OneWe
- United States
- Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit
The challenge of sustainability facing social impact based on lack of right relationship and lack of transparency
There are 1.5 million nonprofits and one million of social entrepreneurs and changemakers globally. Nearly three-quarters of the entire population of the United States donates to charity in some form or another on a regular basis (69%), with figures showing that $499 billion was donated in 2022. Despite this, 93.2% of social projects are not sustainable. Furthermore, 93% of social entrepreneurs worldwide advertise their projects on Facebook Page and other social media accounts. Additionally, of those who donate regularly, 75% seek information online about the impact of the nonprofit organization, 63% try to find information about the social issue addressed by the nonprofit organization, and 56% want a list of specific projects supported by the nonprofit organization. On the other hand, 66% of participants believe that stepping away from social media would positively affect their daily mental well-being.
Given the intersection of so many problems at once, a self-conducted study was done and it revealed that one of the main causes of project unsustainability stems from the precariousness in managing the relationship between donors and impact-creators. Additionally, the lack of tools to transparently track the daily operations of social entrepreneurs increases distrust and discourages recurring donations. Lastly, the high cost of impact measurement tools and unfamiliarity with metric usage hinder the ability to record tangible results.
Our innovation aims to bridge the gap between "Impact Creators" (NGO managers, change-makers, social projects,or individuals) and "Contributors" within their own communities. By facilitating connections, we empower Impact Creators to reach their break-even point and sustain their social impact endeavors. Additionally, we manage the relationships within each Impact Creator's established digital community, ensuring efficient communication and collaboration. Simultaneously, we explore diverse revenue generation mechanisms, including monetary donations, in-kind resources, and volunteer hours agreements. Through our platform, we prioritize transparency by meticulously documenting all interactions, exchanges, and impact indicators using social media tools like videos, posts, and photos. Ultimately, our innovation fosters a supportive ecosystem where individuals and organizations can collaborate effectively, leading to amplified social impact and sustainable community development.
The solution encompasses Individuals who create and/or seek to make an impact, aiming to improve the world. Specifically, it targets two groups:
1. Impact Creators, social project managers, who are individuals (both young and adult) residing in communities affected by dysfunctional environments, ranging from violence to pollution, neglect, or discrimination. These Impact creator tirelessly work to enhance peace-building and prosperity through various initiatives such as space maintenance, mental health education, job creation, environmental conservation, art, and culture, among others. However, they currently lack adequate resources and support to sustain their projects, whether through their NGOs, own initiatives, or companies.
2. Contributors who wish to share their resources (time, money, and in-kind donations) and seek transparency in the operations of impactful activities. These contributors are integral to achieving the sustainability of social projects. They are individuals interested in being part of social transformation through their contributions. They are adults capable of generating their own income from employment or businesses, possess good purchasing power, and have their basic needs met.
By connecting both groups, the solution aims to address the need for transparency and sustainability in social projects, thereby improving the lives of both project managers and community members.
We are all Colombians, but our paths have taken us far from our roots. After living and working in diverse cultures, as Colombians experienced firsthand the socio-environmental challenges we have come to understand the complexity of socio-environmental problems and their close relationship with peace. As committed adults, we feel called to leave a meaningful social legacy, combining our skills and passions for the benefit of humanity.
For years, each one separately has volunteered with various organizations, experiencing firsthand the challenges faced by marginalized communities. Our home country and other places we have lived, marked by social conflicts, have inspired us to act as agents of change. Both as social project managers and contributors, we are fully dedicated to addressing the issues facing our society.
Juan David (JD), a computer science engineer, has spent over a decade using his expertise to tackle significant social issues. By resigning from positions at Google, he now dedicates himself entirely to leveraging technology for the common good. As the founder of Code for Chicago, he provides resources for low-income students, demonstrating his commitment to equity. He is also the first founder of OneWe
Juan Felipe, a designer and digital product architect, has left behind a successful corporate career to focus on social work. After working for major companies and his own ventures, he has found his true passion in solving the world's problems.
Dur Montoya, with over 15 years of experience working directly in communities across Asia, Africa, and South America, has collaborated with companies from America and Europe on social projects. Since a young age, she knew she wanted to dedicate her skills to serving others, and today she leads an NGO in Colombia that supports local leaders in peacebuilding efforts.
Each of us led separate lives until, somehow, our paths crossed and we began a respectful friendship. JD founded OneWe in the USA in 2022, and a year later he met JuanFe, who joined the venture. In 2023, both of them met Dur, who had already been working on a similar project with his NGO. Recognizing the complementarity of their skills and visions, they decided to join forces. Now, as three co-founders, along with other team members, they are committed to making this dream a reality.
- Generate new economic opportunities and buffer against economic shocks for workers, including good job creation, workforce development, and inclusive and attainable asset ownership.
- 1. No Poverty
- 8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
- 10. Reduced Inequalities
- 16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
- Prototype
We have selected the prototype stage because we have developed an initial functional version of our solution and have been actively testing it with users in a community in Medellin - Colombia. Over the past 6 months, we have been continuously improving various technical features. To date, we have served over 37 NGOs and their social projects, as well as 120 contributors who have engaged with our platform. We have collected over $1000us for the impact-creators and achieved 11% revenue for OneWe. This approach has allowed us to gather valuable user feedback and validate the feasibility of our product before its full launch.
We have also had the opportunity to initiate a small round of investment with friends, fans, and family members, who have contributed approximately $30,000. All funds have been used in the development of the product.
We believe Solve can provide valuable support beyond just funding. While we have made progress in developing our prototype and raised some initial investment, we recognize that there are still barriers we need to overcome to fully realize our solution's potential, the problem we try to solve is massive then, we couldn't solve it entirely on our own. Specifically, we hope Solve can help us address some challenges like technology-enabled impact measurement techniques related to refining our product and making it more user-friendly. Additionally, we know that our solution is scalable, but it's complex. Solve's network of partners and experts could provide crucial insights and resources to help us overcome these barriers and accelerate the impact of our solution. We understand that Solve aims to connect Solver teams with partners who can offer both monetary and non-monetary support, and we are eager to leverage these opportunities to further advance our solution and make a meaningful difference in addressing social challenges.
- Financial (e.g. accounting practices, pitching to investors)
- Product / Service Distribution (e.g. delivery, logistics, expanding client base)
- Public Relations (e.g. branding/marketing strategy, social and global media)
We are setting a new standard of transparency, efficiency, and scalability for the social sector, where, our innovative platform not only connects efficiently people seeking change with those who are driving that change, but also utilizes multimedia to measure, validate, and sustain social impact in communities across North and Latin America. We turn the pursuit of social change into a direct and transformative experience, establishing a new standard of transparency, efficiency, and scalability in the impact landscape.
By prioritizing transparency in the operational processes of social projects, we provide users with real-time information on the impact of their contributions. Through features such as data visualization and reporting tools, we empower users to track the progress of social projects and see tangible results of their support. This transparency not only fosters trust and security among users but also encourages broader participation and collaboration within the realm of social impact.
Additionally, unlike other resource-generating tools, ours combines four income-generating methods tailored to the realities of the social sector.
Our theory of change proposes that by prioritizing transparency, effective communication, and exploring various mechanisms for resource generation during the engagement or relationship of impact-makers, through a proper digital platform, impact project managers can directly influence the trust of their contributors. As an intermediate outcome, this ensures continuous support for their social initiatives, achieving a financial equilibrium.
In this regard, transparency allows for a clear understanding of how resources are managed, effective communication keeps contributors informed and engaged, strengthening their emotional connection to the cause, and automated impact measurement provides tangible evidence of the results achieved.
Therefore, the last outcome involves Continuous Contributions to the SDGs, to the solutions the world expects to achieve by 2030 such as increased peace, reduced hunger, improved mental health, and greater care for the planet, among others, including the comprehensive development of communities worldwide
We are working towards three intermediate outcomes 2024 and 2025:
- Connection: for effective and transparent communication
- Resource generation mechanisms
- PoSi system for impact measurement
Currently, we have three inputs at a small scale:
- The beta version of the platform and impact experts
- A group of 37 unsustainable NGOs impacting communities
- 60 individuals contributing or willing to contribute some resources
Our team's activities during the second quarter of 2024 are focused on prioritizing transparency to build trust, from app design to constant communication with impact-makers, internal maintenance of the database we are collecting daily, guiding users for optimal platform usage, and importantly, configuring one of the revenue mechanisms: receiving and processing monetary donations.
In the second half of 2024, we will improve revenue generation mechanisms by creating a community option where impact creators can interact with potential volunteers, and by completing the marketplace for product sales and in-kind resource exchange.
By the end of 2024, we aim for the 37 NGOs to have explored at least two mechanisms, and for the 60 contributors to be satisfied, some having contributed financially and others with their time.
In 2025, we plan to develop the PoSi system to evaluate data and create indicators for impact metrics.
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This is a point we are still developing, however, currently these are some indicators we are considering:
(1) to ensure that individuals contributing to social causes feel confident and contribute recurrently, and (2) that impact creators consistently reach their financial equilibrium, so that NGOs and social projects never cease their activities and their impact remains permanent.
- Number of active contributors
- Amount of resources provided per contributor
- Satisfaction level with platform usage
- Number of registered social projects (NGOs)
- Completion and clarity of NGO profiles
- Number of weekly actions posted
- Number of community testimonial videos posted
- Number of thank-you videos posted
- Number of immediate notifications to contributors with videos, audio, or text
- Closed activities from the previous year
- Currently active activities
- Monthly expenses per NGO
- Monthly incomes per NGO
- Monthly income or bonus (in money) for impact creators for managing NGOs without using our platform
- Monthly income or bonus (in money) for impact creators (NGOs) after using our platform
Our technology is based on the most advanced infrastructure platforms and development tools, such as Vercel, Firestore, Stripe, and Locofy, to build a highly scalable social network and crowdfunding platform in the best way for social change. This scalability is achieved because these infrastructures are deployed globally. Additionally, the efficiency of these services significantly reduces the number of developers needed to create an impactful and expandable platform, capable of reaching millions of users worldwide
OneWe, uses game theory and social psychology to reduce fraud and incentivize real positive social impact.
OneWe, uses cloud computing and modern UX principles to deliver an engaging, fast, content-first experience at scale.
OneWe, uses data analysis and machine learning to evaluate its efficiency, minimize fraud and fraud’s impact, and better the user experience (mentoring initiatives and matching donors).
- A new application of an existing technology
- Audiovisual Media
- Crowd Sourced Service / Social Networks
- Software and Mobile Applications
- Colombia
- Chile
- United States
3 full-time cofounders working on the project: JD, JuanFe, y Dur
The CEO-CTO, CPO, and COO.
2 part times Talia and Sol
We have one person on a results-based contract assisting us with data in Europe, and one volunteer aiding us with marketing.
Since 2022 when the project development began with JD and one of his friends, the company was formalized in the USA in September of the same year. In total, it has been 2 years and a few months. However, the third co-founder, who joined last year, has been working on the issue since 2020.
As a new and small company with a small team, we value diversity in all its forms. Our team of three co-founders embodies this diversity in itself. We hail from different countries and cultures, with two men and one woman among us. Our ages, preferences, varied work experiences, and unique perspectives further contribute to this diversity. This diversity enriches our decision-making process and enables us to tackle challenges from multiple angles.
Furthermore, we have established collaborations with a wide range of organizations representing diverse social groups, including the LGBTQ+ community, women's groups, and individuals with disabilities. These partnerships allow us to engage with a variety of perspectives and experiences, enriching our work and broadening our impact.
In our day-to-day operations, we promote inclusion and diversity through practices such as mutual respect, active listening, and clear communication. Although we have not yet formalized a written policy in this regard, we appreciate the reminder of its importance and commit to defining it in a policy in the near future.
Working on it, but so far please find:
Our Massive Transformation Purpose: OneWe is a next-generation platform designed to cultivate trusting relationships between people seeking change (contributors) and people actively creating it (Impact-creator such us social project managers). By facilitating effective connections between them and exploring diverse income resources, we are helping the impact creators reach their break-even point and providing full transparency on impact activities to the contributors, ensuring the sustainability of positive impacts within communities.
Segments
- Beneficiaries: Individuals (impact-makers) who lead social projects or NGOs, live in dysfunctional environments, have a community they impact, and mostly work with vulnerable communities.
- Clients: People or organizations (contributors) who contribute with financial resources, time, knowledge, and in-kind support.
Type of intervention: A platform serves as a technological solution to bridge the gap between those seeking change and those actively driving it, thereby fostering social impact and sustainability.
Value Proposition: A different perspective that demonstrates efficient relationships with better interaction than Instagram and a simple impact metrics system are keys to the sustainability of social projects, In a direct, dynamic, and inspiring manner.
Customer Value Proposition: Trust relationships & Transparency
Channels: Digital by whatsapp, and participation in events
Please find the rest in the jpg bellow:
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- Organizations (B2B)
Our plan for achieving financial sustainability revolves around diversifying our revenue from Tips (donations) and sales of services. To accomplish this, we are implementing several strategies:
Diversification of Revenue Streams: We aim to generate income through various channels, including subscription services, advertising, partnerships, and premium features. By not relying solely on one source of revenue, we mitigate the risk of financial instability. So far, we have received 11% in tips from the donations collected.
User Growth and Retention: At this moment, this is a significant challenge. Increasing our user base and enhancing user engagement are key components of our financial sustainability plan. We know that until we build complete trust, we will have users interested in using our platform.
Investment round with friends, family, and fans: Here we've raised around thirty thousand dollars from 20 investors
We still have a lot to complete in this area. For example, any help from your end would be appreciated
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