Volunteers, donations, and self-reliance

From my previous posts, it is fairly evident that I was set on finding a way to make online transfers of donations to the organizations with which I am working, and to help them attract volunteers. While I still want to make this possible, I am equally concerned about what effect this may have on their ability to remain self-reliant. I certainly would not become the-one-who-brought-us-the-money-and-help as they have been receiving both for years. My teachers from ICADS have communicated to me that evidence exists showing that people are simply less likely to take care of something that is donated to them than they are to care for something they worked for. The alternative to the organizations having resources dumped on them is to organize some kind of fundraiser to help themselves. I have already seen this in practice when I supported the Monteverde Friends School through their walkathon. I also helped the local public school raise funds by purchasing a raffle ticket (if #18 is picked, i win "a surprise"). In my interviews with key community members, which are summarized below in "Tarea #3", I learned that the budget the school receives from the government always has to be supplemented by the parent association (La Junta Escolar). Moreover, I have witnessed firsthand how much the school could benefit from having another teacher as well as another classroom. The school does not have a library, and the students don't even get textbooks - old or otherwise. Clearly there is a need for investment, but what is the best way to bring it about?

I believe that there is nothing wrong with making it easier for the elementary school and the community development organization to receive volunteers and donations. After spending a fair amount of time researching the possibilities, I have learned that this should be possible using universalgiving.org for volunteers and electronic transfers to the organizations' bank accounts for donations. I don't know if all banks make transfers to Banco Nacional de Costa Rica, or if any would make that possible to do from the comfort of ones computer, but if it works to some degree, it would make a great improvement.

It is important for myself and the people I work with to keep in mind that, even with these tools in place, this will not provide a quick fix - for a number of reasons, they still need to organize events such as bake sales, raffle contests, and community parties to raise money. I'm confident, though, that they will have no problem managing this:

One of the many cakes my host mother has made in her informal cake business

 Who wouldn't buy from a bake sale of this quality?