As a millennial, you may know that, often times, there are few things farther from your brain than the rest of the world. We like to interact with what we can see and touch, and who we can see and touch, rather than think about anything out of our reach. This has created an issue in charitable giving, as business corruption seems more and more common, and third-world problems seem farther and farther away.
Let me start by introducing Gret Glyer, founder of DonorSee. Graduating from Grove City College in 2012 with an Entrepreneurship degree, Gret originally started out adult life as an employee at a car rental company. Even after being quickly promoted and rocketing through the business, Gret realized he didn’t like the outlook for his career path. Because of this, he decided to seek various mission opportunities, which eventually landed him a teaching position in Malawi, Africa. Shortly after, he met Blessings, a member of a nearby village and the school. Blessings soon led Gret to a woman named Rosina from the village complex. Rosina was old, decrepit, and in need of a house before the rainy season.
After successfully funding and building Rosina a house for only $800, Gret found that people wanted to send more money for the same reason, and thus, HOWMs was born. HOWMs, standing for Homes for Orphans and Widows in Malawi, has built over a hundred houses in Malawi, which was named the poorest country in the world in 2015. HOWMs aims to build houses that take much less maintenance than the average village house, enabling the homeowner to spend less time taking care of the house and more time taking care of themselves and meeting other needs.
After running HOWMs for three years, Gret launched DonorSee, an app that connects the giver more directly with those they’re donating to. Through DonorSee, users receive a feed of charity projects from around the globe. Each one shows photos of the person or people you are helping, along with their stories, amount needed and amount raised so far. When a user donates to a cause, they receive notifications each time the original creator of the project posts an update, normally including photographs of progress. It’s a great method to encourage giving for people who are dissatisfied with how corporate and distant-feeling modern day giving has become.
Click here to donate to hurricane relief in Haiti through DonorSee. All money goes directly to the people in need, without cutting its way through large-scale or government organizations. Share the project through social media and email to spread the word even faster.
Click here or see the video below to see Gret’s chapel speech to his alma mater. In just a short seventeen minutes, Gret gives you his story and presents DonorSee to the student population.
