The Clausen Center and Acteva Come
Together for a Good Cause
Tsunami relief floods the Web
from Acteva
Anyone who’s ever seen the movie Witness was probably amazed at how readily the Amish came together to help their neighbors. When newlyweds needed a barn, the entire community worked together to build one for them, and an elderly man simply rang a bell to ask for help in a time of danger.
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This spirit of helping is alive and well in the “outside world,” too. After the 9/11 tragedy, Americans donated hundreds of millions of dollars to survivors and the families of victims. Now, individuals worldwide are responding to a calamity on a global level — the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka and other countries this past December.
When the Clausen Center for International Business and Policy at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business, decided to help, they turned to Acteva for assistance.
Here’s the story of how the center is providing aid to the victims — and Acteva’s role in the process.
Responding to overwhelming need
Anne Marie Edwards, a 27-year-old Haas MBA student, arrived in Sri Lanka in late December just days after the tsunami hit. Working with the Sewalanka Foundation, she logged about 20 hours a day on projects to distribute water and food, install temporary toilets, clear homes, set up tents and assess needs in various parts of the country. She also started fundraising right after the tsunami. Drawing from other Haas students and twenty-somethings, she collected $2,200 in one day.
When she returned to Berkeley from Sri Lanka, Edwards spoke with Sebastian Teunissen, executive director of the Clausen Center, about the center getting involved. “Her experiences and the vivid descriptions of the need for assistance were instrumental in mobilizing the Clausen Center and Acteva to create this alliance with Sewalanka,” Teunissen says.
The Clausen Center for International Business and Policy at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business teamed up with Acteva on a novel approach to help raise funds to aid the Sewalanka Foundation, which is working to rebuild the tsunami-ravaged country. Because Sewalanka has operated for 10 years in Sri Lanka and three years in the hard-hit Galle District — largely dealing with repercussions of the country's long running rebel conflict and the relief needs it has generated — it was relatively easy for the organization to respond quickly to the tsunami destruction, but it was not so easy when they looked for funding for these operations.
In the past, contributions to Sewalanka from the United States had to be made through a wire transfer or by sending a check through the mail. The new arrangement with Acteva enables quick and easy donations via credit card, which speeds access to the donated monies to aid relief efforts and expands the universe of possible donors.
Another plus is that Acteva maintains contact information so Sewalanka can report back to donors about what is being accomplished and even send photos as a project gets finished or a new one begins. “Donors can feel they’re involved in this,” says Anne Marie Edwards, who helped set up the system. “They can say, ‘I didn’t just give money; I bought uniforms for a child.’ It’s more inspiring for the donor.”
Four projects recently financed by contributions to Sewalanka include providing school supplies and uniforms to 230 children, offering emergency help to 120 university students and 250 school children affected by the tsunami, supporting the job recovery of 422 lagoon fishermen and getting dry food to 600 families.
All donations go directly to the foundation, and Acteva is donating to the relief effort all fees it would normally charge for its services. Donations are not yet tax deductible, but Edwards expects that to change very soon.
Charitable causes and Acteva
According to Ed Lemire, director of marketing for Acteva, the company became involved because “A catastrophe of this magnitude cannot be ignored. Companies and individuals must come together to assist the victims and their families. We are pleased that Acteva has been able to play some small part in the tremendous efforts of the Clausen Center and the Sewalanka Foundation.”
Setting up a site with Acteva to collect donations was simple for the Clausen Center, owing to Acteva’s experience with non-profits and the tools it provides them. “Acteva provides charitable organizations with the means to set up an account and donation page in approximately 15 minutes,” Lemire says. The donation page can have different levels and different payment points. Plus, Acteva can collect all the information an organization wants or needs.
In addition, using Acteva to collect donations gives non-profits important payment options. “Not only do we simplify the set-up process, we also allow non-profits the ability to collect donations via credit cards. For many of these organizations, this is the first time they have been able to accept payments other than by check,” Lemire adds. “This is extremely important since accepting donations via credit cards can greatly increase the number and dollar amount of donations.”
With Acteva, charitable groups like the Clausen Center also avoid the expense and trouble of buying a domain name and setting up a merchant account. There are no merchant set-up fees, and a minimal cost to use Acteva for this service. It’s a part of what Acteva calls a “shared success model,” a model that even allows groups to pass any fees on to the donating party.
Another key element of this model is the support Acteva provides. “At Acteva, customer support is our mantra,” Lemire says. “We support our customers and our customers’ customers in many ways. For example, we can answer our customers’ 800 numbers to walk their customers through the donation process and provide answers to any questions they may have.”
Acteva can also help event organizers who want to support a charitable effort. “A company demonstrates its social conscience by supporting a worthy cause. Although gaining new business is never the goal in such an endeavor, it is often a result,” Lemire explains. “Acteva allows event organizers to collect charitable donations on their existing sites — quickly and easily.”
You can help, too
If you’d like to make a donation to the Clausen Center tsunami fund, please go to www.acteva.com/go/slf. Or, if you’d like more information on collecting charitable donations, contact Ben Nachbaur at ben@acteva.com or go to the Acteva Web site at www.acteva.com.
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