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Community Contributions
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WE VALUE SOLIDARITY OVER CHARITY
Every OG program includes a community contribution. These funds go to support the amazing local grassroots organizations that we are partnered with on the ground. From youth empowerment and environmental stewardship to critical education and healthcare, our partners are creating positive change all around the world.
To join an OG program, participants pay both a Membership and Program Fee. A big chunk of the Membership Fee goes into OG’s Community Contribution Fund, which we use to support our partners on the ground. It is kept completely separate from Program Fees so that we be sure every dollar is being used to support our local partners and their community projects and initiatives.
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Every year, we get lots of amazing project proposals from our local partners who are trying to tackle a variety of challenges in their communities. Funds are then distributed strategically in order of priority. One cool part of the Community Contribution Fund is that when you visit our partners on an OG program, you’ll get to learn about and even lend a hand with some of the ongoing projects and initiatives that you helped support with your Community Contribution! It’s just one more way that we’re trying to spark a groundswell of change-makers.
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Want to learn more about Operation Groundswell’s unique pricing structure, check out our Fees & Contributions page here.
EMERGENCY APPEAL
IMMEDIATE SUPPORT FOR TINY TONNES IN COMBODIA
Over the years of travelling to Cambodia, a favourite visit of ours has been to hang out and learn from the amazing leaders, teachers, and students at Tiny Toones in Phnom Penh.
Tiny Toones works to provide a safe and positive environment for the most at-risk and vulnerable children and young people in the area to channel their energy and creativity into arts and education. They believe that when youth have access to free education and strong support systems, it helps them to build self-confidence, and empowers them to pursue their dreams and better employment opportunities.
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On their fundraising page they say:
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“Like many others providing social services to the most vulnerable, we have been hit hard by Covid-19. At a time when our students are in most need, our funding sources have decreased drastically. With our funders and supporters feeling the impacts of the pandemic, our online donations and merchandise sales down and we are facing the biggest challenge in over 18 years of operating. We urgently need your support to keep the centre open. Every dollar helps.
We are asking for $25,000 to cover the costs of rent, bills and staff for the next 6 months to allow us time to hire a Fundraising Manager/Grant Writer in order to make our centre sustainable again. We have the plan but things take time – time we don’t have. Unfortunately we are at the lowest point financially in our history and need a real cash flow injection to keep our lights on – quite literally, in order to execute our plan.”
We fully support this vision and mission and that’s why we are helping them fundraise to keep their operation running!
OTHER FUNDRAISERS
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Alma de Colores
San Juan La Laguna, Guatemala
Ecoaldeas Peru
San Roque de Cumbaza, Peru
Thrive Seed
Delhi, India
Haiti Communitére
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
WHERE DO COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS GO?
Community Contributions are distributed to partners to fund important projects and initiatives in the places we travel to on our programs. Whether it be helping to kickstart a new organization like Ghana Medical Help, contributing to long-term sustainability like the greenhouses built by Spiti Ecosphere in India, or supporting ongoing community development like water irrigation in Pacux, Guatemala, we work with our partners to ensure the impact of Community Contributions will be meaningful and long-lasting.
GHANA MEDICAL HELP, WEST AFRICA
In 2009, Kelly joined the first West Africa medical program. The program was designed to examine the response of development organizations to the real healthcare needs of Ghanaians on the ground. It was then that Kelly witnessed the consequences that result from the lack of open communication between international NGOs and local institutions in developing countries.
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Appalled by the deteriorating state of healthcare, Kelly decided to take action. A year later, Ghana Medical Help was founded using Community Contributions as an acute solution to alleviate the significant basic medical equipment needs in the most northern regions of Ghana.
SPITI ECOSPHERE, INDIA
Ecosphere is a social enterprise that focuses on creating sustainable livelihoods linked to nature conservation and the cultural preservation of the communities found in Spiti. Not only does Ecosphere commit to the development of the place, people, and resources of their specific region, but also to the outside world with whom they wish to share their rich and natural world.
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Using Community Contributions, OG has helped to build greenhouses in collaboration with the local community and artisans that provide a sustainable, year-round source of fresh fruits and vegetables in this remote region. Building greenhouses has had a tremendous impact on quality of life in the winter months; from access to vegetables to providing enough warmth to wash oneself, as well as generating income for villagers, the greenhouses are incredible additions.
PACUX, GUATEMALA
Pacux is a small community on the edge of Rabinal in Guatemala. It is home to families who fled the Rio Negro massacres which took place in 1980-82 or were forcibly relocated to make to make way for the Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam. The people in Pacux are refugees, survivors, and the descendants of massacre victims. They live on a small sliver of land and struggle to generate sufficient work, grow enough food, and heal from longstanding traumas. Nevertheless, they are dedicated to rebuilding their livelihoods through collective action, sustainable agriculture, and critical education.
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Community Contributions helped fund a water well and drip irrigation project which, together, sustain the production of fruits and veggies for the community. The project is maintained by an ambitious group of youth from Pacux who also use the space as a school for practical education in agroecology.
