Why Global Hand?
At this time, we are not yet winning the battle against global poverty. Money is not getting the job done. The Global Hand community is committed to using non-financial resources wherever it is wise and appropriate to do so.
Why use non-financial resources?
There are many good reasons to use financial resources in the battle against world need. It can serve as an injection into the local economy, ensure cultural appropriateness in aid choices and avoid many of the difficulties that otherwise compound international response to global issues.
We in Global Hand heartily endorse the wisdom of using money in many need scenarios. We have, though, one major reservation in seeing money as the one definitive answer: there is not enough currently available to defeat world need. At this time, we are not yet winning the battle against global poverty. Money is not getting the job done.
So the Global Hand community is committed to using non-financial resources wherever it is wise and appropriate to do so. We do not think we can afford to turn our backs on the massive non-financial resources available while human suffering continues, unabated, in so many parts of our globe.
Providing a missing link…
Global Hand arose from frustration rife in relief and development circles.
Corporate/community frustration: Often people want to provide help in the face of need, but not necessarily by offering money. They may prefer to offer goods, freight or human resources. Their problem is that, frequently, they struggle to find NGOs who want to partner. They invest valuable time as they search, unsuccessfully, for interested NGOs. Goodwill may meet disappointment, relationships may become strained and resources of value often overlooked.
Humanitarian frustration: NGO staff, already stretched in their disaster or development context, find it difficult to handle offers coming from the commercial world. These add significantly to the workload and, more fundamentally, can lead to undermined relationships. Some agencies refuse as much as 95% of the offers made to them and, when corporations can’t understand why this is the case, it leads to strained relationships. Even greater concern follows, for all parties, when those refusing the offers are unable to refer these offers on to other potential partners.
Global Hand has been set up to help. It is designed to help all place their offers and needs before a wide audience on both sides in order to maximize connectivity and partnerships.