Application Information for Beneficiaries
Our beneficiaries are innovative non-profit global organizations working on creative solutions to improve the health status of the world's poor. We look for beneficiaries whose members have talents in scientific writing and who are interested in sustainable income streams. To learn more about becoming a beneficiary, read on!
How does an organization apply?The first step in applying is recruiting three or more editors linked to your organization who can apply to become members of EEA. We mandate this step because the beneficiaries play a critical role in managing and improving upon the EEA, and to effectively do this, some members must share some knowledge about and involvement in technical editing.
Upon acceptance of three EEA members allied with the beneficiary, please send a brief, text-only cover letter pasted in the body of the email (no attachments please) to beneficiaries(AT)equityedit(DOT)org. Include in this cover letter the following information:
1) two-paragraph summary (can include links to any web-based content) describing the health and pro-poor mission of the organization.
2) names and roles within the beneficiary organization of the EEA members.
3) name and one-paragraph biography of at least one board member who will agree to facilitate at least five hours per week of pro-bono time from the organization on general EEA management tasks.
4) statement of the non-profit, tax-exempt status of the beneficiary organization, along with relevant tax ID number.
What type of organization can apply?
An organization may apply if it:
1) develops innovative solutions to local health problems of global significance
2) works directly with poor communities to achieve these solutions
3) is open-source; that is, any innovations they make are licensed by a creative commons license or are otherwise made freely available in some electronic format
How are disbursements made?
Disbursements are made on a monthly or bimonthly basis by check or direct electronic transfer (ACH) to the beneficiary.
How can the funds be spent?
The primary condition is that all funds generated are spent within the poor communities themselves; that is, no funds are to be used for expatriate travel, living expenses, and salaries. Additionally, to develop solidarity with our editors, we prefer that the funds be spent towards a specific campaign. That is, we might together set a target of "building a surgical center to provide emergency cesarean sections" and then the funds can be spent towards that goal.
What are your reporting requirements?
We select beneficiaries who are transparent, open-source, internet-saavy, and efficient. As such, most of our reporting requirements should just be standard operating procedures of the beneficiary. We believe that this is in the financial interest of the beneficiary, since the more that the editors understand the project, the more likely they will donate. Since we rely on a social network model of donations, we also request that the beneficiary provide personal stories, pictures, and blog entries to engage our editors. The following documents should be made available online for download and perusal by our editors.
1. some preliminary plan of what the immediate goals of the campaign will be
2. quarterly updates of how our donations were used, addressing the targets of the preliminary plan and some aspect of the dollar amounts associated with various aspects of the implementation
3. annual report of the organization
4. media materials (video, text, photos) of the processes and people involved in the work
5. complete financial documents and budget of the organization.
What is a typical financial goal?
The financial goals are set by the beneficiary in collaboration with the EEA team. One aspect of our model is that the beneficiary organization invest time and resources into EEA; the great energies they invest into the association, the greater returns they can expect to achieve.