New "Business" Models

Terra's perspective:

Although this group presents a "new business model", it appears to only serve large businesses and large charities. It's not clear how smaller, grassroots groups are served by this model. It appears that the concept provides for faster, more efficient donations to large charities, which may provide a "trickle" down effect to help smaller groups, but the concept does not provide for specific provisions to ensure that smaller groups are aided by the new model. If/when such groups like AidMatrix make it possible for smaller groups to be served "en masse", during a disaster, this concept is not expected to help the smaller groups much. During a disaster, hundreds and often thousands of smaller relief sites are left out of the distribution process, because of the hurdles required to participate in that distribution process. The hurdles require applications and development of partnerships, etc, which often take more time than the actual disaster relief process itself. When a good percentage of the relief process depends on spontaneous and effective relief groups, that operate out of the basements of churches, community centers, etc, new models should incorporate methods for getting these relief sites served without hurdles. Groups like the Citizen Action Team focus on serving large numbers of these sites, by getting permission from larger charities to vette the smaller relief sites and to do the logistics work necessary to arrange for deliveries. That kind of logistics management work is not usually possible for the smaller relief site, which focuses on the actual onsite relief work...ladeling out soup, applying bandages, providing hugs and shoulders of support.