hybrid
2008-05-06
How social entrepreneurship helps government Part I: Leveraging Public & Private Resources - ITNAmerica (continued from last week)
Filed Under:
Transformative, Financially Sustainable Innovation
ITNAmerica provides rides in private cars available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, with “door-through-door” service using a combination of paid and volunteer drivers. Taking a limited-market approach, ITNAmerica charges a nominal one-time membership fee of $35 and about 50 percent of the cost of a taxi for each ride. Payments must be made for every ride, but no money changes hands in the vehicle. Seniors fund personal transportation accounts in advance and receive a monthly statement by mail.
In embarking on an ambitious five-year growth strategy, ITNAmerica has been efficient in leveraging private resources. According to founder Katherine Freund, “We have a very flexible approach to resources. We say money is one kind of resource, but there are other kinds of assets that have economic value. And if we can find a way to capture different kinds of economic value, then we can use those resources also to pay for rides.” Volunteer drivers make up about 40 to 60 percent of the driving team. This helps the organization keep costs manageable, and offers seniors a way to subsidize the cost of their own rides. Many of the volunteers who are over the age of 60 contribute their own volunteer driving time through ITNAmerica’s Transportation Social Security program, building up credits in their personal transportation accounts for their own future use while they are still safe and healthy to transport others. Family members also supply volunteer time and make in-kind contributions of their driving credits to their relatives who are using the service. Seniors may trade their personal vehicles when they are no longer able to use them and apply the liquidated equity to fund their personal transportation accounts. The donated vehicles are often used to deliver rides.
Societal Benefits
ITNAmerica has developed a highly efficient model that ultimately funds itself. When the organization starts an affiliate program in a new city, it limits the amount of public funding it accepts to 50 percent or less of the capital necessary. Moreover, no public funds may be used for day-to-day operations, because ongoing use of public funds crowds out the development of the private community support so essential for long-term sustainability. Freund explains, “Most of the resources for transportation are private. If you don’t have a model that is built to access them, then you’ll fall into the pattern of being one of many providers in a turf war over the public dollars.” She notes that while many social problems require ongoing public support, senior transport—which targets a population willing and able to pay modest fees—is not one of them. Once ITNAmerica affiliates reach their full capacity, the public funding that helped to get them started can be directed to other needs. As a result, ITNAmerica leverages minimal initial support from government to meet the transportation needs of older Americans across the country.
Learn how KaBOOM! has leveraged public and private resources to build nearly 2,000 new playgrounds in underserved communities.
Next week: How social entrepreneurship helps government Part II: Testing & Developing Solutions
ITNAmerica provides rides in private cars available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, with “door-through-door” service using a combination of paid and volunteer drivers. Taking a limited-market approach, ITNAmerica charges a nominal one-time membership fee of $35 and about 50 percent of the cost of a taxi for each ride. Payments must be made for every ride, but no money changes hands in the vehicle. Seniors fund personal transportation accounts in advance and receive a monthly statement by mail.
In embarking on an ambitious five-year growth strategy, ITNAmerica has been efficient in leveraging private resources. According to founder Katherine Freund, “We have a very flexible approach to resources. We say money is one kind of resource, but there are other kinds of assets that have economic value. And if we can find a way to capture different kinds of economic value, then we can use those resources also to pay for rides.” Volunteer drivers make up about 40 to 60 percent of the driving team. This helps the organization keep costs manageable, and offers seniors a way to subsidize the cost of their own rides. Many of the volunteers who are over the age of 60 contribute their own volunteer driving time through ITNAmerica’s Transportation Social Security program, building up credits in their personal transportation accounts for their own future use while they are still safe and healthy to transport others. Family members also supply volunteer time and make in-kind contributions of their driving credits to their relatives who are using the service. Seniors may trade their personal vehicles when they are no longer able to use them and apply the liquidated equity to fund their personal transportation accounts. The donated vehicles are often used to deliver rides.
Societal Benefits
ITNAmerica has developed a highly efficient model that ultimately funds itself. When the organization starts an affiliate program in a new city, it limits the amount of public funding it accepts to 50 percent or less of the capital necessary. Moreover, no public funds may be used for day-to-day operations, because ongoing use of public funds crowds out the development of the private community support so essential for long-term sustainability. Freund explains, “Most of the resources for transportation are private. If you don’t have a model that is built to access them, then you’ll fall into the pattern of being one of many providers in a turf war over the public dollars.” She notes that while many social problems require ongoing public support, senior transport—which targets a population willing and able to pay modest fees—is not one of them. Once ITNAmerica affiliates reach their full capacity, the public funding that helped to get them started can be directed to other needs. As a result, ITNAmerica leverages minimal initial support from government to meet the transportation needs of older Americans across the country.
Learn how KaBOOM! has leveraged public and private resources to build nearly 2,000 new playgrounds in underserved communities.
Next week: How social entrepreneurship helps government Part II: Testing & Developing Solutions
