My interest in working with nonprofits started when I was young, unknowingly. My aunt had been a missionary in Thailand for 40 years and would tell us stories about her time over there as we were growing up. When I was in the first grade, I asked her if she could take me to Thailand. She promised that she would when I graduated high school. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out because of her health; my aunt’s Thai friends hosted my mom and me when we could go in 2020. I met her friends there and visited the hill tribes where she lived and worked. As a result, I was exposed to the nonprofits Lanna Foundation and Integrated Tribal Development Foundation (ITDF). Ever since I came back, I couldn’t stop talking about her and her friends’ impacts, wishing I could do something similar.
For this blog, I sat down with Debbie Tingley, project coordinator for Hands to Heart, a board member of the Lanna Foundation, and is in charge of social media for Integrated Tribal Development Foundation (ITDF), Lanna Foundation, and Hands to Heart.
Hands to Heart, a women’s co-op project, is a holistic way of empowering women and sharing the Gospel. Through their weaving craft, Hands to Heart empowers them through workshops for their micro-enterprise businesses.
What is the background of the Lanna Foundation and their collaborations?
Lanna Foundation’s director, Dr. Eric Hanson, is best friends with ITDF’s founder, Mike Mann. Their parents were missionaries in Thailand, where they lived until they were 13. Then, at 13, Hanson’s parents moved back to the States. Many years later, Mann and Hanson reconnected. Then, Hanson heard what Mann had done with ITDF and felt very called to start a foundation to raise awareness and funds for ITDF. So Hanson established the Lanna Foundation to generate funds for the ITDF and HtH, which generates income for the people of Thailand.
What does ITDF do?
They are a faith-based organization that helps empower lives through clean water projects and asking holistically what the villagers’ needs are, usually education. They have five projects:
- Clean water, which includes health (how to avoid still water-borne illnesses) and sanitation training
- Coffee (which provides the means for villagers to start their micro-enterprises and cash crops as Lanna Foundation-along with other worldwide entities-buys the beans from them)
- Education (they build schools, and clean water allows students to be able to go to school as they don’t have to carry water from far away)
- Hands to Heart (a women’s woven craft co-op)
- Agriculture marketing
How do you use social media to promote Lanna Foundation, ITDF, and Hands to Heart?
Hands to Heart’s a little different as it is treated like a business, so there is branding and marketing. They have Facebook and Instagram. It is mostly about getting a product out, and in between, some posts talk about women’s empowerment and how their purchase affects the women and their lives. Sometimes, on the online shop, there’s a blog, so Tingley will update on how the work of ITDF or Hands to Heart affects the villagers.
With Lanna Foundation and ITDF, there are posts about what is happening and alternating between projects. Water projects excite people. We recently had the longest water project in ITDF’s history, with 27 kilometers impacting two villages. So, people were following.
How often do you post?
It depends on what’s going on. Tingley tries to post once or twice a week. It depends on the project, and if she is going to villages, so posts are scheduled out as there is no service. Sometimes there just isn’t anything going on. In between those, may be a general informational post telling how clean water impacts life. It may provide water for a farmer’s agriculture, giving them income and nutrition. Tingley tries to keep it accessible with a link to donate or more information on the website.
Why should people support Lanna over similar nonprofits?
“We are very grassroots; no one is paid except for an administrative assistant. All our money goes to ITDF apart from our operational costs. We are very transparent,” said Tingley. “How can you not support something that provides really not only clean water but living water? We are supporting the physical needs so that we can share the Gospel and provide his living water. It just goes hand-in-hand.”
Has social media translated into more donors and volunteers?
Recently, Tingley had to go to the States in late 2022 to do handicraft fairs to sell women’s weavings. She got her volunteer list from abroad, which she is grateful for. Throughout her career, she has been able to differentiate between different audiences for posts to know how to direct various posts. As a result, they were able to use some of the posts to email out to the donor list.
How can people help the Lanna Foundation?
Many ways:
- Pray
- Donate-there are many different ways. Monthly donors are great to a significant base. Community sponsorships provide the means for education, families, emergencies, and a way to support a family’s livelihood.
- Volunteer, whether with Hands to Heart and handicraft fairs, there are many ways. For example, you can hold an event to raise money for the Lanna Foundation.
How do you see social media playing a role in the future?
“It will always be a driving force to raise awareness for ITDF, Hands to Heart, and Lanna Foundation. A lot of people are concerned about technology, but when it is used in a way such as this, I think it is an incredible way to reach people and their hearts. I can’t think of a better way. It keeps changing, particularly with Instagram, and now it’s reels, and I constantly have to learn from my partner who is younger than me.” said Tingley.
Do you have anything else that you would like to add?
What I have found in social media is needing not only to keep refocusing on different target audiences but also, for us, not posting.” said Tingley. “There was a time when I was in the States, and I was posting a lot that I found it’s better to have good content and post fewer times, but it needs to be consistent, once or twice a week.”
You can follow Lanna Foundation on Facebook and Instagram. Hands to Heart is also on Facebook and Instagram. Check out more about ITDF here
