As Donor Money Dries Up, Aid Organizations Get Creative

Physicians for Haiti has just launched a crowd-funding campaign on StartSomeGood, a crowd-funding platform focused on social impact.

This is the second time that the Boston-based not-for-profit has relied on the power of the Internet to meet its funding goals. In early September, it won a Chase Community Giving Grant of $10,000 to support its work.

Dr. Zadok Sacks, Physicians for Haiti’s Founding Co-Director, explained the organization’s decision to turn to non-traditional funding sources: “The current fundraising climate presents a special challenge to young organizations like ours, particularly ones taking an innovative approach to global health challenges.  Before many foundations or philanthropists will invest in our work on a large scale, they want to see results from pilot programs that prove that our unique approach works; crowd-funding opportunities can be a great way to raise that much-needed ‘start-up funding.’

Physicians for Haiti is looking to raise $5,000 to cover the costs of its second annual Haiti-wide Medical Conference, “Edikasion pou Tout Moun” (“Education for All”), to be held on December 9, 2012. If they reach their funding goal, they will be able to accommodate 180 Haitian doctors and medical students. The conference focuses on the current state of medical education in Haiti, includes presentations from a variety of speakers from multiple countries, and involves discussion of innovative solutions to the challenges facing Haiti’s healthcare professionals.

“This conference fills a gap in the Haitian Medical Education system,” states Casey Fox, Executive Officer at Physicians for Haiti,  “it allows for discussion of topics that are often neglected, and provides opportunities for cultural exchange and networking that would otherwise be unavailable.”

About Physicians for Haiti
http://physiciansforhaiti.org

Physicians for Haiti (P4H) is a non-profit organization made up of physicians, nurses, and students who are united by the belief that a stronger, healthier Haiti must ultimately be built from within. P4H works to foster sustainable progress in Haiti by providing Haitian physicians and nurses, who face some of the world’s most challenging conditions as they care for their patients, with high-quality continuing medical education, leadership training, and professional development opportunities.To date, over 400 Haitian health professionals have participated in their training programs.

About StartSomeGood
http://www.startsomegood.com

StartSomeGood aims to empower people from around the world to create social impact by connecting those with ideas for improving the world with the financial and intellectual capital they need to take action.

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