Pallotta touched on a challenging subject many nonprofits face as we raise funds – administration costs. Pallotta asserts that for nonprofits to realize their full potential and make the greatest difference for their beneficiaries, they must be allowed to use the same strategies and tactics as the for-profit sector. These include activities such as investing in marketing and advertising and paying competitive wages to individuals who bring significant value to the organization. Furthermore, Pallotta argues that the public must get over its fixation on fundraising costs and overhead, as they are not accurate measures of the impact an organization is achieving. 

A striking example of this was shown using pie charts to compare the overhead and program expenses for two different soup kitchens. Soup Kitchen A had less than 10 percent overhead, and Soup Kitchen B had 30 percent. A typical donor would look at the two pie charts and choose to donate to the soup kitchen with the lower overhead so “more money goes towards the cause.” However, Pallotta demonstrates how these pie charts are misleading. If the donor knew that Soup Kitchen A served meals that were not nutritious and only served 50 clients a day, while Soup Kitchen B fed a complete balanced meal, reached 200 clients a day, and has a program where clients could purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at reduced rates – which would they then choose? It is evident that a simple pie chart does not provide enough information for a donor to make an informed decision on how to spend their charitable dollars. 

For the corporate sector, investing in “overhead,” by providing competitive salaries to attract the right people and spending money in marketing and advertising, is the status quo. This allows companies to become more profitable, maximize operational efficiencies, and improve their triple bottom line. However, if the same were applied to nonprofits, there is much scrutiny. The side of the story that isn’t told, and what Pallotta knows to be true, is that by allowing and perhaps even mandating charities to invest smartly in overhead, they can not only increase their value for money but also scale their impact. By doing so, they will improve more lives, build more resilient communities, and become more sustainable. 

With that premise, we invite donors and prospective donors to get to know us. We pride ourselves on being focused on delivering evidence-based results and measurable impacts in the work we do. We have been recognized for this by Charity Intelligence, as one of the Top 10 Impact Charities of 2018. They measure impact by determining the return for every dollar donated, highlighting charities that accomplish more with the donations they receive. 

Currently, we are introducing new ways of demonstrating our impact, including a new approach to storytelling and showing our impact through videos. We are using the UN’s sustainable development goals as a framework, allowing us to work side-by-side with governments and non-governmental organizations around the world to achieve a common purpose.

We look forward to building lasting relationships with our new and existing donors, as we move forward with exciting new initiatives and as we grow together to transform more lives. 

The post Creative Impact – risk-taking and innovation for the charitable sector appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

At the Devex UHC Pavilion, I had the opportunity to hear from global leaders who discussed these challenges and shared insights about how we can work towards achieving the goal of UHC. Many ideas were shared, and it is clear UHC will not be achieved alone; we need to build collaborative, multi-sector partnerships that bring together a range of perspectives and expertise. Our beneficiaries must be at the centre of our solutions; a human-centred approach is essential to ensure we are fully meeting the needs of the end user. Further, we need to build scalable and sustainable models that can attract private sector investment to our solutions. Most importantly, through all of this we need to ensure we leave no one behind – that means developing innovative models to reach the most underserved and marginalized communities.

Uncorrected poor vision is the world’s largest unaddressed disability, with one in three people being affected – 89 percent of which live in developing countries (Essilor). Even more alarming, this costs our global economy US$272 billion in lost productivity every single year (Essilor).

Poor vision is a public health crisis, and it is both a cause and consequence of poverty. Those who live in poverty are more susceptible to vision impairment because of lack of access to primary health services, poor hygiene and sanitary conditions, and cultural stigmas around vision correction. When a person living in poverty can properly see, they become an active, engaged member of their community, and they no longer face the burden of being shamed for their disability.

An estimated US$14 billion is required to create a world free from uncorrected refractive errors (Essilor). This sounds like a lot, but it is achievable – with commitment and action from governments, the private sector, civil society organizations and global citizens like you.

Together, we can improve the lives of millions of people by preventing blindness and restoring sight. A simple pair of eyeglasses enables individuals to return to work, provides children with the opportunity to attend and succeed at school, and increases one’s safety and well-being.

We partner with local hospitals and governments to provide quality eye care services to everyone – regardless of gender, age or ability to pay. We work to address the root causes of avoidable blindness and remove barriers to access for women and men alike. Our innovative community outreach model trains community health workers – typically women who live and work in our target communities – to conduct door-to-door eye screenings and educate families about eye health and general health topics such as prenatal care, nutrition and immunization.

Enabling individuals to reach their full potential benefits us all. We have made significant strides in addressing poor vision, but there is still much work to be done. We have an opportunity to collectively address one of the world’s largest public health challenges and improve the lives of millions while doing so.

This World Sight Day, October 10, I invite you to make a donation and join us as we transform lives – For All The World To See.

The post Universal Health Coverage: A radical idea and a basic human right appeared first on Operation Eyesight.