Public Service In Review:
Engaged in Service

It is not just happenstance that President Barack Obama has asked Americans to stand together to meet the challenges we face. The president’s call to service is rooted not in an emphasis on our individual abilities, but rather in the powerful change that can be generated out of our relationships with one another.

This relational approach to social change is the foundation of 1Well, an innovative nonprofit that focuses on the areas of water sanitation, education, food security and clean energy for the poor. What makes 1Well unique is a commitment to directly engage people in the causes they believe in.

Contributors to 1Well are not mere check writers. Instead, 1Well reframes giving as an engaged relationship between Social Venture Capitalists (SVCs), or contributors, and the communities in need. SVCs take control of their giving experience by raising the capital needed for a specific project they select, and they are provided routine updates and pictures about their project that keep them engaged in the communities served by their efforts.

Dan Morrisson, founder of 1Well, understands why this approach works. “When people are given control over their giving process, they feel a sense of ownership and responsibility, and that motivates them.” He adds, “Having a direct connection where you are giving to and helping a specific group of people makes it personal.”

1Well is facilitating a number of projects in the Gujarat region of India, including efforts to expand a child care center, constructing roof rainwater harvesting systems and establishing a solar lantern cooperative. Morrisson is pleased with the response.

“We’ve had high school students plan charity concerts, a yoga instructor donate her class fees and retired teachers hold a chili festival. These are not wealthy individuals — just motivated individuals who want to make a difference in the world.”

And they make that difference because of the relationships they forge with the communities served through 1Well.

www.1well.org