Causes we support
At Onlineability we strongly believe in the need to give back as well as take.
Of course, we do all we can to reduce our environmental impact - from the big things like recycling, or trying to source and use power and water responsibly, to the tiny details that add up over time, such as using eco-friendly water-based flipchart markers with barrels made from recycled paper instead of plastic.
But we also try to make a difference by using our time and money to give constructive help where it can be most useful.
At the moment, that means supporting entrepreneurs in developing countries with no-interest cash loans, sponsoring an innovative streaming radio station, and rebuilding the website of a favourite wildlife sanctuary.
Radio Riel – bringing music to virtual worlds
Radio Riel: stretching the boundaries of online broadcasting
Onlineability is a sponsor of Radio Riel, an online radio station that broadcasts daily on the internet and in the virtual world Second Life. Founded in 2007 to provide music and audio content for a wide range of events in Second Life, it has grown into a internet radio station with three channels playing a round-the-clock variety of music for listeners with eclectic tastes.
Listeners can enjoy the Radio Riel main stream which carries traditional music and material generally written prior to 1950 including early music, baroque, classical and light music, folk, Celtic, early and later jazz, late-19th century popular, and more.
The station recently launched a Steampunk stream, playing Steampunk/Steamwave, dark cabaret, goth, rock, electronica, baroque, classical and romantic music. The New Toulouse stream carries early jazz, Cajun, blues, Zydeco and New Orleans music. And it retains a fourth stream for use when it has been booked to provide music for a Second Life event.
As Radio Riel’s first ‘real world’ sponsor, we welcome our association with it because of the groundbreaking work founder Gabrielle Riel and her team are doing on content provision in virtual worlds – an area that can only become more important as time passes. To learn more, or listen for yourself, visit its website here.
Supporting owl conservation in Cornwall
Plenty to see and do at the Screech Owl Sanctuary
Onlineability worked with the Screech Owl Sanctuary at Indian Queens, near Bodmin, Cornwall, to update and re-develop its website.
The sanctuary provides care and rehabilitation for sick and injured wild owls in the county. Where possible it ensures their safe release back to the wild when they are fully recovered. But, if the bird is permanently disabled, it becomes a resident of the sanctuary and is cared for there.
Our involvement began when we received a supporters’ newsletter asking for donations. We realised at once that we could achieve more by offering practical help, and have been delighted to use our time and skills alongside the staff at the sanctuary to complete this project.
We strongly recommend a visit; you can find details here. Other ways of supporting its work include sponsoring an owl or taking part in one of its falconry experiences alongside falconer Mark Whittaker – something else that we can personally recommend.
Kiva: loans that change lives
Kiva is a San Francisco-based not-for-profit organisation that matches people in the developed world with entrepreneurs in the developing world who are seeking finance for a specific project – often buying stock or equipment for their business. Visit its website here >>
If we needed business cash, we’d approach a bank or building society – but that option simply isn’t there for Kiva’s entrepreneurs. The organisation says: “When you browse entrepreneurs’ profiles, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community.”
You can track the progress of the people you lend money to and, when the loan is repaid, withdraw the money or lend it out again. Both Lisa and Andy, Onlineability’s principals, have individually lent money through Kiva and we find it immensely satisfying. Self-employment has added hugely to the quality of our lives and we love the idea of being able to assist people in the developing world towards the same satisfaction that we’ve enjoyed.
Plus, the amounts involved are ones that most people wouldn’t hesitate to spend on a meal or a weekend shopping trip in Britain. And yet they make a huge difference to people in Africa, South America or the former Soviet republics. What’s more important? No contest.
Some people do have concerns about microfinance and whether loans to very poor people really are more effective than, for example, making a donation to a development charity. That’s a decision for the individual – but here are some links with more information about the microfinance movement to help you get an overview
of the subject:
