DOT | Digital Opportunity Trust

Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) is an expert in community transformation shaped by daring, young social innovators and accelerated by digital technology. DOT co-designs with youth to create gender-responsive, digitally-enabled, local solutions to achieve the sustainable development goals. 

Our commitment to place youth at the centre of program design and community-based socio-economic development, makes us a fantastic choice to support and donate to on #GivingTuesday this year. Join us in our 20th anniversary year (2022) to empower youth as digital change agents in their communities across Africa and the Middle East. 

Our locally-led efforts help young people develop entrepreneurial mindsets and the digital skills to launch and scale their social innovations for impact or to develop skills for digital jobs , 

DOT empowers youth to give back to their communities and support other youth in their journey of development and upskilling through digital champions and other initiatives that build trust, opportunities and scale.

DOT is proud to participate in #GivingTuesday, the global day of giving, on November 30th, 2021. With your support, we can continue to partner with youth to shape a more equitable, responsible and digitally connected world.

Giving Tuesday: What you need to know

Giving Tuesday is a day set for global giving. It falls on the first Tuesday after Black Friday, Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. This year, November 30th, Giving Tuesday celebrates eight years as a recognized day to give back, exercise generosity and support community-serving organizations. 

Giving Tuesday was founded in 2012 by the United Nations Foundation and other charitable organizations. #GivingTuesday is a part of the official name. As many recognized the value and impact on the community, GivingTuesday was quickly and rapidly embraced. 

How to support DOT this Giving Tuesday

When you give, you support our work to provide locally-relevant leadership, entrepreneurial, and digital skills for jobs and business.

This year, your donation will support our continued success in mobilizing young people and supporting their meaningful impact.  DOT’s youth-led peer to peer model contributes to bridging the digital gender divide by empowering young leaders and co-designing training content that meets their needs.  Your donation will support youth resilience, sustainable community recovery and growth in Africa and the Middle East. 

There are several ways to participate in Giving Tuesday this year. And years to come.

1. Make a Donation

You can donate to DOT as an individual through our CanadaHelps, Just Giving, Charitable Impact, or GivingTuesday profiles 

2. Share this blog on social media

Please share this blog and our charitable donation accounts to your networks; Tag @DigitalOppTrust and #DOTYouth in your posts! 

3. Explore your organization’s social responsibility activities

DOT is also active on Benevity; ask your colleagues about Employee Giving, Gift Matching and any Charitable Giving campaigns your organization participates in, that you can join and support through Benevity. 

4. Sponsor a Street Team cohort

#DOTYouth Street Team supports  the impact and reach of youth-led grassroots initiatives by providing youth with customized learning and partnership opportunities, training in gender equality, connections to peer groups, and seed funding for their initiatives – all reinforced by 1-on-1 virtual coaching with a trained coach.

The impact of the DOT Street Team model is impressive: the initial cohorts of 107 youth supported 530,000 community members through their initiatives, and our Street Team members want to do more. 

In June, DOT and ITU partnered to launch the  #GirlsinICT Street Team, a youth-led response to the gender digital divide. Through the #GirlsinICT Street Team, DOT and ITU are supporting the impact and reach of 50 youth-led, grassroots initiatives in Africa that are creating opportunities for young women and girls in technology. 

Elizabeth, a member of the Girls ICT Street Team, is equipping young women and girls in Malawi with the digital skills needed for employment and empowerment. 

By donating to DOT, you are supporting young entrepreneurs like Elizabeth to develop leadership, business and entrepreneurship skills, connect like-minded individuals, continue their social entrepreneurship journeys, and support the next generation through digital literacy to be truly empowered. 

$500 provides a young person with the skills to successfully launch their community-based initiative; $1,000 gives them the capital to see it grow. $50,000 will sponsor a cohort of 50 youth through seed funding and peer-to-peer interactions, and coaching. 

DOT’s network of youth are reaching the most vulnerable in their communities and are demonstrating the powerful impact of youth-led action. When we empower young minds, a ripple effect occurs – as they empower and support their community members, creating webs of connected individuals leading change that extends beyond communities. 

With your support, you can be a part of this growing movement and witness digitally-enabled community transformation. 

About Digital Opportunity Trust

Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) routed in digital and powered by youth, works with youth, the private sector, governments, and community-based organizations towards a collaborative vision of communities around the world shaped by daring social innovators. As a global non-profit social enterprise with locally-managed offices in Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Rwanda,, and Tanzania, DOT has worked as development innovators and catalysts since being founded in 2001. DOT’s growing network of 6,000 local youth have created opportunities for over 1 million people in communities across Africa and the Middle East. Learn more about DOT at https://dotrust.org.