CleanBirth - Saving Mothers and Babies in Laos
CleanBirth.org - Donate $5 Saves 2 Lives
September 2, 2005 was the day I became a mother. I am grateful that Nikolai was born safely and that I was well-cared for throughout.
Tomorrow, we begin the crowdfunding campaign to save 1,000 moms and 1,000 babies in Laos. (Link to be posted tomorrow)
Please donate, post the link to your Facebook page and, if you can, add a picture of your baby or a mother/baby who you love.
Why? A mother dies every minute from pregnancy and birth related complications: 99% in the developing world, 90% preventable. CleanBirth.org works in southern Laos, where maternal and infant mortality rates are among the highest in the world.
How? In partnership with a Lao non-profit, CleanBirth.org trains village nurses to use and distribute Clean Birth Kits (birthing supplies which prevent infection). Further, we fund nurses’ trips to remote villages to distribute the kits and conduct “Safe Birth Outreach,” a curriculum aimed at making birth safer.
What Can You Do? Join us by
1. Donating here http://startsomegood.com/Venture/cleanbirth/Campaigns/Show/save_the_lives_of_mothers_and_infants_in_laos
2. Spread the word on Facebook and Twitter!
About CleanBirth.org
From 2008-2011, Kristyn Zalota (MA, LCCE, doula) worked with Burmese, Cambodian and Ugandan women and saw that prenatal and postnatal care was largely unavailable. While researching the issue, she discovered the effectiveness of Clean Birth Kits and Laos’ tragically high rates of maternal and infant mortality.
In 2012, she partnered with Lao non-profit Our Village Association (OVA) to bring kits and education to southern Laos. Within less than a year, CleanBirth.org has amassed a volunteer team of more than 10 men and women whose expertise enables us to more effectively realize our mission.
This crowdfunding thing is not as easy as it looks.I just looked at the list that I started with and felt pride that I had gotten it all done. In order to make life easier for others of you embarking on a crowdfunding campaign for a non-profit, here’s my how to:
Pick a Platform: There are tons. I chose StartSomeGood because our 501c3 status is pending and they are non-profit focused. They take less money than Kickstarter and their “all or nothing” policy is a bit softer. I’ve been so pleased with their customer service. A specific person, Patty, has been assigned to help me and she has proofed my text, told me what to add, given me ideas.
Time Frame: We are doing 5 weeks. Just the way it worked out. Usually a month or so.
ID Target Market: Ours = Mothers primarily based on donations. When coming up with your target: Think what’s my issue, geography, innovation, who am I? This helped me to plan the video and text.
Title: Short and catchy: Birth Supplies to Save 1,000 Moms & Babies in Laos
Text: Summarize your project and organization history.
Video: So important but doesn’t have to be high production quality. Figure out who you are talking to and appeal to them. If you can get help, as I did, your life will be a million times easier. But don’t put off the campaign because you don’t have a film genius at your disposal.
Financial Goal and Rational: Why are you asking for this money? Due to StartSomeGood’s rules, I divided my goal up: $1,600 is my tipping point (which I must achieve to keep the money) and will fund 3 months of kits and education, $4980 is my large goal and is needed to fund the kits and education for the year.
Rewards: You need to decide what you will give depending on what you do. We are doing cards at $10 + magnets at $25 + calendars at $50 + phone call at $100 + Lao scarf at $200 + Lao table cover for $500 + wall hanging at $1000 (each levels gets all the previous level gifts). Who knows how much this incentivizes people but you have to do it.
Strategy for Getting Donors: This is on-going and intense. First day is critical, last week too. Here’s what I am doing: First I sent an email to 30 friends/donors begging them to donate on Day 1 (important!). Next, on the day, I will send a reminder and instructions for getting their friends involved. I have 3 blog networks ready to promote it. I will approach more bloggers. And FB, Twitter, Instagram non stop. Plus two live fundraisers scheduled.
That’s the thought that’s been in my head for a month.
I feel badly that my blog has been so lackluster since the fundraising took over. Each time, I delete my “Google Alerts” about Maternal Mortality, Infant Mortality and Clean Birth Kits, I cringe. I still want my readers to know about these things…and I want this site to keep being relevant but the time just isn’t there.
Does anyone out there have 15-20 minutes a few times a week to write up an article on maternal/infant health and crosspost it on FB and Twitter?
Email me at: kzalota@yahoo.com
Thanks!
Thanks to LaotianMama for helping make my wish to supply 1,000 Clean Birth Kits to pregnant women come true. Read her wonderful blog post here: My Christmas Wish is Clean Birth Kits in Laos.
Merry Christmas!