When I least expect it—that’s when it really hits me.
Usually it’s when I’m doing some mindless task: like watching TV or washing my hands with our soap, I’ll suddenly realize: Eco-Soap Bank started from scratch.
From a single interaction in a Cambodian Village ten years ago. I saw someone use laundry powder on a child—and this would consume the next ten years of my life.
All this action. All this impact. Sometimes when this feeling hits me, an image will pop into my head: the sound of soap plodders whirring, relief shipments bobbing on the water, soapmakers giggling at our hubs. And the sound of millions of people washing their hands who I will never meet.
That’s a humbling feeling. To know that you put something new into the world and at scale.
I’ve received a lot of praise over the last ten years. We have the awards to boot. I have done my best in trying to tune much of it out. People tell me: “What you’ve done is amazing.”
I thank them for their support and try to explain that no part of this is done alone. In fact, my job is the easiest and the impact is driven by the soapmakers who make 8 million bars per year and the local leaders who work to improve their standings. We’ve been supported by hundreds of volunteers, board members, powerhouse staff, funding partners, and corporations. They continue to smile at me with a special gleam in their eyes.
This is my “ten years on” anniversary letter about Eco-Soap Bank. It’s my honest reflections on what I’ve learned, the people I’ve met, and a slice of the sector. (My experience mostly relates to smaller organizations, family foundations, and social enterprises—not the large actors.)
I feel a pressure here to speak about the mission and how it’s changed over the past ten years. But, that’s not really what I’ve learned. The mission has always been the same: employ (amazing) women, recycle soap, and go save lives.
Ten years is a long time to sustain an organization and much of my learnings have been financial or managerial. It’s the machinery of it all that often gets overlooked and it’s where I wish I could go back and tell my younger self these three points:
The statement: “Our organization is now sustainable” does not exist.
Financial Sustainability. The elusive holy grail for most organizations. It is often the most talked about topic in accelerators, board meetings, and strategic planning sessions. Eco-Soap Bank can be considered one of these so-called “sustainable organizations” whereby our earned revenue (from business model activities and not philanthropy) covers our current expenses.
It took us ten years to get there. Sometimes it was agonizing. Sometimes it felt like we were striking gold. But, most of the time it felt like the goal posts were getting farther and farther away the more we reached for it.
What I can tell you is that sustainability is never a guarantee. I have always felt that once we became “sustainable”, a warm, bright light would embrace us. We would never need to struggle again.
That was obviously naive. Things happen. Trouble brews. Both macro and micro-economic. Strategic staff leave. We make mistakes.
There are times we will—and will not be financially sustainable. We will have missed the mark for a certain timeframe. Does it mean we are still sustainable?
What I’ve come to learn is that the difference between an organization who focuses on earned revenue or philanthropy is mostly: what kind of work you prefer doing.
Do you prefer fundraising and writing grants? Do you prefer selling social goods or services? Which of the two activities excites you more, and does the culture of your organization lean towards one over the other?
At the end of the day, having a mix of both ensures that organizations are most resilient. But where we place the emphasis relies mostly on your interest, capabilities, and ultimately who you want to be.
Traditional grantmaking—the type where an organization writes a proposal, submits it, waits 3-6 months, hears back yes/no, receives funds, executes the project, sends an end-of-project report (maybe a mid-year report). Rinse and repeat.
Yeah, that grantmaking. It doesn’t create sustainable organizations.
Oftentimes, these grant proposals will have a ‘sustainability’ section where grantees will explain (in often miraculous language) how exactly at the end of a 12-month period, their program becomes fully financially sustainable and lasts in perpetuity. The proposal reads as if it is the last one that will ever be sent.
We know that isn’t true. That is because sustainability is vulnerable. That’s Point #1.
One year is too long a time for the words written on an initial grant proposal to be anything but wishful thinking. Environments change. Entropy exists.
Grantmakers serve as pseudo-Venture Capitalist funds whereby seed funds are disbursed with the expectation that it will be used to create a permanently sustainable solution. They can move onto the next organization or initiative after that.
But, what kind of Venture Capitalists only checks on their investments twice per year?
Eco-Soap Bank operates differently. We operate recycling manufacturing operations directly, but we also serve as grantmaker to independent organizations who operate recycling operations under our license. These are amazing, trustworthy community-based organizations who know their country and communities best.
We underwrite 100% of their expenses — regardless of their sustainability performance. We have very high expectations, but we understand that sustainability is never a guarantee.
But, here’s the main difference: we speak to our hubs every. single. week. Like clockwork. And, with some form of electronic communication on a daily basis. We troubleshoot alongside them.
This is a tremendous amount of work and far more than writing 1-2 reports per year. So, why do these grantees do it?
Because, we have proof that this works. To my mind, it is the only way to grow sustainable initiatives in least developed countries. That the only way to do so is to be able to problem solve from week to week. To be there when the waters look rough and when the boat looks like it may capsize.
Not all groups are cut out for this. It takes hard work. But, Eco-Soap Bank hubs are game. They are: Community Environmental Conservation Association. Village Care Initiatives Sierra Leone. Triple Shine Foundation NPC. Eco Soap Foundation Cambodia. Eco Soap Foundation Nepal. Led by amazing visionaries: Peter Bayo, Daniel Sulumo, Shed Jah, Sahadatu Jah, Sharon Rapetswa, Johan Botha, Sreyleak Pheng, Nicky Lama, and Pratima Bhandari and more.
They have become family. And, I salute them
It is amazing to me, considering the relative minor size of our organization, how much thought goes into it. How much of my mind (even when not at my desk) it occupies. It makes me think of all the collective thought and effort that goes into our sector—and how it can easily crumble.
Doing good work is hard. Breaking it up is easy. We see with violent conflicts, natural disasters, and political pressures how easy it is for progress to vanish into thin air. Entropy is real.
And that’s why I love nonprofit organizations and leaders. They are committed to the idea that their efforts may stop, halt, or pause, but they persist; and put forth the highest quality impact they are capable of.
I’m drawn to our core values that we developed alongside our team: Safety. Financial Sustainability. Innovation. Urgency. Evidence-Based Impact. The last core value is a commitment that we only undertake activities that are proven to make a measurable difference. What is the good of working so hard, if you don’t actually move the needle?
It’s getting late now. My eyes are drooping. I have an 8:15 am call tomorrow with our Nepal hub.
And, I can’t wait to hear what updates and unexpected challenges await. There will be challenges. Gosh, so many challenges. But it must be done. Done together. And done well.
In solidarity,
Samir
1800 Murray Ave PO box 81188 Pittsburgh PA 15217
Please do not send soap to this address
+1 610 762 3265
contact@ecosoapbank.org
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