How did New Story Charity address donor skepticism about where money goes?

They focused on transparency and accountability by creating a model where donors could see the specific family they were helping, 100% of donations went to building the house (overhead was privately funded), and donors received moving videos of the families.

What was the unique approach to developing the initial New Story Charity website?

Without an engineer or capital, they created a 'fake' crowdfunding platform using Webflow and manually updated donation meters and percentages. When donations came in, they would update the site manually and later film families moving in.

How did Y Combinator influence New Story Charity's growth?

Y Combinator pushed them to set audacious goals, like building 100 homes in 100 days (which they achieved). This experience instilled a core value of thinking big, breaking down goals, and executing effectively.

What is the 'Architects Program' at New Story Charity?

This program allows companies to fund entire communities instead of individual homes, making large-scale impact more achievable. A community of 100 homes costs around $600,000, which is accessible for larger corporations.

Why does New Story Charity focus on impact data beyond just the number of homes built?

They believe that building homes is only the first step; the real impact is in how it changes people's lives. They track metrics like increased sleep duration, improved health, and community development to ensure their projects are truly effective.

What are the key benefits of 3D printing for housing?

3D printing promises to significantly reduce the cost per home (from $6,500 to a projected $3,000), drastically decrease build time (from 15 days to under 24 hours), and potentially increase structural quality and reduce waste.

How does the 3D printing method work for houses?

Unlike desktop printers, this technology uses cement to print the walls layer by layer, creating a durable structure. The printer is designed to embed wiring and plumbing, and the design allows for more customization, including curves and loops.

What was the biggest challenge in developing the 3D printing technology?

A major challenge is educating people on the ground (families, governments, local workers) about the safety and viability of 3D printed homes, as they are unfamiliar with the technology and may be hesitant to adopt it.

What advice does New Story Charity give to other nonprofits for innovation and fundraising?

They emphasize having the right team and culture, building strong relationships with advisors and donors, being critical of your work, and ensuring genuine impact. For fundraising, they advocate for creative outreach and building credibility through results.

What is the most important factor for a successful startup or nonprofit?

The founders stress the importance of strong co-founder relationships, having a clear mission, building a supportive community, and having bold ideas that attract equally bold individuals and partners.

Key Moments

3D Home Printing for the Developing World – Alexandria Lafci and Brett Hagler of New Story Charity

Y Combinator

Science & Technology3 min read63 min video

Apr 4, 2018|2,920 views|61|3

YC Y Combinator Alexandria Lafci Brett Hagler New Story Charity

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Key Moments

TL;DR

New Story Charity uses 3D printing to build affordable homes for developing nations, prioritizing community design, transparency, and innovation.

Key Insights

New Story Charity addresses global shelter poverty by building homes and communities in developing nations, focusing on Haiti and Latin America.

The organization prioritizes transparency and accountability to donors, ensuring 100% of donations go towards building homes and providing direct impact visualization.

New Story emphasizes a community-driven design process, involving families in the design of their homes and communities to meet specific needs and foster ownership.

Innovations like 3D home printing are being explored to drastically reduce construction costs, speed up building times, and increase quality, with a goal of democratizing this technology.

The charity's success is attributed to valuing competent local partners, rigorous impact measurement, setting audacious goals, and fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration.

Building strong relationships with co-founders, team members, advisors, and the wider community is crucial for sustained support and achieving ambitious goals.

ADDRESSING THE GLOBAL SHELTER CRISIS

New Story Charity operates as a non-profit focused on building homes and communities for the world's poorest populations, primarily in Haiti and Latin America. They envision large-scale community developments, working with local governments to acquire land, install utilities, and subdivide plots. The core mission is to move families out of inadequate living conditions, such as tents or slums, into homes they own, along with the land. This land ownership is considered a critical pathway out of poverty, providing stability and a foundation for families.

FOUNDATIONS OF TRANSPARENCY AND COMMUNITY DESIGN

A key challenge New Story identified was donor skepticism regarding fund allocation and operational efficiency. To combat this, they implemented a model centered on radical transparency. This includes a crowdfunding platform where donors can see the specific family they are supporting, read their story, and receive a direct video of the family moving into their new home. Furthermore, families are actively involved in the design process of their homes and communities, ensuring that the solutions meet their specific needs and cultural contexts, fostering a sense of ownership and pride.

OVERCOMING TRADITIONAL DEVELOPMENT HURDLES

The founders observed that many large humanitarian organizations struggle with project scale and efficiency, citing examples where significant funding yielded minimal housing output. New Story attributes its success to a deliberate strategy of partnering with vetted local organizations and individuals. They recognize that local experts possess invaluable knowledge of their communities, business practices, and logistical challenges, which is crucial for effective and sustainable development. This approach avoids the pitfalls of external organizations imposing solutions without local insight.

INNOVATION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND STRATEGIC GOALS

Initially launching with a 'fake' crowdfunding platform built on Webflow to test donor interest, New Story quickly validated their model, raising substantial funds. Their participation in Y Combinator pushed them to set audacious goals, such as building 100 homes in 100 days. This experience instilled a core value of 'think big, break down, and execute.' This mindset led to further innovation, including the development of an 'Architects Program' where companies fund entire communities, and the exploration of advanced technologies like 3D home printing.

PIONEERING 3D HOME PRINTING FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Motivated by the need to build homes exponentially faster, better, and more affordably, New Story partnered with ICON to develop and deploy 3D home printing technology. This involves printing homes layer by layer using cementitious materials, creating durable, zero-waste structures. The goal is to reduce the cost per home significantly, from approximately $6,500 to a target of $3,000, and to decrease construction time from 15 days to under 24 hours. This technology offers design flexibility, allowing for customized homes that better meet family needs and can be adapted to challenging environments.

IMPACT MEASUREMENT AND FUTURE VISION

New Story invests heavily in impact data to move beyond vanity metrics like the number of homes built. They measure tangible improvements in families' lives, such as increased sleep hours and better health outcomes, directly linked to improved shelter. This data informs continuous improvement, ensuring each new community is better than the last. Their long-term vision includes democratizing 3D printing technology for other non-profits and governments, aiming to revolutionize shelter innovation for those who need it most, bringing emerging technologies to emerging markets where they can have the greatest life-changing impact.

Mentioned in This Episode

●Software & Apps

●Companies

●Organizations

●People Referenced

New Story House Building Costs and Times

Data extracted from this episode

Method	Average Cost Per Home	Build Time Per Home (Current)	Build Time Per Home (Goal)
Traditional CMU Block	$6,500	15 days	N/A
3D Printing (Projected)	$3,000	Under 24 hours	Under 12 hours

Common Questions

New Story Charity is a nonprofit that builds homes and communities for the world's poorest people, focusing on countries like Haiti and El Salvador. They aim to provide safe, permanent housing and land ownership as a path out of poverty.

Topics

Health & Longevity Mindset & Self-Improvement Technology & Innovation Business & Entrepreneurship Startup Growth International Development Impact Measurement Social Housing Affordable Housing 3D Printing Construction Nonprofit Innovation

Mentioned in this video

People

Kevin Hale

A partner at Y Combinator who challenged New Story Charity to significantly increase their home-building goals during their time in the accelerator program.

Hannah Potter

Leads the 'Her Story' program at New Story Charity, focusing on single mothers, and was involved in creating custom invitations for potential supporters.

Aaron Harris

A partner at Y Combinator who worked with New Story Charity during their accelerator program.

Software & Apps

Kickstarter

Used as an analogy for the crowdfunding site New Story initially planned to create, allowing donors to see direct impact.

Webflow

The platform used to build the initial fake crowdfunding MVP for New Story Charity.

Locations

Haiti

A primary country where New Story Charity works, focusing on rebuilding communities post-earthquake by providing safe and permanent housing starting from tent slums.

Latin America

A region where New Story Charity builds homes and communities, alongside Haiti, to address housing inequality.

Organizations

Mexico

A country where the government builds tens of thousands of homes per year, representing a significant potential for adopting 3D printing technology to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

El Salvador

A country where New Story Charity works, relocating families from landslide zones into new communities and planning to use 3D printing technology there.

New Story Charity

A nonprofit organization that builds houses and communities in the developing world, focused on Haiti and Latin America, which was one of the first nonprofits to go through Y Combinator.

Companies

Facebook

Mentioned as a place where people might leave their jobs to join audacious startups like New Story Charity, attracted by bold ideas.

Y Combinator

A startup accelerator that the founders went through, which influenced their goal-setting and business strategies, particularly in thinking bigger.

Google

Mentioned as a place where people might leave their jobs to join audacious startups like New Story Charity, attracted by bold ideas.

ICON

A robotic construction startup company and partner of New Story Charity that developed the 3D home printing technology.

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