Positive Ripples / About

A 501(c)(3) built by volunteers.

Positive Ripples is a mindset, the premise that one good deed can start a chain reaction. We are a joint effort of several St. Bonaventure University clubs and groups. Twenty years on, we are still volunteer-run and accountable to the communities the work happens in.

Our story

One good deed can start a chain reaction.

Positive Ripples was created with the idea to make the world a better place by starting ripples of hope, knowledge, and kindness around the globe. We started our efforts in the United States, Haiti, and Uganda several years ago, and have not stopped since.

We are a 501(c)(3) joint effort of several St. Bonaventure University clubs and groups, including BonaResponds, Haiti Scholarships, BonaSimm, the Biology Department, and Enactus at SBU. Together, with the help of countless donors and volunteers, we keep the work moving.

Through Positive Ripples we collect donations for projects we hope to participate in. We also run online tutoring sessions, online teacher trainings, give students internet access, run pen-pal programs, and operate a micro-finance and business education program.

Please help us start more ripples. We are always looking for eager new volunteers, ideas, and donations of any kind. With your help we can make the world a better place. A donation could lift people out of poverty, and their lives would be forever changed.

Where we work

Haiti is the heart of the work. We've also responded in the Bahamas (Hurricane Dorian), Houston (Hurricane Harvey), Sierra Leone (Ebola orphans schooling), Uganda, and a handful of other places where the call came in. See every project →

Who's behind it

The board is unpaid. Trips are self-funded. The work is governed by the communities, not by us. Meet the directors and partners →

Get educated

Before improving lives, we have to know what they look like now.

Positive Ripples helps pay teacher salaries, student fees, and so much more. Donate to enroll a student in school in Sierra Leone or Haiti.

Poverty

Before we can improve people's lives, we all have to know what things are like now. So here is a little background on poverty. Every member of every donor circle takes this primer before deciding where the funds go. Knowing the conditions on the ground is non-negotiable for us, and it should be for everyone giving money.

Haiti: a primer

The poorest economy in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world, Haiti is a case study in what can go wrong with an economy. According to the World Bank, Gross National Income per capita (at Purchasing Power Parity) is around $1,790. The average for Caribbean and Latin American developing countries is $14,098. That gap is what we work in.

In the face of this, the Haitian people are resilient and proud, with a culture unlike almost anywhere else. That's a real challenge for those looking to help, and a real opportunity. The mistake outside organizations make most often is to bring in solutions that don't fit. We try not to. The communities lead, the projects follow.

About this work

An affiliate of BonaResponds at St. Bonaventure University, Positive Ripples puts effort toward those who need it most. Donate now.

Every dollar moves. None of it stays.

All-volunteer. No overhead skim, no executive pay. Choose the size of your ripple, or write your own amount on PayPal.

Donate via PayPal

501(c)(3) · EIN 47-4880953 · All gifts tax-deductible