entrepreneurship. The drizzle continued as delegates were seen mingling, shaking hands, chatting in gentle murmurs, and sipping cups of organic tea in the lobby. A sense of anticipation simmered through the crowd as more and more people arrived, together with the occasional shaft of sunshine the sound of enthusiastic voices of friends and acquaintances greeting one another broke through the crowd.

The theme of this years Skoll Forum is culture. Asking the question: if social entrepreneurship is truly about changing the world, then what are the cultural and contextual barriers that social entrepreneurs need to overcome to create sustainable change in the areas where they work?

Amongst the speakers at the opening plenary, was an impressive panel of women, each telling their story about how they have had to having to overcome challenging cultural barriers to be successful, and thereby having a profound global impact.
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Jody Williams spoke of communication being the key to success. That everyone needs the same information to be empowered.

Karen Tse, Founder and CEO of Bridges of Justice told a story of warriors before a battle to illustrate what was needed to overcome cultural barriers. The warriors were told that were 2 things that must be remembered throughout if they were to be successful: compassion and interconnectedness. Both of which remain important in our growing global village.

As we left the prestigious Sheldonian Theatre the rain thundered down – as if in confirmation of Jeff Skoll‘s opening remarks of the forum “We are here”.
We are here, as social entrepreneurs, to cross cultural barriers and make a significant and lasting impact on the discourse of social change and development.

The Skoll World Forum can be followed online.

Line Hadsbjerg

Taming the “monster”

Speaking after the signing of a power-sharing agreement in Kenya, opposition leader, Raila Odinga thanked Kofi Annan for his role in achieving the historic agreement, and in closing said “We have now opened a new chapter in our history, from the era of confrontation to the beginning of cooperation. We should ensure that Kenyans begin to celebrate and love each other, that we destroy the monster that is called ethnicity.”

Paging through the news headlines, we are reminded once again that intolerance is the root of all conflicts.

Whether it be Race – as we see with the latest racist videos of university students in South Africa; Sex – demonstrations for gay rights in Mozambique; Ethnicity – recent violence in Kenya; Health – HIV/AIDS stigma throughout Africa – discrimination is at the core of instability and stunted economic growth.

There is no greater barrier to development than discrimination. Discrimination leads to stigmatization. And those who are stigmatized become victims in their societies, denied equal opportunities to reach their full potential and contribute to economic growth.

The Durban Declaration, adopted in 2001 during the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, acknowledges that poverty, marginalization, social exclusion and economic inequalities “contribute to the persistence of racist attitudes and practices which in turn generate more poverty.”

So how do we tame this “monster”?

In his closing statement President Kibaki said “Kenya has room for all of us if we can enhance peace and tolerance. Fellow Kenyans, we stand before you to give a solemn commitment”

It is time to hold our leaders accountable to their words.