(Community Matters) Contributions to the Entrepreneurs Foundation/Austin Ventures HelpHaiti Fund now total $1.3 million, including over $350k secured by our partners in response to challenge grants. We’ve distributed nearly $1mm, including the $350k.
Most recently, Concern Worldwide met a $100k challenge grant and now $200k is being invested in 5 Child Friendly Spaces, giving children 5 to 15 years old the time and space to have structured, constructive, creative learning and play time to bring normalcy to their lives. The Child Friendly spaces will have links into Concern’s primary education program and will enable them to identify children that have never been in school before. Overtime, as classroom space and schools re-open, these spaces will segway into long-term education programs expected to serve approximately 30,000 children.
We also granted $50k to a new partner in economic empowerment, Fonkoze. They are “Haiti’s alternative bank for the organized poor,” the largest microfinance institution in the country with over 55,000 women borrowers and 175,000 savers. They have 42 branches spread throughout the country and the women (clients) are organized into 2,000 centers, each comprised of 30 – 50 women. We are evaluating additional funding opportunities to this partner which is well known & respected by each of our existing partners and operating in-country since 1994.
We met last week with a representative of Catholic Relief Services who’d recently returned from Haiti. Super presentation; they are doing terrific work. CRS USA has raised $140mm for Haiti, millions and millions more raised by other country’s equivalent CRS.
We met Tuesday with Concern Worldwide USA’s ED, Siobhan Walsh and their Development Director, Rosemary Siciliano – wow, blew us away. Siobhan’s just returned from Haiti. They continue to do extraordinary work, Siobhan has an impressive command of their operations in Haiti (both before and since the earthquake) and they’ve already established 2 of the child friendly spaces (plus one transitional space). Siobhan says folks will be living in temporary quarters for 3 to 7 years. And, she references the resiliency of the people; talks about the women who line up every single day for the work for cash programs ($5/day) to clean up their new “communities” and put food on the table for their children.
Turk Pipkin arrived in Haiti on Tuesday (just 15 minutes prior to First Lady Michelle Obama). This morning he’s headed to Soto where Concern has long established operations, including schools and, of course, now earthquake relief.
We’ve also met with Scott Harrison, founder of Charity:Water. Last night he submitted his proposal to fund a water project in Gonave Island where Concern also operates and to which hundreds of thousands from Port au Prince have fled. Scott believes a challenge grant will further excite his online giving campaign for Haiti projects.
CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta has recommended we consider funding the efforts of Can-Do.org and Eric Klein. We’re told they are reaching the most remote populations. We are in the due diligence process with this organization.
We feel great about how we’ve invested HelpHaiti monies, and the agencies like the challenge grants with which they’ve raised nearly another $400k. We also feel good that we have $338k in dry powder to evaluate additional priorities. With additional challenge grants, we could raise a total of $1.8mm for Haiti earthquake relief, literally bringing food, water, shelter, education and economic empowerment to tens of thousands.
Community Matters 