The Launch of HopePhones

HopePhones.org

It’s not my style to write glowing reviews of products or charities on this blog. Though, ironically, one of my most frequently viewed posts has been my critical review of Peter Singer’s lecture on his new book The Life You Can Save. In reality, this blog is supposed to be little more than a sounding board for my brain to process information, with additional borrowed computing power provided by the blogosphere. But when Josh told me about the idea behind HopePhones last weekend while we were both at an event at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, I tried to play the role of journalist and product reviewer, asking (mainly in my head) questions like “why was a nonprofit getting involved in the traditionally commercial space of cell phone recycling?” and “would HopePhones turn out to be a brilliant, strategic move for FrontlineSMS:Medic or a failed investment in social media and social enterprise?”

To be honest, I love the simplicity of the idea – take old, unused cell phones and turn them into cell phones for the developing world. It’s TerraCycle meets BetterWorldBooks – and it seems like a service that would be competitive in the marketplace; as an individual, I would totally get more value from being a cell phone donor than a cell phone seller (in the same way that many people may get more value from donating their old car instead of selling it – an extension of the theme embedded philanthropy). Mix in the fact that this earned income stream is mission-aligned, I can’t help but think that this idea will show signs of success, especially after having just watched the Story of Stuff (funded by the Tides Foundation):

But as a researcher and as a consultant, I’m interested in not only the idea, but also how this initiative will play out so that others may be informed by HopePhones’ eventual success or failure. How much impact will social media have on their fundraising? So far, there have been 484 tweets about HopePhones as I blog this – how many donated cell phones can be traced back to Twitter? What kind of external shocks on the cell phone recycling business will affect the return on investment of the HopePhones campaign? Will increased competition among charities diminish HopePhones’ market share of the cell phone recycling fundraising industry? Similarly, will increased competition among cell phone recyclers diminish the margins per phone for HopePhones? How will cell phone recycling as a field move forward independently of the success of the HopePhones initiative? Will there be tension between the environmental goals of cell phone recycling and the health goals of FrontlineSMS:Medic? And what lessons can we learn to best encourage cell phone recycling and social change more generally?

I’m excited for FrontlineSMS:Medic and the potential direct impact their HopePhones initiative will have on the sustainability and awareness of their programs, but I’m even more excited to draw lessons from this experience so that the sector has better information in making strategic decisions. So best of luck to the FrontlineSMS:Medic team, and I look forward to observing your progress over the coming months!