Welcome to Econnect Communication’s February 2005 newsletter – ‘To give or not to give’.

Like a lot of people following the tsunami disaster, we have been considering ways to donate our time and money to places that need it most. This newsletter includes our thoughts on how to go about doing this.

Thank you for your continued interest in our newsletters.

Regards,

Econnect Communication

Jenni Metcalfe, Michelle Riedlinger, Terri Telford

This month – February 2005

To give or not to give

To give or not to give is the question…

Choosing the best organisation to donate to

Communication: For Learning and Change

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To give or not to give is the question…

By Jenni Metcalfe

In the wake of the devastating tsunami that struck Southeast Asia recently, it was interesting and refreshing to see the vast outpouring of support for victims on a world-wide basis and particularly in Australia. I thought this was particularly well demonstrated by the level of giving by those who had little to give. For example, a friend’s 10 year old daughter, totally unprompted, gave away her year’s savings of about $100 (money she’d be saving towards buying an ‘Ipod’). And this is just one very small example.

Although media coverage of this event has dissipated, the effects on communities are still being felt. The trouble with donating money is that you’re never completely sure if it will reach those truly in need and help them over the long term.

As a small business, this is something that Econnect continually grapples with. We get weekly calls from charities of one sort or another asking for support for underprivileged children to attend a Xmas party, for the production of drug education books for the local primary school, and so on. They are all very worthy causes, but we can’t give to everyone that comes knocking at our door. And, how do we know if the money we provide really gives benefits where it is needed most.

During our recent experience working in the Philippines, we became aware that whole villages could benefit from being provided with simple and relatively ‘cheap’ items such as a pair of goats or some seedlings or basic materials to build a nursery.

A new landcare project has started in the Philippines to assist with the spread of landcare throughout the country. This project is a partnership between Australia and the Philippines with a number of agencies, including AusAid, the World Agroforestry Centre, SEAMEO Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture and the Catholic Relief Service supporting it.

Econnect is working with the project to set up a simple philanthropic trust where people could donate money for specific items, knowing that their money will go directly towards providing that item to a particular village or site, without any administration costs being involved. This was discussed further during my trip to the Philippines earlier this month to launch the book on Philippines landcare that I edited (see: http://www.aciar.gov.au/web.nsf/doc/ACIA-66CW4P).

If any of you have any suggestions about this idea – very much in its infancy – we’d love to hear from you.

Choosing the best organisation to donate to

The information below is provided on Philanthropy Australia’s website in response to the tsunami disaster, see: http://www.philanthropy.org.au/. It provides good general advice for donating to any particular cause, especially following a disaster.

On the ground presence and reach:

Has the organisation had an ongoing presence, prior to December 2004, in most or all of the countries affected by the tsunami?
Does the organisation have solid relationships and partnerships enabling it to be effective and efficient in addressing critical needs in the affected countries?
Is the organisation well-positioned to work within the existing infrastructure to get resources to where they are most needed?

Effectiveness:

Does the organisation operate in a way that is cost-effective, not overly bureaucratic, and results-oriented? (One potential indicator is how the agency is rated by charity rating groups like Charity Navigator.)
Does the organisation have a solid track record of success and expertise in addressing important needs in the affected countries and/or elsewhere?

Collaboration and cultural sensitivity:

Does the organisation support community-based approaches, and work with local organisations and volunteers.

Sustainability and potential for long-term impact:

Does the organisation support sustainable approaches beyond disaster relief that could have a long-term impact on people's lives?
Once the immediate crisis has been addressed, what kind of staying power will the organisation have to help with the long-term rebuilding that will be needed in these countries?

Communication: For Learning and Change

By Kerry Thomas and Barry Lincoln

interPART (International Partners in Action, Research and Training) is a small, innovative organisation with widely recognised experience in social and environmental planning, management and review. Working with local partners in Africa, Asia, the Pacific and Australia, interPART has a great deal of knowledge to share with anyone wishing to donate their time to overseas projects.

Focussing on communication as a shared learning and creative process generates benefits for all concerned through more informed policy and planning and better understanding within communities. People then feel confident and perhaps more motivated to engage in change because they feel valued and part of the process.

Our experience both overseas and in Australia suggests that the key factors to success are surprisingly universal and simple – and yet are often sadly neglected in practice. They include the ability to:

- show respect – for people, their context and country

- listen actively and deeply – real meanings lie deeply

- show real interest in understanding the views and experience of those you are talking with, even if you hold differing values or perspectives

- talk with people, not to them and be cautious of speaking for others

- converse with people in a domain in which they feel comfortable

- illuminate the strengths and positive qualities of people and their experiences – look for possibilities, not just problems

- reflect back what has been shared and learned - in ways that motivate and build relationships.

These factors are not new, but keeping these fundamentals in focus can be a challenge.

Communication should nurture relationships and enable the co-creation of imaginative responses to the challenging problems we face as we all work to achieve healthy outcomes for our communities and the environment.

So, take the challenge and ask yourself:

· To what extent and in what ways do I/we apply these principles?

· How do I/we know how successful we are? What are the indicators?

· What would it take to improve our performance in applying these principles?

Contact interpart@bigbutton.com.au or (08) 8388 9918.

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