2020 - the beginning of a new decade. I wished for immense power to face a challenging new decade. 2020 indeed has been challenging and we are just in the eight-month. Now that pandemic is a part of our lives, there is a streak of activities that are happening all over the globe that is testing mankind every day. While there are a series of bigger pandemics already knocking on our doors, natural and man-made calamities are not giving us a break.
On August 11th, 2020, after a series of violent protests, the Lebanon government has stepped down. The protest occurred after a massive explosion rocked Beirut killing more than 200 people and wounding more than 6000 people.
The country was already suffering through its worst economic crisis in decades, coupled with rising coronavirus rates, and the government has been plagued by accusations of corruption and gross mismanagement.
The explosion was caused by 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored for six years in a warehouse in the city’s port. Its negligence by officials was also one of the reasons for the protests. The below tweets highlight the devastation:
The rebuilding work has started.
World leaders have pledged $300 million to rebuild Beirut—far short of the estimated $10-15 billion in damage. Rescue workers are already having a tough time with an ongoing pandemic, social distancing measure, and now the horrific explosion. Here is a list of 10 nonprofits working in the country that are looking for your help.
Another nonprofit organization that is helping the people on the ground is Preemptive Love - an organization that exists to end the war.
“We’re building the most diverse community of peacemakers on the planet, to end the war.”
Their recent blog post talks about the government collapse, the rise of fear of hunger, and how the nonprofit is overcoming all this. “We’re delivering hundreds of hot meals every day, especially for those who can’t leave their homes due to illness, disability, or needing to care for small children.”
“But the most important thing to know about our response in Beirut? It is led by local, Lebanese people. If you’ve been following our response since last week, you’ve seen our colleague Michel more than once. Beirut is his home. Our local staff and partners have grown up here. They know these streets and neighborhoods.”
The blog post not only tells the work the organization is doing but also how it is helping communities across society. It is a voice that is comforting and also ties backs to the core values of the organization. Finally, you are also provided with a giving option.
Recently Jeremy Courtney, Founder, and CEO, Preemptive Love was sharing his journey with Justin Wheeler, CEO, and Co-founder of Funraise. The 43-minute audio conversation focuses on how the entrepreneur along with his rock solid belief of never giving up has created a global community of peacemakers. “We haven't always said it this way, we didn't start out saying it this way, but we exist to end the war. That's what it is we're trying to tackle.”
“When hard times come when the money is about to run out or bombs are falling like you want something really big to be reaching for. You don't want something that's fairly pedantic and mundane because frankly, the risks of doing this work are too large to settle for, we're just trying to feed a few people. You know, that's not enough... I don't know what to say, that's not enough to put my life on the line. But I guess on some level, that's not enough to put my life on the line. I want to be sure that what we're doing has the potential to have generational impacts. And when it comes to scaring donors away, I mean, it all comes down to believability, I think.”
I don’t agree with everything that Jeremy says but his conviction, belief, and core values of his organization struck with me. After all, he is an Entrepreneur.
“I just have an entrepreneurial mind. I like to push boundaries. I like to go where no one else will go. I'd like to try things that no one else is doing.”
Talking about the fundraising initiatives Jeremy adds that the organization has built a pretty sophisticated tech stack that helps keep us engaged and segmented and talking to donors in the way they prefer on the channels they prefer.
In some ways, you know, we are making certain investments for years before you really start to feel the momentum is gaining. You know that the amount of time that you can invest in building out API calls and integrations with like a Salesforce and trying out different email providers or tech services or whatever.
All that kind of stuff. The amount of time that you can invest. Figuring it out. Trading pieces out as is significant. And you've got to just keep going if you want to see it pay off eventually. So it's a little bit everything.
Technology needs to be worked on and tested for a longer duration to get the right results. And this applies to nonprofits which have been perfectly highlighted by Jeremy.
This also gives me an opportunity to take a look at a simple and informative website. The entire website(mobile) is divided into three simple sections:
A hero image talking about Beirut explosion (the ongoing campaign)
The stories that showcase the organization’s work with an email subscription to the blog.
And the various ways the organization is serving communities.
A nonprofit website’s home page can’t get simpler and elegant than this.
And so is the “Donation Page” with one time and monthly donation options. To make you understand how your money will help lives in Syria and Iraq, the nonprofit has a video to do all the talking.
Simplicity and trust are evident in the core values, communications, and when the CEO speaks.
“We're in the people-saving business, not the fundraising business.”