Interview with Yanti Turang, Founder of LearnToLive

LearnToLive brings healthcare to the people of North Sulawesi via three-week traveling clinics with teams of doctors, nurses, and medical students from the United States and Australia. The clinics provide basic healthcare, teach preventative strategies, and initiate follow-up care with local health facilities, when needed.  The main goal of LearnToLive is to provide healthcare to people living in remote areas so that they can live long, healthy lives.  The secondary goal is for medical and nursing students to use these clinics as a means to gain the experience they need to jump-start their careers.

To date, LearnToLive has successfully funded two projects on StartSomeGood: Let’s Get LearnToLive Off the Ground and the 2012 Indonesian Health Initiative, raising close to $7,000 during each campaign. Recently, I had the chance to catch up with Yanti, who shared her experiences during the 2012 Indonesian Health Initiative as well as an exciting update about a new project for July of this year. 

To date, LearnToLive has successfully funded two projects on StartSomeGood. What’s the secret to your success?

Our campaigns have always begun a week or two before we start our project. It is great for donors to see results and I believe people seeing results instantly really helps your campaign. I also believe a clever video is essential. People want to give, but they want to feel good about giving. You need to make this a priority. You need to make your project accessible on many levels.

The funds raised on StartSomeGood helped you officially launch LearnToLive and it has grown so quickly since then. What can you tell us about the ups and downs of starting a business and helping it grow?

I must admit that when I envisioned LTL I didn’t take into account that I need to simultaneously run a sound business. I quickly realised that in order to have LearnToLive come to life it needs to have a strong business model behind it. So the last year and half has been a huge learning curve. The only way I could learn about this was to immerse myself with people who had expertise in this. I have tried to learn all I can and apply to LearnToLive.

Last year you raised almost $7,000 for your 2012 Indonesian Health Initiative. How did that trip turn out?

In July, 2012, I took a team of physicians, nurses, public health practitioners, teachers, and architects to 4 different villages in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. For three weeks, the team provided traveling health clinics, public health outreach, and a water program in the villages of Sapa, Beringin, Likupang, and Bunaken.

The clinics provided basic health care, preventative screenings, and established a critical care patient follow-up procedure. Our water team evaluated the availability of clean water for residents in each village and gathered important information pertaining to rain water collection. Finally, our public health program connected with all of the local residents of the villages and developed a greater understanding of the politics and how the villages conducted their day-to-day living.

LTL is in the process of preparing for our return trip to North Sulawesi in July 2013. The organization acquired a trained epidemiologist, who is developing tools to measure and evaluate each program’s impact. In addition, LTL is planning to bring a civil engineer to help build and develop infrastructure for rain water collection. We are also planning to bring an ophthalmologist and dentist.

LTL is committed to improving health outcomes in North Sulawesi. Our program prides itself on our respect and understanding of Indonesian culture. Moreover, we are dedicated to providing environmental and economically sustainable solutions to the residents of North Sulawesi. LTL looks forward to the future and continues to be committed to improving health, one step at a time.

I hear LearnToLive is planning another campaign this year. Can you give us a preview of what we can expect from your next project?

LearnToLive’s campaign this year is going to be a great one! We are going for a different edge this year, music will be involved for sure. Can’t wait to launch. We will be launching in July of 2013. Stay tuned.

Check out our website at www.learntoliveglobal.org.

Photos courtesy of LearnToLive

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Are you inspired by Yanti’s drive and success?  Do you have a world changing idea, but need a way to fund it?  Learn more about funding a project on StartSomeGood here.

What’s Your Secret to Crowdfunding Success? (Part 2)

Ever wonder what it takes to run a successful crowdfunding campaign? Are you thinking about launching a campaign with StartSomeGood, but need some advice about how to get started? Well, you’re certainly in luck! Over the past year and a half, I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing a ton of really special social entrepreneurs who have successfully funded their projects using StartSomeGood. Hoping to inspire all you would-be social entrepreneurs out there to get your projects up and running, I’ve compiled some really useful crowdfunding advice for you to follow, straight from the entrepreneurs themselves. A couple weeks back, I shared advice from six of these entrepreneurs. Here’s what a few more awesome entrepreneurs had to say:

Yanti Turang, LearnToLive
Raised $6,925 to launch LearnToLive and $6,935 to start the 2012 Indonesian Health Initiative

I really believed in LTL so I invested money upfront to make it happen. This also showed people that I was serious. I think when we were in Indonesia and posting on our blog it showed people that we were doing it and it was real. Our campaign didn’t finish until we arrived home, so I think people seeing us out there really helped us go beyond our goal. Also, I set a high tipping point—people look at that. I think it’s better to go higher rather than lower. Finally, you can do anything. Take the time and just make it a priority in your life and it will happen!

Brad Hurvitz, Trek to Teach
Raised $2,910 to expand Trek to Teach

The people who have StartSomeGood campaigns have passion and have a mission. Success is relative and it must be defined by the entrepreneur and his or her team. I believe one of the most important lessons that I have learned is to understand that there is no such thing as “failing.” With every wall that an entrepreneur hits, and they will indeed hit several, there are ways of getting beyond these speedbumps. Hit the speedbumps early and learn how to avoid them in the future. If you can learn from your mistakes, it is not a failure.

Rey Faustino, One Degree
Raised $4,684 to launch One Degree

The point was to get people to know about what we’re doing and get the word out and StartSomeGood was a really great platform for that.  The biggest piece of advice is that this is just a tool.  It’s kind of like a tin can and unless you take that tin can and give it to somebody and say, “Hey can you put some money in this tin can for this really great cause?” then nothing is going to happen to your tin can—it’s just going to sit there and collect dust.  It was a ton of work to be really organized about when to contact people and for what reason.  I created tons of spreadsheets to have a timeline for who to contact when and who could contact their networks and why.  There was a direct correlation between how much work I did that day communicating with people and how much money I raised that day or the next day.  The days I was too busy there was a direct correlation to how little money I raised that day or how little link clicks I got that day.  It’s like a tin can—that’s the best advice I can give to you guys.  Good luck, now go StartSomeGood!  

Weh Yeoh, whydev
Raised $4,745 to build an international support network for isolated aid workers

To other crowdfunding campaigns, the best thing you can do is listen closely to StartSomeGood’s advice before your campaign is launched and really spend a lot of time planning out how you are going to carry it out. The guys at StartSomeGood are the experts—they’ve really seen it all, so follow their advice. The more time and energy you spend before your campaign is launched will pay off hugely after it begins.

Anais Tuepker, Preciva
Raised $11,430 to help fight cervical cancer worldwide

I think a more nebulous but important aspect of preparing is that you have to be at the right stage in your own comfort with asking people for money. I don’t think two years ago I would have been able to do this, because I would have felt too shy about asking people I know to contribute. Even though I completely believed in my idea, it just wasn’t something I knew how to do without feeling uncomfortable, and worrying that I would feel indebted if someone gave me money and a little hurt if they didn’t. That’s not how I feel now. Being a social entrepreneur has taught me to think differently about money. It’s funny because spending so much time with developing business plans and so on, you would think this would teach you to take money very seriously, but I’ve found the opposite is true - money has become much more neutral for me. The point is, I think you have to be at a place where you can focus on building relationships with people and not let discomfort about talking about money get in the way. 

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Now that you’ve heard from some crowdfunding veterans, what good do you want to create?  Visit our site today to learn more about how to start your own campaign.

StartSomeGood News

Chuck Massey wants to provide mobile tents for disaster victims. He is seeking funds to produce a short run of 15 prototype units of an inflatable bed tent. These inflatable bed tent units will be used in disaster relief where victims are provided water and food but are required to provide their own mattresses and tent. Chuck and his team have built several prototypes, but now need funding to get a manufacturer to produce several finished models of his design. Then, Chuck can approach FEMA and other disaster relief organizations with his models.

LBS Baltimore, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, is an organization focused on advocating progressive policy change to advance youth justice. LBS will run Keep Us Home, a youth rehab summer program to teach previously incarcerated youth music and artistic skills, political education, and personal development. Funds raised up to the tipping point will be used to cover summer program costs. All funds raised beyond that point will be used for the summer end celebration showcase for the community and positive culmination for the youth involved.

The Sophia Unfolds 2012 Retreat Scholarships campaignhas tipped! Sophia Unfolds is an organization that facilitates retreats, workshops, screenings, and other types of gatherings, creating a space for women to deeply connect and learn. This campaign raised $795 for scholarships for women to attend the 2012 Retreat. Sophia Unfolds can now award at least one full and a few partial scholarships for some very lucky women to attend the 2012 retreat.

The Building Girls Work Crew campaign also tipped this week. With your support, on August 28^th, a paid, hands-on construction experience for twenty 17 to 24-year-old girls in Portland, Oregon will officially begin. This campaign is seeking funding for three of those twenty girls to learn practical construction skills, preparing them for serious careers in construction. They will also receive lessons on credit and banking, nutrition, fitness, and life navigational skills. Just one thousand dollars will support one young lady through this program, leading her toward a sustainable life for herself and her family. The campaign has already raised $1,210, which is enough for one girl to attend the program. Let’s secure funding for the other two girls!

Stories for Change will unite people from all walks of life, career paths, economic backgrounds, and ethnicity to empower and support the largest movement the world has ever seen. It will achieve this through a short story collection and an inspiring documentary film. Documenting the works of people around the globe who have done positive work to benefit the human community, these stories will become food for our souls. The dream of the project is to help people get a clearer vision of themselves.

Pages for Change addresses the lack of resources for survivors of rape and abuse by donating books on these topics to public and college libraries. This is a Middle Way House project, a non-profit domestic violence program and rape crisis center in Bloomington, Indiana. This organization has developed 20 key books on these topics and, of the 19 libraries in Middle Way House’s service area, only 2 have more than 4 books from that list. All funds raised through this campaign will be used to purchase and donate books to each of the 19 partner libraries with bookplates containing shelter information in each book.

LearnToLive provides healthcare and education to communities throughout the world, promoting self-sustaining practices so that people can take charge of their health. LearnToLive’s latest campaign on StartSomeGood tipped this week, raising over $6,500 to cover program costs for the 2012 Indonesian Health Initiative. This allows LearnToLive to run four health clinics where a team of doctors and nurses will deliver primary healthcare to remote villages in North Sulawesi. The team, consisting of 12 doctors and nurses from all over the world, will go to Indonesia to help people live long, healthy, productive lives with the support of reliable healthcare and a self-sustaining healthy lifestyle.

Shawn D. Ross

I am a Northwest Native living in Washington State. A graduate of Washington State University and University of Phoenix with degrees in Architecture and Education I write about social, cultural, and personal improvement on the StartSomeGood Blog and SDRinspire. I am also a filmmaker and owner of Giraffe and Penguin Productions, a single daddy of two beautiful children, avid reader, writer, and hat wearer (Not in that picture but believe me, I wear ‘em). I am currently at work on my first feature length documentary. Follow me on twitter @shawndross and visit my websites: www.sdrinspire.com and giraffeandpenguinproductions.tumblr.com

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Social entrepreneurs, have all these new and successful campaigns inspired you to start your own good? Do you have a social enterprise, a non-profit, or an amazing idea that needs some momentum to take off? Visit our site to find out how to start your own campaign today. Still have questions? We have answers—check out our FAQ section.

StartSomeGood News

Life Booster’s mission is to help people become healthier, happier, and more productive as individuals and as employees. This venture utilizes modern technology to create an innovative health benefits package for people who have full time jobs. As part of its program Life Booster provides a mobile app that encourages people to set healthy goals for themselves in terms of hydration, exercise, and sleep and then allows them to share this information with friends. Life Booster is raising funds to help support its official launch by developing the mobile app and taking on beta customers.

The Network for Economic Education is putting together a free basketball camp for kids in low-income areas of Los Angeles to teach them basic personal finance lessons. This innovative camp not only promotes physical, but also financial health. This basketball camp to teach youth financial literacy needs $800 to cover the costs associated with renting a full-size basketball court and an extra $800 for miscellaneous costs such as t-shirts, lunches, hourly pay for coaches, and marketing materials.

Surviving and Making Money in a Down Economy—we probably could all use this advice. Percy Kwong, author of this book, was very successful with the first book’s go-around but many people contacted him asking for more information. Therefore, he plans on expanding the book and giving it away to as many people as he can who need or want it. In order to accomplish this, Percy needs at least $20,000 to rewrite and publish the book in addition to creating a website and an ebook version. Any funds raised beyond the tipping point will go towards printing costs.

Yanti Turang and her LearnToLive team are back on StartSomeGood with their second campaign! The first time around, they raised $6,925 to officially launch LearnToLive in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. You can read all about that experience in Yanti’s interview with the StartSomeGood Blog. Now her team is back for a second campaign to undertake their 2012 Indonesian Health Initiative in four villages of North Sulawesi. The $6,400 tipping point will help cover any programmatic costs for this initiative, including supply costs for 4 villages, transportation for the team, translators, and self-sustaining medical kits for each village.

Better Alternatives for Girls’ Survival (BAGS) wants to provide human trafficking victims in Kolkata, India with dignified employment opportunities. These women create handmade, fair trade textiles that will now be sold to Western consumers. This will provide them the opportunity to live independent lives away from the brothels in Kolkata. The campaign, Support Human Trafficking Survivors with BAGS, is raising funds so that BAGS can act as the Western Distributor for its partner non-profit organization, Destiny Reflection, that hires and supports these women. Funds raised beyond the tipping point will be donated to Destiny Reflection so that it can grow and therefore hire more women.

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Social entrepreneurs, have all these new campaigns inspired you to start your own good? Do you have a social enterprise, a non-profit, or an amazing idea that needs some momentum to take off? Visit our site to find out how to start your own campaign today. Still have questions? We have answers—check out our FAQ section