We’ve all heard the expression ‘to pour cold water’ on something, to be critical of a plan that others thought was exciting or great. Ironically, ‘pouring cold water’ is literally what the super viral and immensely successful ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is doing for a great cause.
The challenge is quite simple. Nominated participants must have a bucket of ice water poured on their head. From the time they are nominated, they have 24 hours to complete the dare; otherwise, they donate $100 to charity, to the ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) Association in the U.S. Many opt to take the ‘cold bath’ and donate as well. Celebrities ranging from Justin Timberlake to LeBron James to Lady Gaga and even former American President George W. Bush have already participated and been doused with cold water.
As popular and successful as the Ice Bucket Challenge has been, one cannot help but wonder if it’s all just a passing fad, a ‘flash in the pan’ that will soon be forgotten. Not wanting to ‘throw cold water’ on this popular campaign, but perhaps all the money collected from those who indeed donate (stats show that the vast majority of those who get splashed don’t give money), is all just a ‘drop in the (ice) bucket.’
The common denominator among the long list of celebrities who’ve taken part in the ALS Challenge is that they truly want to do something to help others. But are they really making a long-term commitment or just a one-time ‘splash’?
Of course, it’s not just entertainers, athletes, and politicians who want to make the world a better place -- we all do. Many companies have made this their mission too. Here are five such companies, entrepreneurs, and innovators making a firm, ongoing, and lasting commitment to make our world a better place to live in:
CodersTrust
We may not think about it as we go about our busy daily routines, but much of the developing world lives in poverty and makes incredibly low wages. Needless to say, this severely limits opportunities for an education, a more specialized job, and a better life.
CodersTrust, a new microfinancing platform backed by the Danish development fund DANIDA, connects aspiring programmers in the developing world with backers who will fund their education. By providing a loan, CodersTrust is able to upgrade the programmers' skills and provide them with a brighter future. It even creates a personalized plan combining training, education, and experience to optimize earnings and career trajectory.
With partnerships arranged in 15 countries, CodersTrust is initiating a pilot class with a test group of 20 students in Bangladesh to upgrade their skills to make more money on freelance marketplaces such as Elance and oDesk. With the improved earnings, students are able to repay the loan to the backer.
CodersTrust partners with Grameen Solutions, a social business initiative established by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.
Vital Capital
Many companies looking to make the world a better place set their sights on Africa. Vital Capital is a leading impact investment fund, focused on sub-Saharan Africa. Vital is a leader in the field of Impact Investing -- targeting investments that produce healthy returns for investors and that also materially improve the quality of life of the communities in which it operates. Consequently, most of Vital Capital’s investments are in high-impact sectors such as affordable housing, renewable energy, water, healthcare, agriculture, and education, helping sub-Saharan Africa’s communities and countries to develop those elements which are essential conditions to sustainable growth.
As reported last year in Forbes, one of Vital Capital’s largest projects in Africa is Kora Housing (pictured), which is currently building 40,000 affordable housing units in Angola in cooperation with the Angolan Government.
Kora is building whole towns from the ground up: first, they clear the ground of landmines left over from the wars fought there. Then, the organization creates the infrastructure for a small city, including water, sewers, roads, and connection to the power grid -- or, in some cases, provide power from generators, all from scratch.
Each Kora community will include pre, primary, and secondary schools, as well as technical and vocational schools, medical clinics, and health centers, and plenty of green space. Vital has many other projects in Africa ranging from dairy farms to their Water For All (WFA) initiative. No doubt about it, Vital Capital is making a difference in Africa.
The Gates Foundation
One person who is no stranger to making a splash is Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, who recently took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge himself. Gates was challenged by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and drenched himself in a most inventive way.
Gates, who is worth an estimated $80 billion, is renowned for his philanthropy through the charitable foundation he runs with his wife, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). It’s one of the largest transparently operated private foundations in the world. Launched in 2000, the primary aims of the foundation are to globally enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty. In America, it aims to expand educational opportunities and access to information technology. With the Gates’ experience, know-how, and, most notably, their enormously vast resources, it’s really no surprise that the foundation has been so successful.
uTest
uTest is the world’s largest open community dedicated to professional testers and software testing. Its purpose is to promote and advance the testing profession and the people who do this vital work.
uTest has partnered with Per Scholas, an American nonprofit social venture committed to breaking the cycle of poverty by creating technology education, training, and career opportunities for low-income individuals.
As part of their agreement with uTest, Per Scholas students go through a rigorous 12-week training program on software testing, culminating in a real-world ‘sandbox’ testing project through uTest. The sandbox project allows these students to put their training into practice and receive feedback about their performance through team leaders and instructors.
If they perform well, uTest invites Per Scholas graduates to paid testing projects that can be performed remotely. This provides earning opportunity, but even more importantly, it provides real-world testing experience.
Charity: Water
If there is one thing most of us take for granted, it’s water. We simply open up our tap, or go to our refrigerator and grab a bottle, and drink. However, there are 800 million people on the planet who don't have clean water. In other words, one in nine people in our world doesn't have access to the most basic of human needs.
Charity: Water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in rural communities in developing nations. For many, it is their first access to clean water. Founded in 2006, it has helped fund more than 6,000 projects in 20 countries -- including Africa, Asia, and Central and South America -- benefiting more than 2.5 million people. One hundred percent of its public donations are used to fund clean water projects, as its operating costs are funded by private donors, foundations, and sponsors.
But Charity: Water is not just about finding new wells -- they also take care of the ones they’ve already built. This is how they ensure that their water projects continue to provide clean water to communities long after they are installed.
Interestingly, Paull Young, Director of Digital at Charity:Water, just announced on his blog that, although he was recently challenged to participate in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, he declined. It wasn’t that Young doesn’t support the cause; he does. It’s not even that he thinks it’s a waste of water -- he explicitly says that’s not the reason.
He writes:
“I won’t be doing the ice bucket thing for more personal reasons. I’m trying to inspire my friends to give to bring clean water to people in the Sahel, where women are working for hours pulling buckets of dirty water from 60 feet underground in the heat of the desert. It doesn’t feel right to tip a bucket of ice on my head when I’m thinking about kids who might not see ice in their lifetime. Instead, I’ll make donations.”
Regardless of your opinion of the Ice Bucket Challenge -- whether you view it as a silly passing fad with little impact, or as a viral sensation raising vast awareness and money for a very worthy cause -- you can’t deny it’s a phenomenon. From celebrities getting doused for charity to regular people donating money to bring water to those who desperately need it, there are many ways to make the world a better place. Now that’s truly refreshing.
