What We Do
Students
Nourish is a student movement to eradicate global poverty. During the school year, undergraduate students organize as Nourish Chapters where they raise money through small businesses called "Ventures." Using the money they've earned, they select a sustainable development project to fund. Over the summer, they travel abroad to work alongside members of the community to implement the project.
Example Venture: Hunger Lunch
The most successful ongoing Venture is Hunger Lunch, where students can pay $4 for an enjoyable and healthy meal of cornbread, rice, and beans with all profits invested in poverty eradication.
Projects
Nourish Chapters invest the money they earn in sustainable development projects with a specific, measurable outcome. To conduct these projects, Nourish Chapters work with a local partner organization that has the demonstrated support of the local community. Each summer, Nourish students travel abroad to work alongside members of the community to implement the project.
Example Projects
In 2008, a team from the Nourish UNC Chapter worked with a squatter settlement in Ciudad de Dios, Peru, that lacked access to clean water. The team partnered with a local organization and members from the community to build a clean water system capable of serving 5000 people. By participating in this process, Nourish students are equipped with the experiences and skills they need to create a more prosperous world.
Communities
In our world today, 1.1 billion people lack access to clean water, 840 million are malnourished, and it is estimated that 8 million people will die this year because they are too poor to stay alive. This is global poverty.
Nourish International addresses this problem by working with the communities that make up the statistics. Many of these communities are highly entrepreneurial, possessing sustainable solutions to the problems they face. What they lack, however, are the resources to solve those problems.
Our Approach
The key to eradicating poverty is empowering community leaders who have sustainable, scalable solutions. Nourish partners with communities who lack the necessary funds and resources for development projects, but who have the entrepreneurial vision to eradicate poverty. Our role is not to act as a project manager, but as a catalyst to help accelerate change.
- Recruit – Chapter leaders recruit student members by raising awareness about Nourish International's mission on campus. Once they have built a core membership, they can recruit additional members through their Ventures, which help generate interest.
- Ventures – "Ventures" are small businesses run by students on campus during the academic year. These Ventures serve the dual purpose of generating funds for projects as well as raising awareness and building Chapter membership. At the end of the year, the students invest the money raised by the Ventures in sustainable development projects abroad.
- Proposal – Community organizations and leaders identify a need within their community to be addressed. They submit a proposal for funding and student volunteers to implement their project. These proposals, once accepted, are put in our online database for public viewing.
- Selection – Projects are selected based on their ability to demonstrate community support, long-term sustainability and potential for impact. An initial criteria is applied by Nourish's National Office and final decisions are made by individual Chapters, giving students real-life experience with project selection.
- Implementation – Student teams travel to each of the project sites to work alongside the communities in the project's implementation. This gives students on-the-ground experience with the social entrepreneurs within these communities. It also ensures that project funds are allocated appropriately.
- Follow-up – After the project has been implemented, Nourish keeps in contact with partners to ensure the success and long-term sustainability of the project. This helps us maintain strong relationships with our community partners and often leads to future partnerships.