PLATINUM2023

AMPLIO NETWORK

Share knowledge through audio technology

aka Amplio   |   Seattle, WA   |  https://www.amplio.org

Mission

Amplio's mission is to empower the world's most vulnerable communities through knowledge sharing. Our innovative technology enables governments and international organizations to amplify their reach in remote rural communities. With the Amplio Talking Book, organizations can share hours of targeted, local language audio content. Users can play messages on demand and record their feedback. A built-in speaker lets families and groups listen and learn together. Because Talking Books collect usage data and user feedback, partners can monitor program engagement, identify issues and trends, and update content for a greater impact. As a result, people challenged by poverty, low-literacy, and remoteness can gain new skills and knowledge to improve their livelihoods and lives.

Notes from the nonprofit

Amplio is in the midst of an exciting transition. Over the past few years, Amplio has expanded its signature Talking Book program from mostly operating in Ghana to partnerships in 14 countries. With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Learning Agenda on Digital initiative, we are implementing two projects to amplify social impact for vulnerable populations: 1) piloting the Talking Book as a tool for collecting confidential client feedback in rural healthcare settings in partnership with Ghana Health Services, and 2) piloting the beta version of a new open-source Social and Behavior Change software with 12 partners in Africa and Asia, including UNICEF and CARE. In June, Amplio's founder stepped down after 16 years of leading the organization. After the onboarding of the new executive director, Amplio will roll out its new strategic plan for the next phase of our growth.

Ruling year info

2008

Founder and Executive Director

Mr. Cliff Schmidt

Main address

1904 3rd Ave Suite 417

Seattle, WA 98101 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

Literacy Bridge

EIN

26-1335205

NTEE code info

International Development, Relief Services (Q30)

International Human Rights (Q70)

International Economic Development (Q32)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Governments and development agencies struggle to reach and serve the most remote and marginalized rural communities with access to information. At the same time, they also lack an adequate understanding of each community's specific needs. There are too many villages, too far apart — and too many barriers. Challenges include poor infrastructure, illiteracy, gender inequities, unreliable electricity and internet, and expensive mobile data. As more funders and organizations turn to mobile phones and apps, there's a risk of creating new groups that are left behind—especially women and girls. Over 1 billion women don't use mobile internet. More than 80% of digital development projects fail (World Bank). Without the right tools, governments and INGOs are limited in their ability to achieve the United Nations 2030 Agenda and fulfill the pledge to leave no one behind.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

UNICEF Ghana CHPS Program

Through a partnership with UNICEF and Ghana Health Services, Talking Books are used to strengthen health education and service delivery at 47 Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) sites (27 health compounds and 20 mobile units) in Jirapa District. The 2021 program expansion builds on a successful CHPS pilot project in 2019. Community health nurses and volunteers are using Talking Books to share consistent and accurate health messages during Child Welfare Clinics, Antenatal Care Visits, and household visits. Latest reach: 101,921 (95% women)

Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Caregivers
Families
Parents
Children and youth

Funded by the World Bank, in partnership with the Government of Niger, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and other UN specialized agencies, Niger Smart Villages aims to reach 15,000 remote villages with digital services. In 2021, a Smart Villages proof of concept pilot was launched in two communities to reach approximately 2,400 people prior to project expansion. Niger's ministries of agriculture, health, and education are using Talking Books to share targeted, local language audio messages.

Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Children and youth
Families
Caregivers
Parents

Funded by Global Affairs Canada, MEDA's Farmers' Economic Advancement Through Seedlings (FEATS) project used Talking Books to economically empower over 5,000 women farmers and their families in small- and medium-scale shea picking and shea butter processing enterprises in the Northern Region. Topics included sustainable agriculture, value chains, and more, with messages produced in six languages (Wali, Sissale, Kasem, Dagbani, Kusaal, and Nabit). The project was implemented by Esoko.

Population(s) Served
Families
Farmers
Women and girls
Economically disadvantaged people

Funded by USAID, the Ready2Read project is implemented by ILC Africa, in partnership with Amplio and Malawi's Association of Early Childhood Development. Talking Books are placed at 50 early childhood education centers to support pre-literacy skills for children ages 3 to 5. ILC Africa has adaptedMalawi’s early childhood development curriculum into audio lessons for Talking Books, enabling students and families to listen and learn together in their local language. Content includes pre-literacy lessons for children (age 3-5) and messages to help parents build their skills and capacity to support their children’s learning. Talking Books will be used by instructors at the centers. Families can also take Talking Books home to listen at the household level. The project anticipates reaching over 7,200 people.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Economically disadvantaged people

Funded by Arm Ltd, VSO Zambia is using Talking Books to inform and engage youth (aged 10-19) in the remote islands of Samfya District about sexual and reproductive health and rights. Community health volunteers use Talking Books to facilitate youth discussion groups. Youth also take devices home to listen with their families. The project is being implemented in partnership with Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia and Zambia’s Ministry of Health. In 2021, TALK II's total reach was over 15,700 people (youth and families). An external evaluation showed that Talking Books significantly improved 1) reach of messaging to adolescents and families, 2) access to quality SRHR messages, 3) SRH data collection and feedback, and 4) engagement through technology. The project will continue and expand in 2022.

Population(s) Served
Adolescents
People with disabilities
Families

APME 2A and CLINISOLS are using Talking Books to train and support smallholder farmers in the Cascades and Hauts-Bassins regions of Burkina Faso. The project aims to reach and help 5,000 farmers improve food security and income for their families by growing and selling maize and cowpea.

Population(s) Served
Families
Families
Farmers
Extremely poor people

CARE Ethiopia’s Act With Her project used Talking Books to deliver adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and life skills education to boys and girls groups in extremely hard-to-reach pastoralist communities in the Afar region. Topics covered included sexual and reproductive health and rights and life skills, in order to ease the transition of adolescents to mature adulthood. Reach: 850

Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Nomadic people
Families

Funded by Exxon Mobil, this women's economic empowerment project targets women farmers, with a focus on rice production. Talking Books will be piloted with 50 groups to reach 1,000 women with messages on agriculture, entrepreneurship, financial management, and gender.

Population(s) Served
Women
Farmers
Extremely poor people

For CARE Haiti's ASARANGA project, lead farmers and extension agents share Talking Books with agriculture collectives, mothers groups, and Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) to facilitate learning and group discussion. Topics include nutrition, agriculture, animal husbandry, financial literacy, COVID-19, maternal and child health, and more. Latest reach: 883 (66% women)

Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Women and girls
Farmers
Extremely poor people

CARE Bangladesh’s Joint Action for Nutrition Outcomes (JANO) project is using Talking Books to spread knowledge, promote positive changes in attitudes, and influence the behavior about nutrition, health, climate-smart agriculture, gender equality/women’s empowerment, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). Funded by the European Union (EU) and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the project aims to support the effective implementation of the National Plan of Action for Nutrition (NPAN). Community volunteers (all women) will use 215 Talking Books to reach and train 86,000 people, including mothers, adolescent girls, and farmers.

Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Farmers
Extremely poor people

Where we work

Awards

Recognized for using ICT to improve agriculture production in developing countries 2010

EU Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation

Global Social Benefits Institute Scholar 2010

Santa Clara University

Integral Fellows Award 2009

Microsoft

Education Laureate 2012

The Tech Awards

21st Century Achievement Award 2013

Computerworld Honors

PBS NewsHour Agent of Change 2013

PBS

Integral Fellows Award 2014

Microsoft

WISE Award 2015

Qatar Foundation

UNESCO-Pearson Initiative for Literacy (Digital Solutions) 2017

UNESCO

2030 Vision Project 2018

Arm Ltd

Gold Award for Responsible Technology & Community Outreach 2022

Anthem Awards

Affiliations & memberships

Clinton Global Initiative 2011

Million Lives Club 2020

Principles for Digital Development 2020

World Summit on Information Society 2021

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of clients served

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Extremely poor people, Farmers, Children and youth, Nomadic people, Families

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

In 2020, Amplio passed a milestone: Talking Book programs have now reached over 1M listeners. Because programs span years and Talking Books are re-used, we measure this # cumulatively.

Net promoter score

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults, Children and youth, Families, Extremely poor people, Farmers

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

We began measuring NPS in Q3, 2020, and had 3 responses from partners (all promoters). In 2021, our NPS is 62 from 42 responses, more partners, a wider range of experiences and perspectives.

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

In 2020, Amplio passed a milestone: Amplio Talking Books have now reached over one million listeners! Our five-year program goal is that by 2024, two million people challenged by poverty, remoteness, or low literacy will have acquired the knowledge they need to address their greatest needs.

In order to reach and serve those who are the furthest behind, Amplio is committed to forming partnerships with organizations that focus on the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations. Our program strategy includes:

1. Grow the number of vulnerable communities served by our technology by expanding our affiliate network and community of practice.
2. Regularly evaluate sales channels (e.g. affiliate vs. self-service) and business development strategy.
3. Help partners effectively achieve their objectives.
4. Invest in technology and training resources to improve scalability and quality.

Amplio partners with local experts, government agencies, and leading international development organizations to plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate Talking Book programs and to continually update and improve our technology and services to achieve our goals. Our team brings strategic skills and experience to this work.

Arthur Tao co-founded Amplio with Cliff Schmidt in 2007. He previously was a senior program manager at Microsoft. He has extensive experience in the management of large, complex software programs and working with global teams. Arthur has a MS. in computer engineering from Cornell University.

Bill Evans, Senior Software Design Engineer, started out supporting room-sized mainframe systems for the healthcare industry in 1978. Bill was a founding member of the Microsoft team that created the .NET development environment and later worked on the Kindle reader at Amazon. Bill has programmed professionally in more than a dozen computer languages. He has a BS in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University.

Lisa Zook, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, has 11 years of international development experience. As a senior specialist for World Vision International, she designed and led M&E capacity building workshops in 14 countries and gained field experience in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. She has a MPH in epidemiology and international health from University of Michigan and a BS in mathematics from Davidson College.

Lindsay Dakan, Global Partnerships Program Manager, has eight years of international development experience, including program monitoring and evaluation for NGOs in Uganda. She has an MA in sustainable international development from Brandeis University.

Bea Covington, Global Partnerships Director, is an economist and data-driven leader. Bea worked for USAID, International Finance Corporation, and private sectors clients. She has extensive experience leading and scaling public/private partnerships. Bea has a MAg in natural resource economics and an MS in adult education/communication from the University of Florida.

Gumah Tiah, Ghana Country Director, has developed and led programs for the SEND Foundation, Populations Services International, and the British and Swiss Red Cross. He has 12+ years of experience in the emergency and development sectors, including climate change, disaster management, food security, health, WASH, livelihoods, gender, and governance, in Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Sudan. Guman has an MPhil in Development Management.

Since 2007, Amplio has reached nearly two million people in 14 countries through our Talking Book program and partnerships. The Amplio Talking Book is recognized by UNESCO as an inclusive digital solution that low-literate people can use to gain new skills and knowledge to improve their livelihoods and lives. Our innovative, low-cost technology has proven effective as a safe and appropriate tool to help bridge the gender digital divide.

- A Ghana pilot project that used Talking Books to share messages from agriculture experts saw a 48% increase in crop production, leading to greater food security and nutrition.

- Funded by Global Affairs Canada, MEDA's Greater Rural Opportunities for Women project used Talking Books to help empower over 23,000 women farmers in northern Ghana to improve food security and nutrition by growing and selling soybeans. The women doubled their annual income. Over 53% percent achieved income stability.

- In Kenya, the USAID-funded Afya Timiza project used Talking Books to train and support community health workers to improve access to quality health information and services for semi-nomadic pastoralist families. As a result, community health posts saw a 110% increase in pregnant women attending antenatal care visits.

- The Government of Niger, in partnership with ITU and other UN agencies, has included Talking Books in the Niger Smart Villages project, which aims to reach 15,000 rural villages.

- In 2020, Amplio partnered with UNICEF and Ghana Health Service to launch a COVID-19 awareness in eight vulnerable districts in the Upper West Region. Community health nurses and volunteers used Talking Books to share consistent and accurate local language health messages more efficiently and effectively.

- Landesa is currently using Talking Book to reach and inform rural farmers in Liberia about women's land rights and to expand program delivery while maintaining social distance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

- In 2021, an external evaluation of VSO Zambia's TALK II project showed that using Talking Books to educate adolescents in Samfya District about sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) significantly improved 1) message reach to youth and their families, 2) quality of SRHR messaging, 3) data collection and feedback, and 4) engagement through technology.

- Talking Book programs and partnerships expanded to new regions, including South Asia (Bangladesh) and Latin America (Haiti) as well as more countries in Africa (i.e., Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria)

- We launched a suite of products to help partners more easily and cost-effectively launch and run their programs, created a community of practice, and designed a new system for processing Talking Book user feedback.

- In 2022, our programs and partnerships continued to expand to new regions and sectors, including the Ready2Read Malawi project to support early child development and Mercy Corps Nigeria project focused on nutrition.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback

Financials

AMPLIO NETWORK
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

AMPLIO NETWORK

Board of directors
as of 09/06/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board co-chair

Christine Chew


Board co-chair

Ms. Christine Chew

Bellevue School District

Term: 2022 - 2024

Paul Cotton

Philanthropist, Information Technology Leader

Christine Chew

School Board Director, Bellevue School District

David Vogel

Data Scientist, Hedge Fund Founder

Anthony Cavalieri

Senior Program Officer, Gates Foundation

Dena Morris

President, Washington Global Health Alliance

Tawiah Agyarko-Kwarteng

Sustainable Development Consultant, Ghana

Tim Akinbo

Founder and CEO, TimbaObjects

Margo Schneider

Senior Director, Digital Strategy, UW Medicine

Livia Benavides

Development Professional, World Bank (retired)

Ann Ford

Attorney, DLA Piper

Steven Larkey

Semiconductor Executive, Retired

Sylvia Omulo

Assistant Professor, Global Health, Washington State University

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 2/28/2023

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 09/06/2023

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.