July starts the new fiscal year for Rotary and in 2025 it means our project, Improving Education Through Technology, is 21 and of legal age. Never would have guessed this would happen.
It all started when Jan and I visited family in Slovakia, went to a Rotary meeting, and the next day hit on a project idea. My cousin, who had a son in kindergarten, told me the school had only one computer, in the office. Working with a Seattle Rotary organization, Computers for the World, we worked on a plan to provide computers for schools. In 2004 Jeff Mason (CTE department head at Bellevue’s Newport High School) and I started planning and in 2005 we thought we were pretty cool sending 120 desktop computers and CRT monitors to Zilina, Slovakia. Our team included 15 of Jeff’s students, who setup computer labs.
Fast forward two years (one more Slovakia trip and one to Turkey) and we needed somewhere to go (as Turkey was a bureaucratic nightmare). My good friend Steve Lingenbrink was visiting Antigua, went to a Rotary meeting, met my now good friend Cordel Josiah, and a partnership was born. Cordel along with Ato Kentish, Jeff, and I planned our first project (300 computers in 2008).
Lesson: What was interesting was a lesson in human nature. The first year the government said they didn’t need any help (even though almost all schools did not have a computer lab) so we worked exclusively with private schools. The public-school teachers noticed and complained, saying, “Why aren’t our schools getting computers?” Good ideas often work up not down.
Fast forward 17 years and we’ve donated over 10,000 computers (laptops make this easier), setup wi-fi in 40-50 schools, arranged teacher training programs, and contributed to overall education improvement. Over the years we’ve done 15 Rotary Global Grants plus a handful of non-grant projects (see the end for a list of tasks for a grant and related). I have learned about writing Rotary grants to the point my last three sailed through (not common) with only one serious question from The Rotary Foundation and it was because the coordinator misread a spreadsheet.
Jan and Cordel have setup 12 sewing centers around the island. These centers bring together communities, teach skills, and have raised self-esteem. Plus, many of the ladies sew for profit.
Lesson: Business skills play a huge part. I budget for the project and travel for ~25 people, Jeff and I source product, arrange shipping, handled on-site daily logistics. In other words, project management. And there were many lessons, including how the first year we bubble wrapped and boxed every computer and monitor. We learned it was easier, cheaper, took less time to stack them on pallets and shrink wrap them. As per Occam’s Razor, the easiest way is always the best.
We’re very happy with what we’ve built and how over the years we’ve streamlined our processes. We spend less prep time now donating 1,500 computers than when we first shipped 120.
All told, when including donated goods and volunteer labor, I estimate we’ve provided about $3 million (US) of value to the Antigua education system.
Lesson: Just like in business, success happens when there’s a team working together. It’s like a three-legged stool. Jeff handles the tech and procurement, Cordel and Ato, and now others, have overseen on-island matters, including government relations, and I budget, plan, and project manage. A big thank you to Cordel, Ato, and the members of the Antigua Rotary Club.
In 2014 The Rotary Foundation (TRF) threw us (and others) a curveball. Suddenly every project (education, water, sanitation, health, etc.) was required to demonstrate “Training and Sustainability.” No more just giving computers, we had to help the teachers learn how to use them. Fortunately, there was a qualified person who had recently moved back to Antigua. Ms. Mako Williams has a master’s degree in using technology to improve education.
In 2022 TRF became very focused on impact. Not just input (donating computers) or output (putting them in the schools and teachers trained, but rather outcomes (teachers using their training and students using technology to learn) and especially impact (improved literacy, numeracy, and higher test scores).
Lesson: These two things are critical to every organization, profit or non-profit. In business, what you do must be replicable and consistent. You also need to monitor results. Is the salesperson bringing in business, did the marketing campaign generate enough leads, or did the process improvement consultant improve operations and gross margin?
The following is a list of some of what goes into a Rotary grant and project.
- Secure funding, starting with the participating Rotary Clubs.
- Formulate a budget (and with a Rotary Global Grant you must spend every last cent, or the workload expands exponentially).
- Write a Global Grant application to The Rotary Foundation.
- Plan and budget travel for ~25 people and arrange airline, car rental, lodging, and activities.
- Recruit (capable) students. Jeff’s students earn the right to go via volunteer hours prepping equipment.
- Secure schools to work in and get letters from each agreeing to participate in the project.
- Procure equipment. Update, upgrade, and inspect equipment.
- Pack equipment, load on pallets (in a container early on).
- Arrange overseas shipping.
- Arrange customs and local transport and storage.
- Arrange host families for the students (done by the host Rotary Club).
- Start public relations campaigns.
If it sounds like a business’ operational plan you’re right, because it is one. And, like a business, if we don’t adhere to our budget we pay the price.