NABUUR local representatives
Photo by S Woldhek

Ever help your neighbour trim his hedge, or water his garden when you’re watering your own? Maybe you took them some food when they were sick or offered them your driveway when they had some extra company over.

Now consider what would happen if your goodwill were applied to an online community.

It’s the concept behind Nabuur.com - online community software that links you directly with people around the world who need assistance. And it’s not your money they’re interested in, although I’m sure they wouldn’t say no. They’re looking for that metaphorical parking spot or casserole: whatever you have or can do that can help them towards their goal.

It’s certainly not a new concept: charitable organizations have been using volunteers to build houses and feed the hungry for years. And it’s the one-on-one contact that volunteers crave, the tangible feel-good result to their effort and engagement with the people they’re helping.

Nabuur, an old Dutch word meaning “neighbour”, took this concept and added web thinking. What more could we do if people sitting at their computers around the world could be hooked up with the needs of villages trying to overcome hardship? People who are experts in project management could, well, manage projects. Shipping companies could fill up any empty spaces in shipping containers with required supplies. Upgrading your computers? Find a community that needs your old ones for their cause.

It was the brainchild of Siegfried Woldhek who used to run the World Wildlife Fund in the Netherlands. People were always offering their time and skills but the organization was too busy to handle all of the kind offers. So Wolhek set out to scale up this flow of help by allowing people to connect directly with those in need, without the intervention of an organization with inherently limited time and resources. Something sustainable. Run by the people, for the people.

Now Nabuur’s online community taps into the potential of over 10,000 registered users and matches their abilities with the needs of over 150 villages with projects assessed and broken down into manageable tasks by other trained volunteers. And there’s a list of other projects waiting to get online when those projects are completed.

All done with seven paid staff members and thousands of volunteers. The challenge now lies in figuring out a model of sustaining the community without relying on public money or private donations. They’ve got a couple of ideas up their sleeves that they’re working on now that the technology is up and running (using XOOPS) and the idea is catching on. They’re looking at reselling the rebranded program to employers who want to encourage their workforce to volunteer or perhaps to other development groups who need the same sort of service.

It’s just the beginning of this inspirational project — innovating philanthropy socially and technologically wasn’t enough, they’re pushing for an innovative business model too. Certainly, this is one social enterprise on the cutting edge.

Watch Siegfried Woldhek explain why he started Nabuur:

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.