BUSINESS
BRIGADES
INFORMATION
SESSION
MONTH DAY, YEAR
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION - ABOUT GLOBAL
BRIGADES
GLOBAL BRIGADES MISSION
To empower volunteers to facilitate sustainable solutions in under resourced communities
GLOBAL BRIGADES VISION
To improve equality of life, by igniting the largest student-led social responsibility movement on the planet.
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION - PROGRAMS
To empower volunteers,
Global Brigades offers
10 skill-based programs
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – WHERE WE WORK
Programs are offered in Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, and
Ghana
COUNTRIES SELECTED BASED
ON:
•
•
•
•
Large need in rural areas
Strong community partnerships
Logistically feasible
Safe for volunteers
NEEDS THAT GLOBAL BRIGADES
ADDRESSES:
• Basic services
• Healthcare
• Economic
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – PROGRAMS AND
COUNTRIES
Programs offered in each country
Ghan
a
Honduras
Dental
Medical
Microfinance
Water
Business
Architecture
Dental
Engineering
Medical
Microfinance
Public Health
Water
Panama
Nicaragua
Business
Dental
Environmental
Human Rights
Medical
Microfinance
Medical
Public Health
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – PROGRAMS AND
COUNTRIES
Programs offered in each country
Ghan
a
Honduras
Dental
Medical
Microfinance
Water
Business
Architecture
Dental
Engineering
Medical
Microfinance
Public Health
Water
Panama
Nicaragua
Business
Dental
Environmental
Human Rights
Medical
Microfinance
Medical
Public Health
WHY PANAMA?
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – RURAL PANAMA STATISTICS
BELIZ
E
GUATEMA
LA
• Typical family lives on less than $3 a day
• Average level of education is approximately 6th
grade
HONDURA
S
EL
SALVADOR
NICARAG
UA
COSTA
RICA
PANAM
A
• Community members are often excluded from
access to financial institutions due to costs,
distance, requirements, and discrimination
• Community members are unable to tap into
financial markets
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – RURAL HONDURAS STATISTICS
15 in 20 people in Torti, Panama do not have
access to credit and savings opportunities
WITHOUT ACCESS
TO FINANCIAL
RESOURCES AND
EDUCATION, ON
AVERAGE WOMEN
WOULD MAKE LESS
THAN $1 PER DAY
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – BUSINESS
$100 HELPS
SUPPORT A
COMMUNITY BANK
FOR EVERY
1 BUSINESS
VOLUNTEE
R
=
USED FOR:
• Bank Capitalization
• Loans and Loan Screening
• Infrastructure
Development
• Organizational and
Administrative Support
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – HOW BUSINESS HELPS
BUSINESS IS CONNECTED TO
• Education
• Sanitation and hygiene
• Economic potential
ACCESS TO CAPITAL & CONSULTING
• Increases financial literacy to strategic
business development
• Encourages family financial planning
• Decreases risk of loan sharks
WHAT ARE THE BUSINESS ISSUES?
• Communities lack access to banking
system with fair interest rates and loan
acceptance
• Families lack basic financial
understanding
HOW DOES
BUSINESS
BRIGADES HELP?
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – WHAT A BUSINESS BRIGADE IS
BUSINESS BRIGADES
• Financial education and micro-enterprise
counseling are provided to community members
during 7-day trips to Panama
• Volunteers break up into small groups to meet with
business owners or family members and work out a
business, administrative, or investment plan proposal
• Volunteers work in close contact with community
members to implement thorough and precise
family or business assessments
• Each student provides a $100 donation to
support the community bank, which in turn is
used to support many aspects of economic
development within the community, including
bank capitalization, projects within the
community, and supporting the community bank
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – PROJECT
SUSTAINABILITY
COMMUNITY SELECTION
• Based on
- Need
- Access to loans and banks
- Community commitment
SUSTAINABILITY ASPECTS
• Community banks
- Community led
- Self-perpetuating and autonomous
- Provide continuing loans
• In-country staff
- Train community banks
- Work with community banks to hold financial
literacy workshops between brigades
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – BUSINESS TEAM
BUSINESS BRIGADES TEAM
• Leads your brigade
• Performs community follow-up
• Train community to perpetuate microfinance
system
• Build community relations
- Works with community in preparation for
brigade arrival
• Advises chapters with brigade preparation
HOW CAN YOU
HELP?
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – WHY WE WANT YOU
YOUR BENEFITS
• Contribute to sustainable change
- Provide a community access to capital,
savings, and economic potential
• Education application
- Consulting & business application
- Spanish language immersion
- Business plan needs & solutions
- International development experience
COMMUNITY BENEFITS
• Empowerment
- Students empower communities
- Reinforces communities commitment
to their economic development
• Investment for loans
WHAT DOES A
BRIGADE LOOK
LIKE?
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – ITINERARY
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – ITINERARY
DAY 1: ARRIVAL & BUSINESS INTRODUCTION
• Transportation to compound
- Electricity, showers, and bathrooms
- Beds, bed linens, and pillows
- Limited internet
• Panama and Business Brigades introduction
- The Global Brigades model
- Microfinance and economic development
- Community banks, Community Development
Fund, and cooperative development
- Cultural Sensitivity
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – ITINERARY
DAY 2: COMMUNITY INTRODUCTION,
ASSESSMENT
COMMUNITY BANK
• Community leaders meeting
- Question & answer session
- Leader’s perspective
• Plan for the weeks’ workshops
• Build trust
• Get to know the people and community that you
will be working with
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – ITINERARY
DAY 3, 4, & 5: FINANCIAL EDUCATION AND
BUSINESS CONSULTING
FINANCIAL EDUCATION
• Develop and present educational workshops on
various financial education topics: savings,
wants vs. needs, making a budget, financial
goals, etc.
BUSINESS CONSULTING
• Assess financial literacy
• Assess family business
• Identify revenue generating activities (family or
microenterprise)
• ROI calculations
• Creation of an operational and administrative
recommendation plan
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – ITINERARY
DAY 6: PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION &
CULTURAL CELEBRATION
FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS
• Presentation of the recommendation plans
• Providing marketing and operational
recommendations
• Update business profiles
MEASUREMENT & FOLLOW UP
• Briefing about the following steps to follow
• In-country team commitment to continuous
maintenance of projects
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – ITINERARY
DURING THE WEEK: CAPITAL INVESTMENT
• Volunteers allocate $100 investment
• Investment goes to the Business Program,
where the donation can be dispersed as:
- Seed capital
- Match savings accounts
- Business investment
- Investments can be disbursed as loans,
which are
paid back to community banks for
future loan
disbursement
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – ITINERARY
DAY 7: DEPARTURE
• Start planning for next brigade
- Set goals
- Leadership positions
• Share experiences with donors, friends, & family
• Get connected through Global Brigades’
networks
- Updates on your community and projects
HOW DO I SIGN
UP?
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – TOTAL
CONTRIBUTION
HOW IS YOUR BUSINESS BRIGADE FUNDED?
• Volunteers’ Program Contribution:
- $890 (Panama)
- Brigade expenses
- Program sustainability
- Airfare: Variable
PROGRAM CONTRIBUTION DETAILS
• 7 day program (Panama)
• Accommodations & meals (vegetarian options
available)
• Clean drinking water
• Airport pick-up and drop-off
• In-country transportation
• Spanish translators and coordinators, and security
• Program sustainability and follow-up between
brigades
• Project Fund: $100
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – RESOURCES
FOR YOU
FUNDRAISING TOOL www.empowered.org
• Send links of brigade project information to donors
• Create personalized profile to share with your donors
• Track donation progress on individual and group level
STUDENT RESOURCE SITE
https://www.globalbrigades.org/volunteer-tools-home
• Brigade planning materials
• Collection of reports from past brigades
• Community profiles
• Frequently asked questions
IN-COUNTRY ADVISING TEAM
• Team of trained staff in Panama
• Share best practices for all aspects of brigade preparation
• Answer questions about brigade and community
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – CONTACT
INFORMATION
Contact your advisor for
information about
Business Brigades in
Panama
Don’t know who your
advisor is?
admin@globalbrigades.or
g
BUSINESS BRIGADES INFO SESSION – JOIN THE NEXT BRIGADE
NAME LAST NAME
President
Email
Phone Number
NAME LAST NAME
President
Email
Phone Number
QUESTIONS?
QUESTION
S?
Don’t Hesitate to Ask