Tanation: Social Network for Donation

Getting proper life skills and training is extremely challenging for the disabled population, especially in developing countries. Although the social and emotional connection with the community is critical for them, the current way of giving is limited to donations and volunteer works. Even more in the Covid-19, disabled people are in more vulnerable situations, since they cannot contact or be contacted by the community.

Tanation is proposing to change the whole concept of donation, especially for the disabled who have more limitations and fewer resources. Through its real-time one-on-one talent donation platform that works like the Uber app, those who want to donate their talent and skill instantly share it with the disabled who need life skills, resources, and the feeling of connection.

If it was scaled globally, the vulnerable population in the developing countries will be able to receive and utilize advanced life skills and rich resources from developing countries.

Around 15% of the world’s population, or an estimated 1 billion people, live with disabilities and 80% of them live in developing countries. They are the world’s largest minority. 90% of the disabled children in developing countries do not get a proper education. Moreover, 80%-90% of disabled people of working age are unemployed in developing countries.

Tanation's mission is to help flow rich resources from developed countries like the U.S. to people with disabilities living in developing countries. The digital economy significantly excludes people with disabilities in developing countries and they tend to be regarded in their own communities as the most disadvantaged. Although they might have access to the internet and hardware, they do not have a proper connection to the society that can help them get needed skills to make living and give them a sense of belonging. With Tanation's talent donation platform, we hope to build an inclusive digital economy that allows the most disadvantaged population to lead a dignified and productive life.

Through Tanation's platform, anyone can be meaningful anytime anywhere by sharing their talent and skill with the disabled population of our society.
Tanation's real-time one-on-one talent donation platform that works like the Uber app allows those who want to donate their talent and skill instantly to connect with the disabled who need the resource and the feeling of connection.
To create a trustful environment, we make partnerships with credible organizations on both donor and beneficiary sides. Using Tanation’s real-time connection platform, the disabled people who are under the beneficiary organizations can choose an available donor who can provide the service they are looking for. For example, when a talent donor connects to Tanation, s/he will see the currently available beneficiaries to connect and vice versa. 
The donors will get points for each talent donation time, and the lifetime points give them badges for the status. Also, accumulated points can be donated to one of the Tanation partner organizations of their choice. This process is to continuously promote a healthy donation culture and sharing community.

Tanation started with the story of the founder's acquaintance who has been working with a blind people's community in a suburb of Lima in Peru. The blind people had been making their lives by learning massage skills and going to a nearby prison to give massages. However, Covid-19 made them left jobless. Some of them even starved to death because they were so isolated. 

The disabled population in developing countries is the most isolated, neglected, and helpless group of society. Tanation wanted to give a sense of connection, show care from another side of the world, moreover provide skills they can obtain to make livings. 
When I lived in Peru working at an orphanage, I found that disabled people lose contact with society as they are excluded from economic and social activities even though internet connection and some hardware are readily available. In the meantime, there can be more opportunities for the disabled who are living in or near the big cities of developing countries, since they have comparably easier access to the internet and computer. 

Using Tanation’s real-time platform, the disabled people in the cities in developing countries can connect to the outer world and obtain skills they need and want for their everyday life.

Our problem, solution, and serving population are aligned with the Challenge, as Tanation endeavors to equip the most disadvantaged population with culturally and socially relevant digital literacy skills to enable participation in the digital economy. Our solution covers the digital economy aspect of the disabled population, as our platform will enable the flow of resources to the disabled so that they can learn and use the new skills. We are also committed to mental well-being by giving them a sense of belonging to the bigger world. The target population is disabled who need skills for work and living. 

As a nonprofit social impact organization, our team of an engineer, a technology consultant, and an expert in international development is building and testing the talent donation platform for the disabled population. We are building and testing the initial prototype with a beneficiary organization in Peru. Currently, a nonprofit organization in Massachusetts and a community church in Georgia are in line with our partnership as donor organizations to test our business model.

I strongly believe technology and innovation can significantly benefit the nonprofit sector that allows nonprofits to positively impact society. However, current startup movements and innovations are money-driven and skewed towards profitable ideas.
Tanation is a technology-backed social impact organization. Through its real-time one-on-one talent donation platform that works like Uber and Tela-doc, those who want to donate their talent and skill instantly connect with the disabled in developing countries who need the resource and the feeling of connection to the world.
Tanation platform is also assimilated to today's social network. The donors will get points for each talent donation time and the lifetime points give them badges and the status. Also, accumulated points can be monetarily donated to one of the Tanation partner organizations of their choice. All these processes are to promote a healthy donation culture and sharing community.

Current beneficiaries in waiting: 20-25 people

In one year, after the development of the initial scheduling technology, we are expecting to make partnerships with 5 beneficiary organizations with 5-10 donor organizations, which will take approximately 100-150 people to serve. 

In five years, with full technology development, we expect to expand our service to the organizations for PwDs in other big cities in South America and will serve 500-1000 people.

We can measure our progress through the number of partnerships both on the beneficiary and donor sides. Our platform is also related to the well-being of the disabled as oftentimes they are isolated from society. Most of the disabled people in developing countries are poor, and Tanation can provide them quality education and skills to learn that they do not easily obtain in their own community. Most of all, we can measure our progress toward our impact goal of reducing inequalities within and among countries, by encouraging and directing the flow of needed information from developed countries to these developing countries.

1 full-time staff, 2 part-time staff, 2 volunteers, and 3 board members

One thing is common in our team members: We are dedicated to giving back to society. I am a communication and legal professional, and my career and educational background has been on the path to serve the most vulnerable community in the world. I lived in South America and Southeast Asia and saw and understood what it means to be the urban poor in developing countries. We have a seasoned executive, leader, strategist in software and consulting, and an engineer with extensive global experience in our team. Our board members of nonprofit and social impact organization founders guide Tanation to be on a right track with their input and ideas.

As a female and racial minority in the U.S., I have been facing many obstacles. I truly believe diversity promotes social and economic freedom and development. Diversity meaning not only cultural and ethnic diversity but also diversity in tech that nurtures the inclusive learning community. Having been living and working in Asia, South America and the U.S. expanded my perspective and created space for out-of-box thinking. Tanation's leadership team is diverse and will always be inclusive as our goal is to let our users (donors and beneficiaries) engage in the global community through connection. 

I want to join other impressive solvers who are working and striving to make this world a better place. By joining this network, I want to contribute, get feedback, collaborate and be constantly motivated. I also want to get access to mentorship, support system, and resources, which will tremendously help in guiding Tanation in the right direction.

The technology part is very important to let us guide to the right direction, and I am positive that MIT Solve can provide that guidance.

MIT faculty 

MIT Solve team and advisors

Tanation advances inclusion, digital literacy, and economic opportunity in communities across the US and globally. Getting proper life skills and training is extremely challenging for the disabled population, especially in developing countries. Although the social and emotional connection with the community is critical for them, the current way of giving is limited to donations and volunteer works. Even more in the Covid-19, disabled people are in more vulnerable situations, since they cannot contact or be contacted by the community.

Tanation is proposing to change the whole concept of donation, especially for the disabled who have more limitations and fewer resources. Through its real-time one-on-one talent donation platform that works like the Uber app, those who want to donate their talent and skill instantly share it with the disabled who need life skills, resources, and the feeling of connection.

If it was scaled globally, the vulnerable population in the developing countries will be able to receive and utilize advanced life skills and rich resources from developing countries.

Tanation will use the HP Prize for Advancing Digital Equity to advance our geo-aware real-time connecting technology and to promote meaningful social networks through our platform.

Tanation uses innovative technology to improve the quality of life for women and girls. Getting proper life skills and training is extremely challenging for the disabled population, especially in developing countries. Tanation is proposing to change the whole concept of donation, especially for the disabled who have more limitations and fewer resources. Around 15% of the world’s population, or an estimated 1 billion people, live with disabilities and 80% of them live in developing countries. They are the world’s largest minority. Even among them, women and girls are minorities.

If Tanation's platform was scaled globally, the disabled women and girls in developing countries will be able to receive and utilize advanced life skills and rich resources from developing countries.

Tanation will use the Innovation for Women Prize to advance our geo-aware real-time connecting technology and to promote meaningful social networks through our platform.

Tanation supports education, alleviates poverty, and contributes to a sustainable world. Getting proper life skills and training is extremely challenging for the disabled population, especially in developing countries. Although the social and emotional connection with the community is critical for them, the current way of giving is limited to donations and volunteer works. Even more in the Covid-19, disabled people are in more vulnerable situations, since they cannot contact or be contacted by the community.

Tanation is proposing to change the whole concept of donation, especially for the disabled who have more limitations and fewer resources. Through its real-time one-on-one talent donation platform that works like the Uber app, those who want to donate their talent and skill instantly share it with the disabled who need life skills, resources, and the feeling of connection.

If it was scaled globally, the vulnerable population in the developing countries will be able to receive and utilize advanced life skills and rich resources from developing countries. This meaningful social network will help to alleviate poverty and contribute to a sustainable world.

Tanation will use the GSR Prize to advance our geo-aware real-time connecting technology and to promote meaningful social networks through our platform.