Literature we've studied shows the importance of community based organizations (CBOs) to international development. “Considerable capacity already exists in local...communities...but has been cloaked by lack of local empowerment to use it” (W.B. Africa 2000). CBOs offer “a direct way to reach the poorest of the poor and to address critical priority development areas,” (Coetzee et al 2006) as well as insight into the specific needs of a given community (W.B. Operations 2005). Despite their contribution CBOs continue to suffer from “poor recognition and limited support,” because their “capacity to attract donor funding is limited” (Coetzee 2006).
This body of research calls for support to grassroots initiatives which can often be overlooked because of their low profile by larger international organizations (Michael 2004). Furthermore in Canada, 93% of donors cite a connection with a project’s cause as the reason for donation. When asked their ‘primary motivation' for donating, 94% of the population surveyed stated it was out of “compassion for the needy” (NSGVP 2004). However, a 2004 report states that Canadian contributions to international causes were a mere 5% of total donations as there was concern that the funds 'will not be used efficiently' (Fraser Institute, 2007).
These compelling statistics illustrate to us a potential community of fundraisers that could be created by linking CBOs to online donors who are compelled to support causes they believe in and can trust. We can create this network by developing a CBOs capacity to monitor, evaluate, and expand its programs while profiling the organization’s progress and efforts through the internet using photos, video, blogging and e-mails that are sent back to donors/investors. The internet has also shown its power and potential in helping to empower development and channel donations. Recent “studies and surveys consistently indicate that online donations are growing at a higher rate than offline giving” (Hart et al, 2007). We believe that the next evolution of the Web 2.0 community is the use of the internet as a means of providing CBOs with direct support.
Our passion for community growth extends to student-led intitiatives The potential of the internet for supporting CBOs can also serve Canadian students who have a vision for community and international development. In our travels and work with tens of thousands of students across the country, we have witnessed the incredible ideas that students have to help serve their communities and the world, but they lack the funding to carry out these initiatives. Furthermore, most youth focussed organizations use students for fundraising efforts to support the cause of the youth organizaiton but do not provide funding for the students themselves. We want to use our Web 2.0 platform not only to profile CBOs across the globe, but also as a micro-foundation for Canadian student-led projects such as community clean-ups, food banks, arts programs, and international student trips. Students will submit their plan of action to Esther's Echo for evaluation. Successful applicants will receive financial support from you, our online community of donors/investors and leadership training and development from us to ensure the success of their project.