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Smile Train

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Smile Train
Formation1999 [1]
Type501(c)(3) nonprofit
HeadquartersUnited States New York, New York
Brian Mullaney
WebsiteSmiletrain.org

Smile Train is an international charity founded in 1999 by Brian Mullaney and Charles Wang with the mission of providing free cleft lips and palate surgery for children in developing countries and providing free cleft-related training for doctors and medical professionals. By March 2008, Smile Train had performed more than 280,000 cleft surgeries in 74 countries, raising $84 million with a staff of 30 people.[2] By 2009, when the organization celebrated its tenth year, it had assisted over 500,000 children.[1]

Smile Train uses technology including.[2] surgery-training software and grading of operations via digital imaging to increase efficiency.[2] Mullaney, who sits on the board of directors of Presstek (a manufacturer and marketer of high-tech digital imaging solutions),[3] suggested in 2005 that Smile Train is close to performing a greater number of operations each year than the number of children born each year in developing countries with cleft deformities.[2]

History

Mullaney started a public schools program in 1991, connecting children with facial deformities and surgeons who had been clients of his advertising agency.[4] In this arrangment, surgeons donated their services, and Mullaney raised money for expenses.[4] Mullaney called the project Operation Smile, subsequently learning of the prior existence of the Operation Smile cleft surgery organization in Norfolk, Virginia.[4] Later, Mullaney and Operation Smile merged, with Mullaney also bringing prominent donor Charles Wang.[4] Mullaney started a model within Operation Smile to train doctors and health professionals locally where surgery would be performed, paying them directly.[4] In the fall of 1998, Mullaney and Wang split from Operation Smile and co-founded Smile Train in New York in 1999.[4]

Co-Founder and President Brian Mullaney was motivated to start Smile Train while on a medical mission trip to Vietnam in 1994 with a charity that performed cleft-repair surgery on disadvantaged children. .[2]

The organization flew in doctors and equipment from the US, and because of this their time in each location was limited. .[2] On each mission he traveled, Mullaney recalls that 500 or 600 children would show up for surgery, but only about 150 would be helped. Mullaney befriended one of the children who showed up for surgery and began playing soccer with him every day. .[2]He was shocked when the mission trip packed up and left the area and he saw “Soccer Boy” running behind the leaving convoy. It was then that he vowed to create a new business model for helping these children, and the founding of Smile Train soon followed. .[2]


Founder

Mullaney worked in advertising for more than 20 years,[3] founded Schell/Mullaney Advertising, served as Senior Vice President, Creative Director at J. Walter Thompson and Vice President, Creative Director at Young & Rubicam. Mullaney earned a bachelor's degree in business economics from Harvard University.[3] He lives on Long Island, New York with his wife Cricket and his children Maura, Charlie and Quinn.[5]

Before Smile Train, Mullaney worked on advertising accounts for Park Avenue cosmetic surgeons. He would see children on the subway who could use the help of the surgeons he represented. He soon began a pilot program that offered free surgeries to city children, which eventually grew to include the entire metropolitan school district. Surgeons donated their time and Mullaney raised funds to cover the operating expenses. .[6]

Programs

Model

The typical model for cleft repair in developing countries has been to send mission groups abroad to do around 80 surgeries per mission. [2]

This turns out to be an expensive way to get the job done, and it also isn’t easy to find doctors to volunteer.[2] Smile Train instead partners with and trains local doctors to do the surgeries, which turns out to be far more efficient .[2]


Smile Train’s model also differs from many other organizations in that its ultimate goal is for its partners to achieve self-sufficiency and to no longer need Smile Train’s support; in other words, Smile Train’s ultimate goal is to put itself out of business .[7] [2]. Smile Train is moving toward that goal, which is evident in that partners are receiving less support over time as they manage to raise additional funding from local public and government leaders through awareness programs and become increasingly self-reliant .[7]

Smile Train has formed partnerships with 1,100 hospitals in over 75 of the world’s poorest countries and through these local partnerships; the organization is able to provide free surgery for children 24/7, 365 days a year .[7].[8].[9] The partnership model has been incredibly successful with Smile Train having provided 500,000 surgeries since its inception in 1999 [9] .

Education, Training, and Resources

The Smile Train provides comprehensive and free resources, such as training for the medical communities and free medical equipment to improve safety and quality of care. [2].

The organization supports symposiums that teach hundreds, sometimes thousands, of doctors and medical professionals the latest innovations in cleft surgery and treatment at one time such as the the Pan African Congress on Cleft Lip and Palate .[10]. [11], Pan African Anaesthesia Symposium.[12], the Chang Gung Forum International Workshop on Surgical Techniques in Cleft Lip and Palate and Maxillofacial Surgery .[13], , and the International Confederation for Cleft Lip and Palate and Related Craniofacial Anomalies CLEFT 2009 meeting.

The Smile Train also leverages the latest in Internet tools, database software, interactive CD's and laptop technology to train doctors in developing countries about current breakthroughs in cleft care .[14]. This emphasis on technology – a founding principle of The Smile Train – has enabled the organization to introduce several medical-industry “firsts,” including .[14][2]: · The world’s first Virtual Surgery Training Videos – a set of CDs helping doctors in the world’s poorest regions learn advanced cleft surgical techniques from the foremost experts in the field – on their own computers and at no cost… Out of 700+ entries, the DVDs were awarded runner-up in The Wall Street Journal’s 2008 Technology Innovation Awards [15]

· “The Smile Train Express”, the world’s first online cleft patient record database. Patient charts are uploaded via the Web and processed electronically, making it easier for doctors to manage and monitor a large volume of patients. · The world’s largest Online Cleft Library, which, for the first time ever, enables medical practitioners and the public to access a comprehensive collection of information about cleft lip and palate.

Special Projects

Smile Train regularly develops special projects to further support its partners around the world in order to help them reach more children in need of cleft surgery. For example, Smile Train provides funding for vans for partner hospitals so that they can reach people in rural areas who have no means of transportation to and from the hospital.


Special Ambassadors

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Partner Hospital Locations

The Smile Train is active in 76 countries.</ref>[41] - Smile Train</ref> Template:Multicol

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Documentary

Smile Pinki (2008) was a documentary, produced by Smile Train and directed by Megan Mylan [51]. The film shows the story of a poor girl in rural India whose life is transformed when she receives free surgery to correct her cleft lip. The documentary was made in Hindi and Bhojpuri, and won the 81st Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject).

Partnerships

  • In 2000, Smile Train formed a partnership with Russian Children's Welfare Society (RCWS) to provide surgeries to disadvantaged children in Russia.[52]
  • In 2008 Smile Train formed a partnership with DFS Group (a travel retailer) and The Moodie Report, a business service for the travel retail industry.[53]

Board of directors

  • Mark Edward Atkinson, Creative Director, Otto Studios
  • Susannah Schaefer, New York Islanders
  • Robert T. Bell, CPA, Executive Director Charles B. Wang Foundation
  • Robert K. Smits, Counsel, Salans
  • Brian Mullaney, Co-Founder and President
  • Charles B. Wang, Co-Founder and Chairman
  • Donald B. Murphy, Partner, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
  • Tamsen Ann Ziff, Ziff Brothers Investments, Honorary Board Member


Controversies

The American Institute of Philanthropy has criticized the organization for the high salary of its founder and President, Brian Mullaney, and its inconsistent claim that nearly all of the donations received by the charity go to charitable programs and not to operations and overhead.[54]However, charity rating organizations have been criticized by philanthropy experts for the validity of their evaluation methods and their conclusions. A study reported in the Stanford Social Innovation Review—an award-winning magazine covering successful strategies of nonprofits, foundations and socially responsible businesses—found that watchdog groups:

  • Rely too heavily on simple analyses and ratios derived from poor-quality financial data;
  • Overemphasize financial efficiency while ignoring program effectiveness; and
  • Do a poor job of conducting analyses in important qualitative areas, such as management strength, governance quality and organizational transparency.

Specifically, this study found that a "gotcha" mentality and lack of transparency were AIP's biggest shortcomings, saying it was "difficult to understand what specific adjustments AIP made to a given nonprofit's ratings and why."[55] This study's authors concluded that, as donors make important decisions using potentially misleading data and analyses, the potential of watchdog agencies to do harm may outweigh their ability to inform.[56] They suggested:

A more effective nonprofit rating system should have at least four main components: improved financial data that is reviewed over three to five years and put in the context of narrowly defined peer cohorts; qualitative evaluation of the organization's intangibles in areas like brand, management quality, governance, and transparency; some review of the organization's program effectiveness, including both qualitative critique by objective experts in the field, and, where appropriate, "customer" feedback from either the donor or the aid recipient's perspective; and an opportunity for comment or response by the organization being rated.[57]

In 2009, Intelligent Giving, an independent charity rating organization, indicated Smile Train's annual report lacked transparency,[58] the organization's claim of "less than one per cent overhead" figure is inaccurate,[58] and that the organization's claim that it is "hyper-efficient" cannot be verified.[58]. However, world-renowned economist Steven D. Levitt studied Smile Train's mission and numbers and said that the organization's model and technological innovations make it "one of most productive charities, dollar for deed, in the world" in the New York Times. [2]. Additionally, according to Smile Train’s 2008 990 filed with the IRS and available on charity evaluator Guidestar, Management & General expenses as a percentage of total expense is less than 1%. [59]

Richmond Times ad campaign

In 2009, Smile Train initiated an advertising campaign [4] in the Richmond Times highlighting rejected attempts by Smile Train to donate nearly $9 million from 2006 to 2009[60] to Operation Smile — the organization Brian Mullaney had split from in 1998 in what he termed a "messy divorce."[4] In the ad, Mullaney contended Operation Smile was refusing money that could benefit children, later calling the situation "shameful."[60]

A Virginian Pilot article — outlining the history and differences between the two organizations[4] — indicated Mulaney wanted the two organizations to reconcile,[4] that he had previously (2003) authored a letter[4] to an Operation Smile corporate sponsor discrediting[4] Operation Smile, and that he suspected Operation Smile thought he was behind a series of 1999 anonymous e-mails to The New York Times, discrediting Operation Smile.[4] Asked whether he had been behind those emails, Mullaney declined to respond.[4]

Bill Magee, Operations Smile’s founder, responded to the ad campaign in writing, indicating the two organizations “have different operating philosophies and business ethics,”[4] and that Operation Smile would continue foregoing donations from an “unproductive relationship.”[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b [1] - Smile Train
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Freakonomics, Bottom-Line Philanthropy, the 'Soccer Boy' effect". New York Times Magazine, Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt, March 9, 2008. Cite error: The named reference "nytimesmagazine" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c "Presstek Appoints Brian Mullaney to Board of Directors". PRSnewsire, HUDSON, N.H., Oct. 19 2005.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "'Smile' charity leaders in midst of decade-long feud". The Virginian Pilot, Elizabeth Simpson, December 20, 2009.
  5. ^ "Guest Profile: Brian Mullaney". The Dr. Pat Show,.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  6. ^ "Harvard Magazine, Scaling Up Charity, Smile Train's Brian Mullaney". Harvard Magazine, Nell Porter Brown, September-October 2009.
  7. ^ a b c {{cite web | url = http://www.milesintosmiles.com/education.aspx | title = Turning Miles Into Smiles | publisher = Rebecca Warriner, 2008
  8. ^ {{cite web | url = http://www.moodiereport.com/document.php?c_id=1178&doc_id=19764 | title = DFS and partners raise US$300,000 for The Smile Train – 08/02/09 | publisher = Moodie Report, Martin Moodie, 08/02/09
  9. ^ a b {{cite web | url = http://www.forbes.com/feeds/businesswire/2009/11/02/businesswire130970554.html | title = Aishwarya Rai Bachchan named Smile Train's First Goodwill Ambassador | publisher = Forbes Businesswire, November 2, 2009 Cite error: The named reference "forbes" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Pan African Congress on Cleft Lip And Palate". PacLip 2009 Mekonen Eshete MD, FCS-ECSA.
  11. ^ "AHI and LLU partner with Smile Train to increase cleft care in Africa". Adventist Health International.
  12. ^ "Shortage of Personnel Hurting Delivery of Anaesthesia in Africa". AMREF, June 30, 2008l.
  13. ^ "Report of the 5th International Workshop on Surgical Techniques in Cleft Lip and Palate and Maxillofacial Surgery". Chang Gung Medical Foundation, October 2~4, 2008.
  14. ^ a b "Directory of International NGOs Smile Train". China Development Brief 2009. Cite error: The named reference "chinadev" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  15. ^ "The Wall Street Journal's Technology Innovation Awards". Wall Street Journal 2008.
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  51. ^ Megan Mylan--'Smile Pinki' documentary.org.
  52. ^ http://www.rcws.org/programs_medical.htm
  53. ^ "DFS Group partners with The Smile Train and The Moodie Report in major charitable drive". Moodie Report, 04/03/08.
  54. ^ [37] - American Institute of Philanthropy
  55. ^ "Lowell, Stephanie, Brian Trelstad, and Bill Meehan. “The Ratings Game: Evaluating the Three Groups that Rate the Charities.” Stanford Social Innovation Review. Summer 2005, p. 42. Accessed May 16, 2009. [38]
  56. ^ Lowell, Stephanie, Brian Trelstad, and Bill Meehan. “The Ratings Game: Evaluating the Three Groups that Rate the Charities.” Stanford Social Innovation Review. Summer 2005, pp. 39-45. Accessed May 16, 2009. [39]
  57. ^ Lowell, Stephanie, Brian Trelstad, and Bill Meehan. “The Ratings Game: Evaluating the Three Groups that Rate the Charities.” Stanford Social Innovation Review. Summer 2005, p. 43. Accessed May 16, 2009. [40]
  58. ^ a b c "The Smile Train: don't be fooled by its marketing spin". Intelligent Giving, Adam Rothwell, June 24, 2009.
  59. ^ Template:Cite web http://www2.guidestar.org/ReportNonProfit.aspx?ein=13-3661416&name=smile-train
  60. ^ a b "Smiles to frowns". The Virginian Pilot,Letter to the Editor, Brian Mullaney, Dec 28, 2009.
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