Spring is in the Air at Kabissa

Supporter Betsy Malcolm on "What Makes Kabissa Unique?"

Three individuals helping over 900 organizations in Africa use technology to serve uncounted individuals in their health care, education, and in every other important aspect of their lives. Twenty years ago it would have been impossible. Today, Kabissa is doing it.

Betsy has been involved with Kabissa for three years, and is helping to plan the Wine Tasting for Change in New York.
Read more on why Betsy supports Kabissa's work.

Holiday Fundraising Campaign Wrapup
Thank you to everyone who made our holiday campaign such fun, and such a success. We had a great time reconnecting with longtime supporters, and making new friends - 60% of donors were new to Kabissa this year, and we doubled donations from last year's campaign! Your donations allow us to make our basic services available at no cost to hundreds of African grassroots organizations - please consider donating today. We had so much fun with these events that we're planning a wine tasting in New York in mid-April! Hope to see you there!

Thembanathi: Supporting AIDS Orphans with E-Commerce

Kabissa member Thembanathi, which means "hope with us" in Zulu, is dedicated to providing support for AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Its jewelry company, Tanda Zulu, supports their programs with sales of jewelry handmade by South African women. Technology connects the jewelry production in South Africa to sales in the United States and donations back to South Africa. Tanda Zulu's Web site (hosted for free by Kabissa) allows customers to buy these beautiful items, thereby supporting Thembanathi's programs - a double reward for the purchaser.

Read more about Thembanathi's vital work in South Africa...

Kabissa In Action

Some highlights from the first quarter of 2007:

Projects we're working on:

• Turning our training materials into a collaborative Web site for our members, with the support of University of Washington
• Launch of the Kabissa team blog! Keep an eye out for guest bloggers
• Collaboration with TakingITGlobal to create a technology training curriculum for youth leaders in West Africa.
• Organizing Member Meetups in Tanzania and Kenya with Kabissa staff and board members

Good funding news:

• Grant from the Hurford Foundation to run two pilot eLearning workshops this year.
• Grant from the Yahoo Employee Foundation to improve our Web Resource Center, a clearinghouse of technology news and opportunities for members.

Collaboration and Conferences:

• Tobias attended a GAN-NET conference in Stockholm, where he met with leaders of global action networks
• Kim and Liz spent several days discussing new technologies at the Nonprofit Technology Conference in DC

What do you think of our new newsletter format? Let us know!

In This Issue

• What Makes Kabissa Unique?

• Holiday Campaign Wrapup

• Thembanathi - Using Technology to Support AIDS Orphans

• Kabissa in Action

Kabissa Calendar

April 17, 2007: Member Meetup in Tanzania

April 18, 2007: Wine Tasting for Change

May 28-30 2007: eLearning Africa Conference, Nairobi, Kenya

Kabissa at a Glance

Since January:

42 new member organizations

32 new hosting accounts

10,000 site visits per month

Recently Launched Member Sites

Ambassadors Girls Scholarship Program

Commonwealth Women's Network

Eco-Ventures International

FEMRITE: Uganda Women's Writers Association

Greenlight Nigeria

The Kabissa Team

Tobias Eigen, Co-Executive Director

Kim Lowery, Co-Executive Director

Liz Trautman, Member Relations Manager

The Spring Intern Team:

Vicki Aken, Ryan Cargo, Natalie McIntyre, Chris Perry, Vicrum Puri