INTERNATIONAL

Our first International section appeared in 1998, when we listed SATELLIFE, Verite, and the International Medical Equipment Collaborative. In all, we have listed 25 international charities, out of a total in Massachusetts of about 81 with budgets below $3 million—31% of the field. But this is a rapidly growing field, so numbers are approximate and we are confident that both the field and our listings in it will grow and multiply.

Taxonomically, the field may be subdivided either along the same lines as domestic philanthropy as a whole — replicating internationally what philanthropy does for quality of life domestically; or, for donors’ convenience, along geographic lines. In our Directories on the web, we can do both — donors could specify their primary interest by field of philanthropy or geographic region, and the webware will identify the relevant charities accordingly.

Because this field is relatively small and growing fast, it would be strategically wise for the charities to collaborate in promoting the field — not just their own organizations — to donors. We are convinced that more donors are interested in international affairs than is reflected in personal giving numbers — e.g., Giving USA’s 1-2% going to international affairs in 2005. By their calculations, foundations and corporations give more internationally than individuals do — both around $3 billion — whereas with philanthropy as a whole, 85% of private dollars come from individuals, 10% from foundations, 5% from corporations.

So tapping into the interest and generosity of individual donors has huge potential, which this new field can develop quickly and efficiently by working together. Perhaps the Catalogue can help to facilitate and expedite that collaboration.

Here are several Massachusetts examples of the good that American philanthropy is doing every day throughout the world. Of the three sectors representing our nation abroad — government, business, and philanthropy — which best represents you, your family, and your values? Don’t you think it’s time you pitched in and supported them?

SATELLIFE: Communicating to Save Lives (Cat’98 — [link]) has grown significantly since its original listing—its budget from $800,000 to $1.3 million, and its staff from five to seven. Talk about timing — they were founded in 1989 to provide “information services” to healthcare professionals in the developing world — an elegant, potent, highly cost-effective idea. They proceeded to establish themselves, and then the information revolution happened! Fully utilizing the web, they are transforming rural healthcare in developing countries simply by enabling local professionals to get the latest research on any healthcare subject. Working with the government in Uganda, they created a Uganda Health Information Network — including an e-mail newsletter HealthNetNews that disseminates information from medical journals — $28,000-worth of subscriptions. By opening this information to thousands of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers, millions of people can now receive better medical treatments. Mozambique is next, and others are sure to follow.

The International Medical Equipment Collaborative (IMEC — Cat’98 — [link]) was created in 1994 to distribute donated medical equipment, supplies, and support services to doctors, nurses and technologists working in hospitals, clinics, and orphanages throughout the developing world. So far they have conveyed equipment from American hospitals nationwide to healthcare facilities in 70 countries. Last year alone they sent 25 shipments to 35 facilities in 15 countries. They have tripled in size since their Catalogue listing — staff from eight to 25, volunteers from 1,500 to 5,000, with many partnering organizations. All because one veteran senior hospital manager had an idea, the determination, and the competence to do it!

Human Rights Education Associates (HREA — Cat’03 — [link]), founded in 1996, is today the world’s leading organization dedicated to training and educating human rights workers everywhere. They provide long-term courses, occasional workshops, an innovative distant-learning program and above all their multilingual website — in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The key to their success has been to identify a niche — the need and opportunity to provide and/or disseminate educational and training materials and curricula to human rights workers of all kinds, in all places, via a central website. Human rights organizations post their materials on the website, for universal accessibility and global empowerment of the cause. By 2003 they were receiving 500,000 hits monthly, and today that is over two million, from every country on Earth, with 1.3 million downloads last year of full-text education, training and resource materials. By now their alumni are working throughout the world’s human rights networks — on national human rights commissions, national and international courts, the leading human rights organizations, and the networks of human rights observers in conflicted zones like Darfur, Liberia, and Nepal. Their staff have been elected or appointed to leadership positions on major international boards and councils in the human rights field. HREA has been recognized by the Office of the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights, and nominated by the Dutch government to receive the biennial UNESCO Human Rights Education Prize, to be announced this coming December 10th, Human Rights Day. The leverage of your investments in HREA, for the toilsome struggle for human rights around the world, is unbeatable.