Brisbane charity Orange Sky Laundry eyes US expansion as it develops technology with $1m Google grant
The co-founders of a Brisbane charity have set their sights on the United States after receiving a $1m grant to develop their technology to help other not-for-profit organisations.
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THE co-founders of mobile laundry charity Orange Sky have set their sights on US expansion.
Best mates Lucas Patchett and Nic Marchesi received a $1 million grant from Google last year and are currently developing an app based on Orange Sky’s technology to help other not-for-profit organisations.
The Brisbane duo, who were crowned 2016 joint Young Australians of the Year, started their organisation in 2014 with one van called Sudsy and two washing machines. Orange Sky now has nearly 30 vans across the country and one in Auckland.
“Tech has always been a big pillar for us at Orange Sky, and how we can track and measure our impact, how we look after our volunteers and roster them (and) maintain our vehicles,” Mr Patchett said.
“Of those 950 loads of washing that happen every week, the app lets us know exactly where they happened, what time, who was behind them, what volunteers facilitated and what van - that all comes back to the tech that we’ve built.”
He said the web-based app has helped Orange Sky grow by providing transparent data. “You can make sure that your service is providing a great impact and you are operating more efficiently, and when you are operating on donor dollars that’s incredibly important,” he said.
The pair also are aiming to expand Orange Sky into the US, a goal that got a boost on Wednesday when US Ambassador to Australia Arthur B, Culvahouse Jr, toured their Brisbane headquarters.
“The partnership between Orange Sky Laundry and Google is a great example of the private sector and social entrepreneurs coming together to deliver services to those in need,” he said.
Mr Patchett said he was excited to see where Orange Sky goes in the next five years, saying there is a “tremendous need” for it in America. “We are thinking about how we can scale it efficiently, and we are in the process of figuring all that out.”
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