One year ago today, on World Refugee Day, 2017, NeedsList was about to go live. And like any good tech startup, nothing was working. The URL wasn’t pointing correctly. The search function was all messed up. We hadn’t had enough time to do testing. So, like any good startup, we figured out a way to move forward regardless. Ten days later, we had hundreds of sneakers, diapers, and reusable sanitary napkins en route to refugees in Greece, and the panic subsided. We were on to something.
And here we are a year later. Check us out.
Over 36,000 needs met.
Here’s a quick recap of what’s been going on for us this past year.
1. We grew from 3 supply needs in one country to supply, funding, and volunteer needs in 20 countries!
At the end of our first year, NeedsList has facilitated over $200,000 value of resources to some of the most high impact, innovative, local organizations serving displaced people across the globe.
2. From 12 NGO partners to over 100
NeedsList is now working with local grassroots organizations throughout Europe, the U.S., and piloting NeedsList with large NGOs with global reach.
3. Needs along the refugee journey
When we launched last year, we began with urgent survival items, sleeping bags and diapers. Now we are featuring needs from camps to employment — we have volunteers mentoring refugees re-beginning their new careers with Upwardly Global, donors supporting women’s entrepreneurship in Athens, and feature ways to create more welcoming policies.
4. From refugees to displaced people to communities in crisis
The realtime nature of NeedsList is not just relevant to refugees, we’ve run successful campaigns for hurricane and wildfires, with donors purchasing over $25,000 worth of supplies in under two weeks for disaster relief.
5. Engaging the private sector
We figured out early on that this challenge is so enormous, it would take more than individual donors to meet needs at scale. We’re now proud to be partnering with a range of companies, large and small, who are using NeedsList to engage their communities in direct and tangible giving.
In the plans…
As we move forward into Year Two, we’re building out a wide range of functionality on the platform and partnerships to continue to build efficiency, transparency and flexibility to direct resources to the local level. Got ideas? Please feel free to comment below or reach out. And don’t forget to give us another birthday present by meeting needs this World Refugee Day!
