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Ideas for starting a charity

post #1 of 12
2/24/10 at 3:35am
Thread Starter 
Hi

I want to start a charity providing some medical service to the needy here in India with an initial donation of 5,000,000 INR (approx 100000 USD). I have around 2500 sq feet of space that I can utilize for this space though it is on the first floor with only a staircase and no ramp or staircase.

I was thinking of something like a CT SCAN center providing the service for 50% of the commercial price. I arrived at the figure of 50% believing that 20% would be profit that the person running the commercial service would be earning and 30% would be the amortized cost of the machine. So 50% should cover the running expenses such as staff, electricity etc. Though I dont think a CT SCAN machine can be purchased in a 100000 USD budget.

The whole idea is at the most initial stage and I welcome all ideas regarding how something worthwhile can be done for the needy in a very poor country like India. It doesn't have to be in the medical field even.


Best regards
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post #2 of 12
2/24/10 at 3:38am
The Human Fund: Money for People.
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post #3 of 12
2/24/10 at 3:43am
1) clean water
2) vaccinations
3) antibiotics
4) nutrition

Those are the big impact basics.
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post #4 of 12
2/24/10 at 3:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by aj_del View Post
Hi

I want to start a charity providing some medical service to the needy here in India with an initial donation of 5,000,000 INR (approx 100000 USD). I have around 2500 sq feet of space that I can utilize for this space though it is on the first floor with only a staircase and no ramp or staircase.

I was thinking of something like a CT SCAN center providing the service for 50% of the commercial price. I arrived at the figure of 50% believing that 20% would be profit that the person running the commercial service would be earning and 30% would be the amortized cost of the machine. So 50% should cover the running expenses such as staff, electricity etc. Though I dont think a CT SCAN machine can be purchased in a 100000 USD budget.

The whole idea is at the most initial stage and I welcome all ideas regarding how something worthwhile can be done for the needy in a very poor country like India. It doesn't have to be in the medical field even.


Best regards

100kusd can be the source for a pretty good micro-finance fund that helps small businesses get off the ground. You can affect a lot of change that way.
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post #5 of 12
2/24/10 at 4:58am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Milpool View Post
1) clean water
2) vaccinations
3) antibiotics
4) nutrition

Those are the big impact basics.

All good idea but how to implement them so that the whole thing becomes self sustaining. I want a project which does not require any more money from my side after the initial 100K.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SField View Post
100kusd can be the source for a pretty good micro-finance fund that helps small businesses get off the ground. You can affect a lot of change that way.

I would appreciate if you expound how this works.
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post #6 of 12
2/24/10 at 4:59am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by leftover_salmon View Post
The Human Fund: Money for People.

, this is not a George Costanze type charity
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post #7 of 12
2/24/10 at 10:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by aj_del View Post
All good idea but how to implement them so that the whole thing becomes self sustaining. I want a project which does not require any more money from my side after the initial 100K.



I would appreciate if you expound how this works.

I think with any of the ideas, you could attract more donations and support if it is clear you are doing good work that is well managed.

That said, any idea is going to need to be run as a business to keep it self sustaining and not relying on additional donations all the time. That may eliminate the possibility of helping the poorest of the poor, as they likely won't have the money to pay for a well to be dug to provide clean drinking water. A little market research would tell you for sure.

In that case, it may be best to do the micro-finance idea as it would help provide the environment for economic growth and jobs formation that would help a community a lot. Basically you act as a bank, loaning small amounts of money to new or small businesses at a rate that is very low (perhaps only to match inflation so as to preserve your capital year over year). You could even target specific business segments, e.g. ones that would have an impact on the poor in an area. Risk would very likely have to be managed in another way (e.g. not through the interest rates) otherwise it would probably price your loans the same as a traditional loan from a bank, which may price these businesses out of the market.
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post #8 of 12
2/24/10 at 10:12am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Milpool View Post
Risk would very likely have to be managed in another way (e.g. not through the interest rates) otherwise it would probably price your loans the same as a traditional loan from a bank, which may price these businesses out of the market.

I thought the reason that these people could not get a loan from a bank was due to lack of track record, collateral, guarantor etc rather than due to their inability to pay the commercial rate of interest
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post #9 of 12
2/24/10 at 10:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by aj_del View Post
I thought the reason that these people could not get a loan from a bank was due to lack of track record, collateral, guarantor etc rather than due to their inability to pay the commercial rate of interest

Well, some are denied outright. Others, though approved, get a very high interest rate. The general idea is that increased risk needs increased reward.
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post #10 of 12
2/24/10 at 10:37am
Thread Starter 
In India, the unregulated moneylenders charge 10% per month from the lowly.
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post #11 of 12
2/24/10 at 11:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Milpool View Post
1) clean water
2) vaccinations
3) antibiotics
4) nutrition

Those are the big impact basics.

Close. Sanitation,i.e. pit privvies (still the #1 method in the world, btw) and mosquito netting. Also Ron Volgel, while doing work for WHO in the 70s or 80s, demonstrated maternal literacy is the #1 predictor of infant mortality in the undeveloped world.

So there is a great project for your charity: female literacy programs. Develop a model where the cost is just enough to be self-sustaining or take in work for the students to do, i.e. translating or reading letters/documents to the illiterate.
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post #12 of 12
2/24/10 at 12:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Piobaire View Post
Close. Sanitation,i.e. pit privvies (still the #1 method in the world, btw) and mosquito netting. Also Ron Volgel, while doing work for WHO in the 70s or 80s, demonstrated maternal literacy is the #1 predictor of infant mortality in the undeveloped world.

So there is a great project for your charity: female literacy programs. Develop a model where the cost is just enough to be self-sustaining or take in work for the students to do, i.e. translating or reading letters/documents to the illiterate.

Good call on sanitation. Reduce disease vectors.
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