Trust and Foundation Partnerships

Computer Aid International relies on the support of charitable trusts and foundations to continue working to extend the benefits of affordable computer technology available to schools, hospitals and other community organisations which serve some of the world's poorest people.

Because our work encompasses many diverse areas including education, healthcare, agriculture and disability, an increasing number of charitable trusts and foundations work with us to meet our mutual objectives. However, we aim to build upon this existing support by attracting more charitable trusts and foundations that share our understanding of the importance of technology in all of these areas.

For more information on how a charitable trust or foundation that you are involved with can be help us to enable some of the most disadvantaged communities in the world to overcome poverty and secure a brighter future, please send us an email or call Juliet LIttle to discuss how we might work together.

Since 1998, over 250 trusts and foundations have made grants to support the growth and the work of Computer Aid International and we are fortunate to have a large number of trusts that support us on a regular basis. The trusts that support us give some of the following reasons for supporting us.

Our Experience: Computer Aid International is the largest and the most experienced organisation providing refurbished PCs for sustainable use in education and development projects in the developing world. We have worked with organisations in over 100 countries to introduce IT into their work and have a broad knowledge of this sector. The Range of our Work: IT can bring benefits to any area of international development. Computer Aid International works with a strong network of partner organisations all over the world that are helping deliver benefits in the areas of health; primary, secondary and tertiary education; people with disabilities; women's rights; the environment; agriculture and fair trade; disaster preparedness and many many more.  We can also work with you to find cost-effective solutions to the IT needs of any not-for-profit partners which your trust already works with overseas. The Involvement of Recipients: Computer Aid International's services are designed with the needs of the recipients in mind. We work with intermediary partners in the developing countries that are community-led and that have specialist knowledge of the sectors they work in. Most of our beneficiary partners also contribute in some way to meeting the cost of our programmes. Increasing Digital Inclusion: We want to ensure that the benefits and the opportunities afforded by access to computer technology are available to everyone and are actively involved in researching and developing low-power solutions for communities without access to mains electricity (see our report on low-power laptops) in developing and providing software for blind and visually impaired people and in supporting wireless connectivity to help communities access the internet affordably. The Sustainability of our Projects: All of our projects work with local partners to provide installation support, training and ongoing technical assistance. This means that our projects will continue to make a positive impact on the lives of the people in the community long after they are first initiated.

We would encourage you to contact us to talk about how we might partner to meet your objectives. Please email usor call Juliet LIttle on 020 8361 5540 if you would like to know more about our current projects or future plans.

 The following examples illustrate just some of the ways in which a grant of any size from your trust or foundation will make a significant difference to our work.

£200 can meet volunteer expenses required to run our London workshop for one day - providing work experience and training for upwards of 20 people drawn from all communities in London.

 

£1,000 can equip a school in a developing country with a computer lab for the very first time - giving around 1,000 children the opportunity to achieve a basic level of computer literacy - and with it the chance of a better life.

 

£3,000 can train 30 meteorologists in basic data-entry and climate modeling software - enabling them to provide vital weather forecasting information to farmers who depend on accurate forecasts to grow their crops.

 

£5,000 can equip five hospitals with telemedicine kits (refurbished laptops, digital cameras scanners and printers) - giving rural doctors in isolated clinics a lifeline to get internet-based diagnostic support from specialists to treat critically ill patients.

 

£15,000 can provide 220 computers to a university - providing computer labs and internet access for some of the brightest students in the developing world, and providing lecturers and researchers with the tools they need to support students effectively.

 

£30,000 can fund the development, field testing and distribution of free and open source screen reading and screen magnification software for blind and visually impaired people in developing countries who cannot currently afford to purchase available commercial software

 

£100,000 or more can provide seed funding to make a step change in our activities, either to create more awareness about the environmental impact of PCs in the UK, to substantially expanding the range of partners that we work with, or to increase the ways in which we can support educational and non-profit organisations in developing countries to use IT effectively.

We would encourage you to contact us to talk about how we might partner to meet your objectives. Please email us or call Juliet LIttle on 020 8361 5540 if you would like to know more about our current projects or future plans.