Halfway there!

Greetings all from Paris!

It was a quick and easy flight from Minneapolis and now I, like Kelly below, am ruminating on social entrepreneurship, my upcoming experience in India and my thoughts on the blogs we were assigned to look at.

Each of the four organizations has their own perspective on social entrepreneurship and seeks to fulfill its’ mission in different ways. Samhita and Global India Fund provide a veritable database of worthy organizations that have been exhaustively vetted, such that potential donors can feel confident in where there money is going. I try to make several small donations to causes I feel strongly about throughout the year and as my interests take on a more global perspective, the value of a service like this becomes more and more apparent. Global India Fund and Samhita truly take the guess work out of making a charitable donation abroad and, by way of the vast database, provide different ways to do so. Having the choice of making a donation directly to an individual, or to a bank that will distribute the funds as a loan or any other option really gives the donor a feeling of control over their donation.

Kiva is one of the more compelling sites of those we were tasked with visiting. Of course, all of the organizations provide wonderful services and convincing reasons to be charitable; however, I think that the actual aesthetic of the Kiva site provides the best user experience. There are so many different options available to donors now; I feel that having a unique and gripping user experience can really set an organization apart from the others. I really love the ability to scroll over the different individual boxes on Kiva’s home page, see their personal story and really understand how Kiva has helped them. For me, this added a very personal element that I feel is slightly lacking on the other organization web sites. In class we heard from Kate Roberts, the powerhouse PR and Marketing genius from PSI. Not only was her presentation exciting and informative, it also helped us understand the value of making the social entrepreneurship truly personable and relational. I honestly feel that, when soliciting funds for any organization, it really is all about two things: 1) who you know and 2) how you engage them. Although Kiva is quite different than PSI, I like to make the connection between an individual who has the keen ability to connect with others and an organizations website that really does go the extra little bit to make the experience of the user better – and thus create a more likely environment for donation.

GlobalGiving also provides this type of personalized user experience. I appreciate how they separate the available projects by both geography as well as topic so if I were interested in donating money to say a maternal and child health program in sub-saharan Africa, I would be able to make one click of a mouse and see the project options available which fit those specific parameters.

All of these organizations provide ways to truly make a difference, no matter the size or scope of the donation. Each has its’ own personality which caters to, potentially, a certain type of philanthropist. Social entrepreneurship, as we have studied in the classroom and through our own personal experiences, doesn’t fit into one category. The term can really be experienced and encompassed in a variety of different ways, whether it is a charitable organization, a profitable company, or simply a grass-roots way to provide support for a cause an individual deems worthy. What ties all of this together; however, is the need for financial backing. The organizations mentioned above all provide this service, but in different ways.

I still have 10+ hours of travel until I get to India, and I truly cannot wait to arrive and see some of the tenets of social entrepreneurship at work. Undoubtedly this will be a challenging experience – emotionally, mentally and otherwise. I am thrilled to be joining such an esteemed, smart and adventurous group of people on this journey and look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow morning.

Brooke