Report recommends improving internet access for women, girls

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30272
• Published date: 01 January 2017
• Date: 01 January 2017

8

JANUARY 2017NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR

© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

DOI: 10.1002/nba

nancial commitment might also be bigger than they

considered as well.”

According to Hawkins, due diligence on the part of

nonprots should start with a philanthropic audit to

see what past commitments the individual may have

made, and they should weed out anyone who seem-

ingly endorsed or partnered with a charity but weren’t

effective advocates. Did they headline a fundraising

gala but then disappear from the eld? Or have they

remained a public supporter of the group and worked

to spread its message far and wide? While there are

times when the former is ne, the latter is usually the

better of the two.

One thing to note: Just because an athlete or enter-

tainer might be in the spotlight doesn’t mean he or she

is comfortable with public speaking and, most impor-

tantly, asking others for money. According to Begun,

many celebrities don’t instinctively understand how to

tell a convincing personal narrative that connects with

the cause or issue they are championing.

“This is a fundamental expectation—that they will

help with fundraising,” Begun said. “But while they

may be great at what they do, they are not great at

asking for money. Many need some help and training

in that to be effective.” ■

CELEBRITY (continued from page 5) GROWTH (continued from page 7)

together for strategic nonnancial partnerships and/

or joint ventures with social enterprises.

• Accelerators and incubators—when a company

provides support, such as mentorship, ofce space,

technical support or access to funding networks, for

a specic social project.

• Corporate foundations—when the charitable

foundation of a company provides working capital

through loans, loan guarantees, or equity invest-

ments—often called program-related investments—to

an organization.

Those in the nancial services industry are the most

deeply involved given their core business, the CECP

said, but active engagement is widespread across all

sectors of the economy.

Interestingly, companies that utilize impact invest-

ing are generally more philanthropic, logging median

total giving levels of about $25.7 million compared to

$15 million for companies not engaged in the practice.

With such strong growth on the horizon, nonprots

would be well-served to look for ways in which their

operations and programming can be adapted to meet

the dual needs of impact investments—namely, a

nancial as well as social return.

To access the report in full, go to http://cecp.co. ■

A new report from the ONE Campaign nds that

expanding internet connectivity among women and

girls in the least developed countries is key to helping

lift families out of poverty.

Per the report, the many social and economic

benets associated with improved internet access—

including higher rates of education, job training and

employment—are not accessible to those who need it

the most. More than half of the world (53 percent) is

still unconnected, and where someone lives makes a

huge difference to whether they can take advantage

of the internet’s potential, the ONE Campaign said.

Indeed, almost 75 percent of Africa’s population is

ofine, and almost 85 percent of people living in the

least developed countries are ofine, compared with

19 percent of people living in developed countries.

Further, women in the poorest countries are less

likely to have access to the internet than men, and the

gap has widened in recent years. The report estimates

that over 71 percent of Africa’s girls and women will

still not be online by 2020, pushing the connectivity gap

between men and women to over 26 percent.

To help spread the benets of internet connectivity

to women and girls in these countries, the report makes

a series of recommendations for funders, including:

• Invest in a digital skills revolution, to ensure that

women and girls have the skills to use the internet

effectively.

• Break down barriers to accessing the internet, to

make sure that women and girls have relevant content

and can overcome cultural barriers that stop them from

accessing the internet.

• Invest in open data on connectivity, in order to

count the unconnected and track commitments to

connect them.

• Build infrastructure for the digital future, to en-

sure affordable access for the world’s most marginal-

ized people.

To read the report in full, go to http://bit

.ly/2ehEHtS. ■

Report recommends improving internet access for women, girls