How can you know that your generous donations are making the impact you intended in the world? This has been a big year for charitable giving. The disaster in Haiti alone raised billions of dollars, much of which has not been implemented to improve the living conditions of those affected. A majority of giving was directed to larger, highly visible organizations backed by celebrities or politicians passionately involved in the crisis. Yet the evidence of the impact of this momentum in giving is lacking. What happened? How do you ensure that your contributions are making it to the cause they were intended for?

The most effective solution is to look for smaller organizations who are doing effective direct aid. ERSLA, “Emergency Response Services for Latin America”, is working with great efficiency, on a relatively small budget, to generate the impact you intended. So what are the advantages of donating to smaller organizations such as ours?

Donor Choice-Direct Impact

Knowing the outcome of your involvement allows you to be an active agent of change. Many organizations, such as ERSLA, provide project specific information where you, the donor, are able to decide the specific organizational project you would like to support. For example, you can direct your support towards any of our five current projects. In Nicaragua, we are distributing water filters, making emergency equipment donation transfers, providing physical fitness training for firefighters, constructing smoke free stoves, and educating children on burn prevention. By nature of the size of our organization, we can offer you, the donor, specific options to choose the project you want to support. This flexibility, coupled with our commitment to donor communication in the form of stories and photos, allows you a close-up experience of our shared work as it happens.

Sustainability through relationships

Not only are we available to communicate with donors, our projects keep us close to the ground, in touch with the people we serve. Every day we are out working with communities and individuals, listening to their stories, understanding their needs, and monitoring the effectiveness of your donations at work. As a small organization we are well positioned by our relationships to do effective direct aid, including managing the sustainability of our projects.

A great example of this is our water filter campaign. Safe drinking water is a need in the communities we service, by its essence it has become a key focus in our work. Our model of distribution partners with local firefighters who not only distribute filters but provide public education, build community relations and accountability. Recipients know their friends (the firefighters) will be monitoring their use and available to assist with individual questions. This model also provides the opportunity for the firefighters to offer home safety inspections and teaching opportunities, thus preventing possible accidents in the future.

Transparency and Program Monitoring

Originally conceived as a way to offer transparency to donors, GPS tracking also allows for effective follow-up with recipients. This simple system provides a great link between donors and recipients that keeps this connection personal. Using methods such as GPS mapping for our projects allows donors to know exactly where their donation went and who received it. Then comes follow-up. We provide scheduled follow-up visits to make sure that if there is a future problem or question from the recipient, they are able to receive an answer. The importance of this step was clear when we recently discovered a manufacturing defect in a series of water filters delivered last year. The taps had broken on a significant number of donated containers and ERSLA was able to resolve the issue with the manufacturer and utilize the firefighters in the area to correct the problem.

With the implementation of GPS tracking of filter deliveries, ERSLA discovered that we were actually geo-mapping communities that had not been mapped before, or had not been updated. This methodology captures useful information that we pass on to the communities we are working with. As a small organization built on real relationships, we are flexible enough to capture opportunities such as these and put them to work.

The world is littered with failed projects due to small defects or lack of monitoring. With smaller organizations it is much easier for individual donors to keep track of their donations. ERSLA has had cases where donors have emailed, called, or even visited and requested to see their previous donation in action. ERSLA has been able to go directly to the recipient, gather current information, photos, or even introduce the donor to the recipient. This is a task very difficult for larger organizations to accomplish.

Access to Involvement

Many donors would rather contribute time than money. We are small enough to accommodate your first-hand participation in our shared work. This element of flexibility makes it easier to customize a program that fits with a volunteer’s schedule. Without having to focus on volume programs where volunteers come for a specific time period, or travel to only one site, ERSLA is able to take into consideration the availability and desires of anyone interested in rolling up their sleeves to help others.

A great example of this type of program is our new long-term volunteer, Gerard Deffenbaugh. Gerard has 8 months available in his schedule before attending law school and wants to improve his Spanish while also offering specific physical fitness training to firefighters through a system called “CrossFit.” ERSLA has been able to arrange housing, language classes, and contacts needed with a group of firefighters who have resources available for fitness training, but don’t necessarily have access to modern equipment. This type of service offers Gerard and other volunteers the opportunity to design programs that maximize their individual talents and enhance their experience as volunteers. In the words of Gerard, “I choose to invest my time with ERLSA because working with a smaller organization allows me to tailor my skills and experience in a way that would be very difficult with larger organizations.”

Proportionate Administrative Costs

Of course we do have administrative costs. We need electricity, gasoline, food, and services just like any other type of work. But instead of implementing a percentage of overall donations to cover these costs, we include a small amount into each donation with the understanding that the volume of donations will support the administrative needs. By doing this, we are able to maintain a system by which our donors are able to ask the question “Where did my money go?” and we are able to answer. A phone number is available to donors which they can reach our directors and volunteers in the field. At any time, if a donor would like to communicate with the person that has specifically managed their donation, it is possible. This is a service not available with larger organizations.

This holiday season, when you are considering putting your resources in the hands of those in need, look at the value of your donation, and think of ERSLA. We can assure you that, when you team up with us, the gift of your generosity allows you to be more than just a financial donor but truly involved in effective direct aid.

How you can Contribute:

For more information email us at info@ersla.org or call 478-787-4889.

To donate, go to www.ersla.org and click the “Donate Now” button to pay through paypal, or send a check to:

ERSLA

P.O. Box 925

Bonaire, GA 31005

Consider a gift donation:

Many donors have asked for gift donations in their name for the holidays; others have donated in the name of friends, co-workers, or family members. ERSLA will make sure to send a note and photo to the gift donor as well. It is a great gift for someone that is hard to buy for.

Every little bit helps. Please pass this on to your friends and family so we can help families have clean drinking water.

Thank you for your support.

Rodney McDonald

Latin American Director

Emergency Response Services for Latin America

www.ersla.org