Here's a story about how members of the Changemakers community are uplifting at risk youth in Brazil:
In Brazil, a country synonymous with samba, sunshine, and Carnaval, young people are using music – one of their country's greatest strengths – to fight their country's greatest shortcomings.
The young musicians are part of Grupo Cultural Afro Reggae, a troupe that empowers children from Rio de Janeiro's favelas (shantytowns) through workshops in music and dance. These workshops are conducted by a band of forty regular performers whose shows crumble stereotypes with an infectious combination of percussion, dance, rap and circus acts.
Read more about this solution, or discuss this topic below.
Created on 05/13/2013 by jladd
While partner notification is the most effective way to stop the spread of STDs, only 23% of partners are notified following a STD diagnosis. So They Can Know is a website to help people to notify their partners that they need to get tested, either in person or through informative anonymous emails. Sexual Health Innovations creates this and other web- and text-based technologies to improve sexual health and wellbeing.
Organization: Sexual Health Innovations
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So They Can Know: An STD Partner Notification Website
Organization Name
Sexual Health Innovations
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, CA, San Francisco, San Francisco County
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideThe Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
Every year, over 3 million young Americans get infected with a curable sexually transmitted disease (STD) such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, or trichomonas. Most Americans with these STDs don’t know they are infected and don’t seek treatment. This results in needless ongoing transmission, particularly among 15 to 24 year-olds and racial/ethnic minorities, and serious reproductive health problems.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
One of the most effective strategies for addressing this problem is partner notification, which brings high-risk partners of diagnosed individuals in for testing and treatment. These partners tend to be around ten times more likely to be infected with an STD than the average person coming in for testing. Unfortunately, when people aren’t offered anonymous services they tend to notify only about half to a quarter of their at-risk partners.
So They Can Know (www.sotheycanknow.org) is a website that allows users to view tips, scripts, and videos about how to notify their partners, or send anonymous partner notification emails. These emails provide partners with relevant health information and links to locate nearby testing services.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
A friend was recently diagnosed with chlamydia. She went to the So They Can Know website for guidance on what to do. First, she wanted to know which of her past partners she should inform- information she found in our STD Info section. Next, she wanted to know how to tell them, guidance that she found in the website's Inform section. This particular woman opted to tell her partners herself.
If she had wanted to inform her partners anonymously, she could have selected her STD, previewed an anonymous notification email, entered her partners' email addresses, and hit "send". Her partners would have received an email saying they may have been exposed to chlamydia, that they probably wouldn't have symptoms, and other relevant information.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Public health departments in the United States often provide anonymous STD partner notification for HIV and syphilis, but few can afford to provide it for more common STDs such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis.
There are a couple websites similar to So They Can Know in the United States, including inSPOT and Don't Spread It. Neither of them provide health information in their notifications, and they do not link partners to local testing services. Our research indicates that the casual nature of the inSPOT e-card turns people off, as does the graphic design of Don't Spread It.
While partner notification is the most effective way to stop the spread of STDs, only 23% of partners are notified following a STD diagnosis. So They Can Know is a website to help people to notify their partners that they need to get tested, either in person or through informative anonymous emails.
Decades of research has found that challenging rigid gender norms and inequities are a key to improving life outcomes for at-risk youth. Yet programs and policies ignore gender, or disconnect it from race and class. TrueChild helps organizations reconnect social justice with gender justice.
Pass It Forward was founded by two people - a soccer professional and a teacher - who were seeking a way to combine soccer and social consciousness.
Our concept is simple: buy a soccer ball, and one ball will be donated to a child or an organization in need. Every child deserves the right to play.
Created on 04/25/2013 by joantownsend
Retrak offers street children in Africa a permanent alternative to life on the streets. Tudabujja, Retrak's halfway farm in Uganda, teaches 90 children valuable agricultural skills that enable them to make sustainable contributions to their own and their family’s wellbeing.
Organization: Retrak
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Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
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Tudabujja: Teaching Farming Skills to Street Children in Uganda
Stage
Established (the solution has passed the previous stages, and has demonstrated success)
This Entry is about (Issues)
Elevator Pitch
Retrak offers street children in Africa a permanent alternative to life on the streets. Tudabujja, Retrak's halfway farm in Uganda, teaches 90 children valuable agricultural skills that enable them to make sustainable contributions to their own and their family’s wellbeing.
Problem
For the estimated 4,000 children living full-time on the streets of Kampala, Uganda, life is characterized by a lack of basic needs, vulnerability to being abused, ill health and stigmatization as criminals. Even finding food is a major daily challenge, and many have to resort to rummaging through garbage dumps for anything to eat. Such an existence leads to malnutrition, the spread of disease and susceptibility to other illnesses.
Solution
Tudabujja provides children the chance to learn agricultural skills. It gives them space to adjust from street life to family life and teaches them the basic skills required for farming in their home environment. Children receive theory lessons and actively participate in working the farm, which includes a wide range of livestock and crops. Providing children with this period away from the streets in a family environment helps them to work through psychological trauma, develop a positive outlook for the future and learn valuable skills on the farm and in the classroom, ensuring that when they return to family and community life, they will adapt and settle more easily.
Example
Ali was 13 years old and had been on his own for 3 years. Before coming to the streets, he lived with his father, whose job took him away from home for days and sometimes weeks at a time. There was often no food at his home, so Ali and a friend decided to leave their village and come to Kampala in hopes of a better life. They scrounged for food in rubbish pits and slept on discarded boxes on the ground, until a friend told them about Retrak.
Today, Ali is in Tudabujja where he’s being prepared to return home by living in a family setting with 7 other boys and a “house parent” and learning agricultural skills. He’ll take what he’s learned at Tudabujja to his village and use these skills to help feed and support himself and his father.
Impact
Tudabujja reaches about 90 children each year (36 children at a time for an average 3-4 month stay). Impacts include:
• Agricultural education gives children the skills to secure food, income or employment;
• Through one-on-one counseling, children overcome past trauma;
• Children learn about HIV/AIDS, helping to reduce their chance of infection;
• Children receive education, some learning to read and write for the first time, and others catching up in order to join school again when they are resettled;
• Children play, keep fit, and build confidence and trusting friendships;
• Children gain better health by visiting the clinic and being treated for infected wounds and diseases;
• Through being reintegrated at home or with a foster family, children gain the care and protection of a family;
• Children are in a secure environment where they can forget the struggle of street life.
Marketplace
Retrak differentiates itself from the many organizations that work with orphans and vulnerable children in Africa by providing support primarily to full time street children, who live and work on the streets and are most at risk from malnutrition, exploitation, abuse and poor health. Standard programs, such as feeding or learning programs, are unable to reach these highly marginalized children, who are very mobile and live in the shadows. Retrak tailors its programs to meet the needs of the individual child who may fall through the cracks of these larger mainstream programs.
Sustainability Plan
Retrak’s approach to ensuring sustainability is two-fold. First we ensure that children move on to sustainable independent family and community life with no ongoing reliance on Retrak, and second we are building our capacity to raise support through sustainable long-term local and international partnerships. For almost 20 years, Retrak has grown by increasing and diversifying its funding sources, ensuring long-term financial sustainability.
Founding Story
Retrak began in 1994 (under the name “Tigers Club”) by two expats, Paul Joynson-Hicks and Matt Winn, in response to the large number of street boys who were playing an informal weekly soccer game in Kampala. They saw that sport provided the ideal, non-threatening vehicle by which the boys could rebuild their trust in adults and, with professional help, be given a chance to move away from the streets. Backed by public donations, they gained the trust of the street children and the respect of the Ugandan authorities for their professional approach to the work. Since then they have gone from strength to strength, becoming formally known as Retrak when it expanded to Ethiopia in 2003. We also now work with local partners in Kenya and Tanzania.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhere do you ensure the availability of nutrients?
Nutrient-rich farming, Full nourishment foods, Human wellness and vitality.
If you had greater capacity, which additional sectors would you like your solution to target - either through expansion, partnership, or thought exchange?
Healthy environments.
How specifically would this added capacity help you improve the quality, efficiency, or sustainability of your existing product or service?
Added capacity through support from Changemakers would allow Retrak to expand our program to include girls. We aim to open a cottage for girls at Tudabujja so that they too can benefit from living in a family setting and learning agricultural skills that they can take home with them when they’re reintegrated. Our overall goal is to work with more children, families and communities, as well as do more preventative work.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideHow is your product or service connected to vitality for the people and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
People need appropriate nutrients to grow, learn, and fight off disease. How do you measure, track, or make use of information about nutrient levels in your own work?
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Considering the flow of nutrients from ecosystems to soil to farms to food to communities, what are the barriers to achieving vitality for people and the planet?
Other barriers you have identified
In your view, what developments need to happen in order to help overcome those barriers and produce a more nutrient rich and vital public and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
What do you consider the most promising trends or evidence that indicates that the developments you described are emerging? Please elaborate.
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Created on 04/10/2013 by Indrani
Goonj is turning urban wastage into resource for rural India. Its about recognizing and working on Micro looking issues which have a micro impact on people. Goonj has proven simple solution by using clean cloth pad as entry point into women’s lives,making them aware about health issues. Goonj’s My-PAD is affordable, easy-to-use, biodegradable, cloth pad made for women in villages & slums by involving urban masses in generating the clean cloth.
Organization: Goonj
Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hideOrganization's Country of Operation
India, Jalandhar, New Delhi, Bangalore, Patna, Kolkata, Bhubneshwar, Hyderabad, Mumbai
Type of Organization
Non‐profit/NGO
Year of launch of the organization
Years in Operation
Operating for more than 5 years
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
Some of the recognitions are:
• Nov’ 12 : Social Entrepreneur of the Year award to Mr. Anshu Gupta by Schwab foundation
• July’ 12: GOONJ as ‘Game Changing Innovation’ by NASA & US State Dept.
• Jun’ 12: GDN- Japanese govts. ‘Most Innovative Development Project’ Award
• Feb’ 12: Edelgive Social honour for the initiative ‘Not Just a piece of cloth”
• Dec’ 11: SAFRG award for initiatives in raising resources
• Nov’10: Listed in ‘Forbes’ as one of the India’s most powerful entrepreneurs
• May’10: ‘Innovation for India’ award to GOONJ.
• Mar’10: Jamnalal Bajaj CFBP Award for ‘Fair Practices’
• Nov’ 09: ‘Cloth for Work’ wins international Lien i3 Challenge Award in Singapore.
• Jun’ 09: ‘Not just a piece of cloth’ wins Changemaker’s Innovation Award
• Mar ‘09: CNN IBN’s ‘Real Heros’ award to Mr. Anshu Gupta in women welfare segment.
• Mar ‘08: ‘India NGO of the year' award
• May ‘07: GOONJ’s sanitary pad project ‘Not just a piece of cloth’ wins World Bank’s Global Development Market Place Award.
• July ‘07: GOONJ’s first initiative “VASTRA-SAMMAN” recognized as one of ‘The Good Practices’ in Dubai International Awards.
• 2006: Win the prestigious Changemaker’s Innovation Award, the second time, for our disaster relief initiative ‘RAHAT’.
• 2004: Prestigious Ashoka Fellowship to Anshu Gupta.
• 2004: GOONJ wins Changemaker’s Innovation Award for its “SCHOOL to SCHOOL” initiative.
We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
While working on the clothing issue Anshu was intrigued on what women use in menses as he figured out acute shortage of clothing itself. Then he found about a woman who used a piece of cloth with rusted hook and died of tetanus.He dug it further and found that millions of women use sand,ash,rugs,rags,dry leaves,news paper as pad. He connected the dots and mobilized masses to open up this taboo health issue.
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Not Just A Piece of Cloth
Explain what the "innovation" is about, e.g., is it the idea and/or the model you use to accomplish the idea, or your understanding of the target population, etc.?
Millions of women use sand, wood ash, old rags, newspapers & even plastic bags due to non-availability of sanitary pads in India. Shame & silence associated with the issue makes it the most taboo subject even among women. The irony is that even the biggest health/RCH projects don’t have a budget for sanitary pads. This is a nationwide intervention, which starts with providing a physical product but stresses more on changing practices, behavior change, education & replication in the long term. The clean cloth pad is developed out of old cloth collected from urban masses. Its made with highly indigenous processes while we also teach the user women to make it on their own.
We name this issue as ‘TRIPPLE A’ - awareness, accessibility and affordability and we are developing it not as a product but as a solution which is taking care of these 3.
We use old cloth lying useless in the cities as a resource to address this important yet taboo basic need of the village & slum women. We use this pad as a tool to generate more awareness on the related health and hygiene issues. In the cities for the first time we are initiating discussion on this issue by directly involving the urban women, drawing on their instinctive empathy. The use of cloth; a material most village women are comfortable and familiar with, coupled with the reuse possibilities makes it a viable option. This is a highly replicable, cheap and easy to do initiative which brings an absolutely environment friendly product, a not so common thing in the sanitary pad world.
Describe how your innovation model is distinct from any other organization in your field?
Sanitary pads that are practical, affordable and environment friendly are still on an experimental level in most parts of the country. The commercial sector has not been able to provide an affordable option the rural masses, village India use every possible rugs and rags. A few NGOs, women’s groups and individuals have taken this as an add on activity limited to the communities they are already working with.
Unlike many other one time, charitable or sporadic effort this is a comprehensive solution which involves masses at every level right from awareness , material collection to usage. It is neither an education program nor just gives a product, it is a package where an ‘easy to do solution’ becomes a tool to open up the subject and initiate a dialogue in the sector and communities.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
20% of cloth we get is non wearable and the cotton out of it is converted into pads which ensures regular raw material. Pack of 5 pads reach women with information on how to use- reuse,washing & drying practices, importance of sunlight & hygiene issues. We are also developing exhibitions for partners to build an aware eco system. Goonj works in 21states of India through its network of over 250 partners to reach wider. Other aspect is initiating discussion & debate on taboo subject in cities. We are spreading awareness among people from different strata thereby evoking empathy about and making sure that it takes a shape of mass movement on the issue. In villages we aim for local level replication so women don’t rely solely on Goonj.
How do you make sure you constantly innovate in light of (potential) external challenges, or your growth plan?
It has been a taken for granted issue with hardly any documentation of problem and its magnitude. The present model and product is evolved after a rigorous work in the field across India and also after our research on issues in other countries. This is one work where lab people are first users, unlike any other initiative as the women who make it- use it first and talk to communities to update themselves and upgrade the work. We learn from users to change. There are different models as per the local social & financial situations. We create local leaders to spread awareness in local language and context instead of a typical top down approach. This approach keeps us going in different socio- economic scenario and pressures as the ownership is local.
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideThe systemic challenge you are trying to overcome (select one)
Bring accessible healthcare to communities in emerging markets
Health area (target market) where the need is [select only one]
Primary healthcare services
Categories along the health continuum you are covering [select all that apply]
Prevention, Intervention, Follow-up.
Please describe in more detail: what problem are you trying to solve in the organization's specific context?
Given poor economic status and with lack of awareness, sanitary pad is last thing on mind of rural women and they use all kinds of things leading to a series of diseases to most common hysterectomy We connected it with another non issue i.e. clothing and turned an old piece of cloth into a powerful tool to raise awareness on the issue and use it as a viable, economic product also. What makes idea of cloth pads successful is familiarity to women. Mass scale replication is possible on a local level itself. We remove risk elements, do value addition in terms of cleanliness& awareness and this biodegradable pad becomes a good option and saves a lot of issue on disposal. NJPC turns material lying idle in urban homes to a very useful product and tool for rural people.
Stage that best applies to your solution [select only one]
Established (past the previous stages and has demonstrated success)
Core strategies of your business model [select all that apply]
Approaches to behavioral change at the individual level, Patient-centered design, New approaches to distribution of health products and services, Unconventional partnerships (between traditional healthcare players and players outside healthcare), New financing strategies for health, Other.
If other, specify here:
bringing a taboo issue on the discussion tables not in the meetings but among the masses.
Most relevant tools you are using to implement the strategies outlined above [select only two]
Education/training, Others.
If other, specify here:
by turning wastage of one part of the society into resource for other part of the society
Please describe your solution in more detail
We work on a theory- Triple A i.e. Awareness, affordability and Access. The old waste cloth as raw material ensures regular supply of material helps reducing the pressures on land fill sites and makes it affordable. The engagement of urban masses for collection of old material opens up the taboo issue to larger audience and builds empathy among various groups. The open discussions in the villages and slum with ‘My Pad’ as a tool create massive awareness and as the initiative is based on the corrections on prevailing and traditional practices, a lot is not absolutely new to people and its easier to accept. In many cases it is solved at home by using the same piece of cloth but as a more aware and conscious woman !!
What are your vision and overall objectives?
The base of model is old cloth, which people discard in plenty. As the process don’t involve heavy machines it can happen at smaller level at multiple places, It’s lucrative and viable to initiate for many. All stake holders contribute in some way.Urban people give cloth as raw material, user either pay in cash or labour by working under ‘Cloth for work’. In some cases women sponsor for women. Organisations, corporate working on health issues are buyers for us.
Vision is to make this an issue, something on discussions happen in public and not just in seminars and conferences. The idea is to build it up as a movement where citizens are involved in solution and not just government or some agencies as the scale of this not so opened issue so far is huge.
What is your value proposition?
Rural women treat their needs as last priority thereby receiving less health care& education In scenario where they struggle for daily survival, NJPC brings awareness about fundamental issue, highlighting high-risk behavior that puts their health in jeopardy. Influencing health seeking behavior by giving empowerment to influence their own health. Exposure & interactions on taboo issue is key in highlighting possibilities available to them. Essence of NJPC is not just to provide clean pad or making women aware, but to address clothing holistically. Addressal of clothing help free meager resources for pressing needs like food and education. This reinforces Goonj’s mission of working on ‘ Micro looking – madro issues’ !!
Who is your customer(s)?
Adolescent Girls: Nutrition Foundation of India says that average age of menarche is around 13 yrs yet 50%of both urban &rural girls aged 12 yrs have no understanding of this process.Adolescent girls face problems like low literacy level,sexual vulnerability contributing to dismal health.
Young married women in reproductive/child bearing age: In India 1 in 6 girls begin child bearing between 13-19yrs. Maternal mortality accounts for 15% of all deaths of women.
Older women:Most studies on reproductive health & menses say older women in family are primary source of information about menses practices.This segment plays key role as knowledge leader.
The larger target is certainly the rural and tribal population.
What approaches to you use to reach your customers?
1.Sensitizing urban masses to bring attitudinal changes towards menses as taboo subject & show power of old clothing for women by initiating discussion through forums 2. Wide spread production of ‘MY Pad’ 3. Partners inform about community needs 4. meeting with partners highlighting need, solution& process. 5.Village meetings, organized with community women to talk about health risks & solution offered by My-Pad 6. Provide exhibition material with relevant information to partners to put up locally 7.Sends 1st dispatch to women & general clothing for cloth for work activity for village community 8. Providing pads with awareness meeting 9.Training to local women on how to make pads 10.other organizations buy pads for giving in their areas
What are your primary activities?
1.sensiting urban masses -discussions through lectures, addressing forums etc. 2.collection of material- Generating material through awareness cum collection camps. Every camp leads to new contacts & volunteers. We organize monthly sponsorship campaigns, touch base with hospitals & hotels for large quantities of old cloth.3.Process- Collected material is sorted, packed at GOONJ’s processing center & sent to our partner groups according to requirements of their target communities. 4.Education- Partners provided them relevant information like illustrative posters 5.Replication on local level; Over a period of time share our learnings with them & help them replicate small scale.
Who are your peers and competitors? What problems could these players pose to your success or growth?
So far there are sporadic and local solutions. There is still a gap in the segment to take it on a national or larger level. Also we don’t have experiments where people talk about product and education both on a large scale. Since this issue almost untouched and the scale of the problem is huge, we don’t see people as competitor and there is enough space for everybody. We need more people and experiments to tap the entire market.
The bad part is just some people and organizations who are taking it just as a fashionable subject without much ground work as this is still the initial phase and it needs solid pillars to create a mass awareness and understanding of the issue.
Goonj focuses more on idea spread with a practical viable and working product and process demo.
What other challenges - individual, organizational, or environmental – are you currently facing or might hinder future success of your business, and how do you plan to overcome those?
1.Communicating a new idea to urban & rural audiences is a slow process;unhealthy practices,huge taboo,mindsets of partner groups call for long term behavioral change communication.2.Planning Risk in generating material from masses;we are approaching different channels for committed supplies 3.tackling & changing the attitude of urban masses of acting as if they are doing greatest deed in giving away their discard. Sustained communication & awareness building on giving with dignity has helped 4.Risk is not using full potential of the idea; opening up idea and processes for wider audience for others to adopt and spread the work with our minimal expense.
Briefly describe your growth strategy going forward
Long term growth strategy– sustain organizational spread plus focusing on more partners & village women starting to make pads . We would like to put energy in idea spread,through knowledge sharing with partners, sharing replication kit & documenting, sharing impact with international academia to get rest of world excited about potential of idea.
What dimensions for growth are you currently targeting for your innovation [select all that apply]
New regions(s), New market(s)/country(ies).
What makes your business "ready" for growth?
Idea working for 8 years. Impact visible at many places,national & international agencies recognized work after rigorous due diligence, evaluation process. Demand much ahead of supply, ensuring long term sustenance. Overall volume growing, raw material ensured. Evolved multiple strategies for pad distribution. Right juncture of knowing what we want with understanding of strengths & weaknesses.
What are your key growth objectives?
1. Work in backward areas directly, knowledge sharing in others
2. Cross subsidize costs by selling to organizations not directly working
3. Urban sponsorship for rural implementation
4. Speak at national and international forums
5. Open systems to enable replication
6. Work to motivate bulk suppliers for generating material, tie up with big brands for co-branded campaigns for idea spread.
What is your timeframe for growth, in the short and mid-term? What are the growth milestones and key activities going forward?
Short-Term: next 1-3 years
1. Focus on some areas & key partners, who show interest & capacities to work to go deep 2. Strengthen systems 3. Document impact through case studies.4.Work on replication kit 5.Get involved at policy level to bring this as key women’s health issue 6. Communication plan to target more sponsorship 7.Increase production capacity
Mid Term
1. Replication of idea at various places 2. Involve village women to identify their challenges; work on issues & get pads in return. 3. bring out first major documentation report.4. Connect NJPC with village level health interventions. 5. Make My pad a part of many village haats (markets) as this is a non product for any haat so far despite a big need and scope
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat has been the impact of your solution to date?
Some highlights-
• Created awareness on global level through a series of speaking engagements.
• Won several national and international awards-(World Bank’s Development Marketplace award, Changemaker’s award, Lien i3 challenge award, CNN IBN real hero etc on the issue which become a major tool for larger awareness and much needed resources..
• Produced and reached over 2 million pads in the remotest corners of the country.
• Opened up the subject to larger audience, initiated debates and dialogues.
• Over 100 exhibitions held in villages to create awareness highlights taboos
• Worked with 30 partners.
• Sensitization through a series of lectures and demo in urban India
• Main partner on menstrual hygiene lab for UN’s Wash yatra
Qualitative Impact on the communities- Improved quality of cloth used during menses, Better hygiene practices, More discussion, thereby initiating constructive organizing of women, dignity to women & better lifestyle, more productivity for women even during menses period, Improved health seeking behavior of women ,Increased women oriented activities in village.
Indirect Impact-Credible network for channelizing urban discard, Stronger relationship of partners with communities, Highlight link between a pad in health issues , Community health workers benefit due to awareness, Second hand cloth industry product demand increases due to spread & replication, more people get employment, entry of market forces with low cost sanitary pad possible.
What methods for quantification of social impact are you applying (if at all)?
Indicators-No.of partners, women benefiting,usage patterns-monthly usage,washing,cleaning &drying patterns,usage practices of pads-with/without loops,preferred size of pads,storage of pads being reused,influence of pricing on usage,partner initiative taken to generate material & production of pads locally,role in addressing related problems of village women,level of interaction of women with local health mechanisms,women initiate discussion on their own,handling of shortfall in supply of pads,transfer of information between family members,incidence of reproductive infections,no.of collection camps organised,quantity of material sorted,no.of sponsorships coming from urban women, pads made,kind of cloth donated,no.of women spreading awareness & women centric meetings addressed.
Could your solution work in other geographies or regions? If so, where?
Model replication possible in any part of world struggling with poverty; where women unable to fulfill even basic needs of food & shelter. We talk to organizations in different countries through various forums. Other opportunity is to focus on supporting smaller active initiatives.
Opportunities:Audiences like garment exporters, hotels, Hospitals, Boarding schools can help in scale up of material without a big investment; School & college youth population –volunteer base because of enthusiasm & aspirations for change;urban educated working women good support as individuals & idea ambassadors at organization level;state-city-village approach: As we spread to other cities & towns, material generated in big city channelised to villages of same state, cutting down on logistical costs.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
Will reach over 100,000 women through partners with the product and millions with awarenss
Will have 20 active partners for this work
The replication kit will be out as open source for national and international usage.
Will start atelast 2 major village level production hubs
Will train atleast 100 SHG groups on the issue
Will address atleast 100 forums on the issue to create awareness and to open the subject.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideElaborate on your current financing strategy
Goonj works through large citizen base, growth owed to 1000s of volunteers who helped in idea spread & financially.e.g: collecting old newspapers from people & raising funds through its sale,getting one side used paper from corporates for making school notebooks & writing pads for sale,asking urban women to give us one meter cloth every month when they have menses for their rural counterparts, one rupee one cloth; motivating people to give us one rupee with each cloth they give to cover cost of reaching it to the beneficiary.
Apart from individual contributions and sponsorships there are co branded campaigns where we charge the corporates.
There is a large range of beautiful products from bags to conference kits to sanitary pads we sell and generate money .
The operations are based on usage of second hand material right from packing bags to our furniture which reduces the cost drastically.
As a basic thought the work is not dependent on agencies and government and we have worked on multiple sources to sustain it and to grow.
We are also tying up with the logistics companies to further reduce the costs and targeting organizations working on health as our major buyers..
Share of revenue generation in total income of organization (in percent)
Direct sales to patients or other beneficiaries (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these sales listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Friends and family, Individuals, Patients, Caregivers, Private businesses.
Licensing fees, e.g., for technology/franchise model (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these licensing opportunities listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Service contract with organizations, e.g., government, NGOs (in percent)
Of the possible sources of the service contracts listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Explain your revenue generation strategy in more detail
Goonj raises resources through multiple sources to reduce its dependence on one source. We take up multiple strategies on covering costs of pad work. We sell recycled products, collect newspapers from households, for scrap sale.Cross subsidizing rural products by sale of products in urban markets ensures sustenance. Since all work around masses; we involve masses in generating resources. We are requesting people who give their material, to also give atleast Rs 100 each time they give material.We have sponsorship campaign going on called 60 dignified days asking urban masses to ensure year’s supply of pads, undergarments and awareness work for rural women and then the bulk will come from buyers like corporates and organizations who work on health issues
Share of philanthropy in total income of organization (in percent)
Philanthrophy strategies you are using
Diversified strategy.
Explain your philanthropic approach in more detail
GOONJ believes that people living with all conveniences &facilities in cities have responsibility towards their village counterparts who lack resources & opportunities. Given growing consumptive nature of metros & shrinking spaces, there is need to find channelising things we don’t need. Thus GOONJ wants to move giving of one’s discard to move away from charity to contribution. We feel that village communities are very self respecting & resilient, thus by giving them anything as charity we hurt their dignity. We therefore believe that people in cities have to learn as to how to give with dignity, with sense of empathy rather than superiority .Development world needs to give value to rural wisdom & resources instead of treating them as helpless beneficiaries or recipients.
Expand on your selections; explain how you will sustain funding over the next 1-3 years.
1. As more and more people are getting accustomed to the idea of giving some money with each material contribution, that is a big step towards self sustenance.
2. Given our national level co branded campaigns with big brands means reduction of our expenses on collecting material as our brand partner uses his own channel network to do the same.
3. As we tap into big suppliers of cloth like exporters, hotels etc. it reduces our expenses & efforts as well.
4. as we grow the overall scale of our work, we will be motivating partner groups to take up the major expenses like transportation etc , which they will be more inclicned to do having seen the impact locally.
5. Our emphasis in the coming years will be on moving the production of pads to rural settings involving the beneficiary women in some of the steps like sorting , washing etc ; it will not only reduce our costs but will also generate income for them, train them further, make it more available and cheaper for village communities.
Youth Advocates for Mental Health wants to provide an opportunity for youth to connect with other around common issues and concerns through stories of resiliency, blog discussions for youth, polls on important topics, youth discussion live chats, youth stories, and youth art.
Created on 03/31/2013 by Exeko
In conjunction with existing resources, Exeko relies on cultural and intellectual mediation as motors of social change and vectors of citizen participation, prevention of crime, employability, identity reinforcement, school perseverance, social diversity. Its programs promote creativity as a measure of consciousness-raising and mediation but also as a strategy amongst dysfunctional youth.
Organization: Exeko
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Exeko: Inclusion through innovation in culture and education
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Established (past the previous stages and has demonstrated success)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
In conjunction with existing resources, Exeko relies on cultural and intellectual mediation as motors of social change and vectors of citizen participation, prevention of crime, employability, identity reinforcement, school perseverance, social diversity. Its programs promote creativity as a measure of consciousness-raising and mediation but also as a strategy amongst dysfunctional youth.
Its projects attract, surprise and mobilize social outcasts thanks to their unique and humane approach, transmitting fundamental knowledge in an accessible manner that is designed to awaken individual potential through empowerment.
We work with the homeless, in prison environment, in intellectual disability, in aboriginal communities.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
Increase awareness and funding opportunities
Ensuring the expansion of programs and projects in Quebec and Canada and the measurement of their impacts.
Ensure the development of team skills and working tools.
Need #1
Message & Brand Strategy
Need #2
Opportunity Analysis
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
Exeko is now entering a new and major stage of its development. It is confronted with marketing challenges due to the diversity of its clients, fields of interest and aspiration towards Pan-Canadian deployment (begun). Its networks of sponsors has multiplied tremendously over the last few years and its capacity to communicate a clear message is essential to set up its various development plans (implantation strategies, financing, greater public awareness, positioning on the Market)
Its needs revolve mainly around revising the Exeko brand and signature while maintaining a clear message for all its different target groups.
Exeko’s development has led it to meet partners from all fields. It is seeking to update its image while preserving its dynamic and legitimate work ethics.
Exeko is presently developing a larger audience. Its message must be perfectly clear both to the public as to their participants (4500 people in need )and actors in the field.
Very few organizations such as ours have made it on the market. We intend to continue innovating and creative branding and development tools according to their contemporary image in the spheres of creative and market economy.
1.
Non-biased and complimentary dialogue respecting individual skills
2.
Creativity and Communication
3.
Humane exchange above all, according to Exeko value
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
Yes, however Exeko has not called upon consultants to this effect. Exeko’s branding has been established internally by its team, stemming from the Arts, Engineering, Marketing and Commerce until now.
On the other hand, Exeko is presently working with consultants as to the creation of SWOT, Pan-Canadian Development Strategy, IT, economic, social, cognitive and inclusive impact evaluation of its different projects and is therefore very familiar with the former.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Clarify our message to the widest possible audience
2.
Update our branding tools
3.
Ensure a strong image for the expansion of programs in Quebec and Canada
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Up to now, Exeko has touched over 4500 social outcasts via its projects and programs essentially in Quebec. 1500 of them are dysfunctional youth, over 1 000 homeless Aboriginal youth, over 600 First Nations children and families on reserves and over 200 professional and emerging Artists. An additional 3200 visitors have attended Exeko’s last 3 exhibitions.
Exeko has also trained a dozen First Nations mediators on reserves, lent its programs to its partners, trained a dozen mediators who share their strategies with its field partners (over 100 since the creation of Exeko), offered its first professional steps to Intellectually Challenged Artists, allowed for employment and lodging thanks to its programs.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
New branding means reinforcing Exeko’s power of« seduction » amongst an entire stretch of field partners, both private public. It also means developing even larger potential amongst its network of greater public donors. In this manner, Exeko shall be perfectly equipped to meet the markets of Quebec and Canada with confidence and leadership, and take a leading stand in addressing the needs of thousands of social outcasts each year.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/31/2013 by Magical Voice
Most people’s lives are limited by their thinking.
The Magic of Think™ helps children overcome self-limiting thoughts by teaching and reinforcing the core values of inner strength before bad habits become entrenched. Strong children create strong adults.
The world of “Think” incorporates award-winning songs, fun stories, animated characters, games, lessons and activities dealing with some of life’s most difficult problems.
Activity & Audio Books with Music CDs in a 7 book series based on social and emotional learning. Progressing to multiple platforms.
Organization: The Magic of Think
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Hybrid
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The Magic of Think: Everything begins with a thought. We help children improve their thinking.
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Most people’s lives are limited by their thinking.
The Magic of Think™ helps children overcome self-limiting thoughts by teaching and reinforcing the core values of inner strength before bad habits become entrenched. Strong children create strong adults.
The world of “Think” incorporates award-winning songs, fun stories, animated characters, games, lessons and activities dealing with some of life’s most difficult problems.
Activity & Audio Books with Music CDs in a 7 book series based on social and emotional learning. Progressing to multiple platforms.
Creates meaningful discussions between a mentor (teacher, parent, grandparent, guardian, friend) and child benefiting both.
Like a nursery rhyme, our messages are remembered for a lifetime becoming a positive anchor in times of need.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
1. Help children worldwide
2. Find a partner or sponsor to help expand the program to reach more children
3. Generate sales to continue our work
Need #1
Message & Brand Strategy
Need #2
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
We need your help in increasing brand awareness and generating sales.
1.
A passionate and sincere long-term desire to help children worldwide
2.
A partner that is comfortable being instrumental in bringing change to the way children learn
3.
A partner that sees the power of brands like Harry Potter, Club Penguin, Hello Kitty, etc. and uses that platform to educate
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Support from American Express will be focused on our organization overall. We need help progressing to the next stage.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
The University of BC liked the project and helped with the curriculum. We also received help from an outside contractor with our Facebook page.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Identify the strongest segment of my market and brand
2.
Establish a long-term partnership
3.
Increase sales and distribution
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
We won Best Song at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards, received a fantastic review from Billboard Discoveries, and were chosen to be in the Grammy and Oscar gifts to the nominees. The University of BC Education Department helped us develop lessons and activities for our series of books (K to Grade 3.) We test marketed The Magic of Think™ with teachers, homeschooling mothers, and grandparents. The testimonials have been phenomenal. The children in both public and private schools have been captivated by the stories performed “in character.” The children love the music and listen to it day and night. We have also been receiving enthusiastic reviews from parents with Special Needs and Gifted children. Children open up on issues that have not been discussed before. Eg. being bullied.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
Receiving support from American Express would greatly assist us in achieving our goal of reaching and helping every child in the world. Rich or poor, regardless of color or nationality. Long term, stronger children become stronger adults, who will be more equipped to make the world a better place.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/29/2013 by davidalevine
We are at a crisis point in education today. Many teachers and children are feeling disconnected, stressed out and unmotivated. The pressures brought on by the new mandated instructional practices from both Federal and State Departments of Education are felt by all members of the school community. There is a decrease in pro-social skills and an increase in anti-social behaviors. Most answers to this problem focus on programming. My approach focuses on building a new consciousness within the school community.
Organization: Teaching Empathy Inc.
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United States, NY, Accord, Ulster County
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, NY, New York, New York County
Is your organization a
Hybrid
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The School of Belonging Learning Institute
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Scaling (the next step will be growing impact on a regional or even global scale)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
We are at a crisis point in education today. Many teachers and children are feeling disconnected, stressed out and unmotivated. The pressures brought on by the new mandated instructional practices from both Federal and State Departments of Education are felt by all members of the school community. There is a decrease in pro-social skills and an increase in anti-social behaviors. Most answers to this problem focus on programming. My approach focuses on building a new consciousness within the school community. This consciousness is based on creating an authentic learning environment through open and often vulnerable communication that emphasizes compassion, empathy, collaboration and problem solving. My work focuses on facilitating emotional safety for all members of the school community.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
1. Complete, publish and market The School of Belonging Learning Institute's newest resource: The School of Belonging: Empathy in Practice (in process).
2. Implement The School of Belonging Learning Institute with three unique learning communities: New Directions Alternative Secondary School in the Bronx, NY, Hunter College Magnet School (grades k-12), in Manhattan, NY, and with Beacon Secondary School (grades 6-12), in Beacon, NY.
3. Run four School of Belonging Learning Institute training sessions at the Fellowship for Reconciliation training site in Nyack, NY. Schools from New York City and the New York metropolitan area will be invited to take part. This will be followed up with a 5 day School of Belonging Certification Program in the summer, 2014 at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY.
Need #1
Message & Brand Strategy
Need #2
Peer Benchmarking Analysis
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
The School of Belonging Learning Institute (SBLI), has evolved over the past 30 years into a unique and innovative culture building process. Institute creator David A. Levine has created authentic learning experiences which facilitate self-reflection and behavior change through his music, cutting edge books, meaningful dialogue, applied skills, and classroom demonstrations. The SBLI process has consistently created systemic transformational learning which has proven to be life changing for many teachers, leaders, children and parents. David wants SBLI to be a robust process that will make significant social change in our schools and communities. In the past year, he has established relationships with several foundations who are devoted to social and emotional learning and he is currently negotiating with school districts from a variety of socio-economic realms. As creator of SBLI, David needs help in branding his vision and marketing his work in such a way that schools from all over the world, who are in need of creating caring and empathic learning communities, will want to implement The School of Belonging Learning Institute for their teachers and students .
1.
Open commuication through dialogue and non-judgment.
2.
A belief in the creative potential of synergizing ideas.
3.
Regular check-ins, celebration and authentic feedback.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
I would like support in my organization overall. I have been working on my own since 1992. After meeting several colleagues through Ashoka, I realized that I needed to scale up my work to make a greater difference in the world. Creativity, passion and belief do not always equal a sound business plan and that is what I need assistance with. In the past few weeks, I have been approached by three different school districts looking to establish a long-range working relationship with The SBLI process, and I now see the need to refine my focus on marketing, capacity building. and service delivery.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
I have always worked on my own, often thriving with minimal marketing or a strategic plan. Whenever I thought of scaling up, I wasn't sure how to do it as my work was so uniquely connected to my personality and expression. Last October while speaking with the Novo Foundation about social and emotional learning, I was told me how much in alignment they were with me but that I needed to move my work from being "boutiquey" to being "robust". This wasn't exactly a business consultation but it did help change my thinking in terms of what was needed to scale up The School of Belonging process.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
To create an educational framework devoted to enhancing the uniqueness of student expression to the world.
2.
To equip young people to be socially conscious as they make their professional mark on the world.
3.
To establish on-going community of practice teams for educators around the globe focused on authentic SEL initiatives.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Since 1992, David A. Levine has developed and implemented School of Belonging concepts in app. 400 schools, impacting 10,000 teachers and 52,000 youth. He has worked with students, teachers, principals, parents and central administrators, running workshops and teaching classes on building classroom communities, creating emotionally safe schools, ,and working effectively in teams. The greatest successes have been demonstrated by teachers taking David's ideas, modifying them to match their own teaching styles and the unique needs of their students, and integrating School of Belonging practices into their classrooms. David's work has influenced teachers, leaders and policy makers across the United States, in Guam, New Zealand, India, and Canada. Many pre-service programs use David's books.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
The School of Belonging Learning Institute will become a known entity in the United States and beyond, establishing a further reaching voice, influence and impact in creating schools that truly meet the social and emotional learning needs of their students. The changes that will come about from infusing School of Belonging principles into a school's cultural practices, will have a profound effect on the future well-being and life success of our most critical sustainable resource: our children. Over the next three years, in addition to the US, SBLI will have a presence in New Zealand, England, Canada and Australia, helping to make schools places where children learn the life skills of empathy, compassion, problem solving, collaboration, self-reflection, and leadership.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/29/2013 by Linda Katz
Unlike children from more affluent communities, children who live in low-income neighborhoods don't have much access or exposure to a wide variety of professionals. Therefore, they have a limited vision of the careers towards which they can strive. This career day program seeks to change that by helping such children, at an early age, identify what they love to do and explore careers that reflect their passions. Students have an individual interview yearly, during which they tap into their interests, learn about 40-50 careers, and then choose two careers to learn about for Career Day.
Organization: Light My Way ~ Career Day
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Light My Way ~ Career Day
Organization Country
United States, NY, New York City, New York County
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, NY, Bronx, New York, Bronx County
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
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Light My Way ~ Career Day
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Unlike children from more affluent communities, children who live in low-income neighborhoods don't have much access or exposure to a wide variety of professionals. Therefore, they have a limited vision of the careers towards which they can strive. This career day program seeks to change that by helping such children, at an early age, identify what they love to do and explore careers that reflect their passions. Students have an individual interview yearly, during which they tap into their interests, learn about 40-50 careers, and then choose two careers to learn about for Career Day. By 5th grade, each student has had 7 interviews and met 14 of these role models, experiences which will be invaluable to them as they make choices in their adult lives.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
Business Plan
Creation of Accountability and Evaluation tools
Replication of the program in other schools.
Need #1
Peer Benchmarking Analysis
Need #2
Customer Relationships
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
Need #1. I need to develop tools to evaluate the effectiveness of the program short-term and longitudinally. My research on the web cannot find a single child-centered program geared to the individual elementary school student. Consequently, I have no standard, accepted tools of measurement for comparison. I need to build measurement standards, not just for accountability to funders, but because the feedback will help me to build in a continuous process of improved effectiveness. #2. I have chosen to serve a NYC public school in the poorest Congressional district in the country. The children's education is compromised, as school staff, students and their families feel pressure to test well in order to give the school a good performance grade to avoid being shut down. The pressure to meet immediate testing needs deters administrators from investing their limited time on extra non-academic programs such as mine, that focus on long-term career goals.We need a strategy to become more effective in working within this stressed educational system and in getting administrators and teachers to “buy in” to the notion that our program can be complementary to their mission.
3.
Empowering individuals through the finding and recognition of their strengths.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
I will need overall help in the following areas but can choose just one to focus on during the internship. I would like help with any one of the following areas: the creation of a business plan, create accountability measures, the replication of our program to another school and with fund raising.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
I have not worked on any of the above areas (except for creating accountability measures) with an objective outside consultant. I met with a researcher for a year the first year we were up and running in 2009, but was not convinced that he had a clear understanding of the programs objectives.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Students will have access to community role models who discuss the discovery of and educational path towards their career.
2.
Students will use the skills they learned from the program to make informed and meaningful career choices as adults.
3.
Replication of the program in other schools to create a national program.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
1.) A large number of students report in post career day interviews that they can see themselves having the career they learned about on Career Day. Students are overwhelmingly enthusiastic about attending career day and love being interviewed. The Principal said it is their favorite day of the school year. 2.) Children often come to the interview with preconceived notions about the careers they would like to learn about but once they have tapped into their talents and passions and learn about a wide variety of careers, their choices often change. We have not seen the long term effects of the interview process but would like to create a longitudinal measure of the effectiveness of our intervention/interview. 3.) I have not begun working on a solution as of yet.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
I am hoping that the consultations will help me to see if the post career day interview is a good measure of the effectiveness of the program. I am hoping that I can secure an effective strategy to work with very stressed clients, (the NYC public schools) to facilitate a greater collaboration in my present school and in future schools.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/27/2013 by Fundación Educacional
We work to make nutrition information accessible to every school age child. Children from low-income families often do not receive health messages at home. Schools provide us with the perfect place to provide this education and promote healthy eating habits at an early age.
Organization: Fundación Educacional
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Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
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Creating Healthy Habits for Life in Argentine Schools
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Established (past the previous stages and has demonstrated success)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
We work to make nutrition information accessible to every school age child. Children from low-income families often do not receive health messages at home. Schools provide us with the perfect place to provide this education and promote healthy eating habits at an early age.
We work with teachers, students and families in order to promote health and prevent chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. To facilitate the learning process, we use a variety of didactic games and interactive activities (booklets, stories, posters and computer games). We believe that access to health education is essential for behavioral and environmental change.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
1- To conduct pilot testing for our new e-learning program "Nutrición en Interacción" in at least 4 elementary schools.
2- To develop new partnerships with private companies willing to finance the implementation of this new program.
3- To contact educational authorities from new locations in other provinces of Argentina in order to implement "Nutrición en Interacción" and work with thousands of students and their teachers.
Need #1
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Need #2
Digital Marketing Strategy
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
Fundación Educacional is funded through private corporations who believe that health and education are the foundations for children to build their future.
We are seeking to develop strategies to diversify our financial resources while identifying and involving new companies in order to become more sustainable. Having just developed a new product, we think this is the right time to engage new partners, increase our impact, reach new locations, and provide more schools and many more children with important health messages.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
We will focus on a specific project, Nutrición en Interacción, which we have recently developed to scale up our impact in a more sustainable way. At the same time, the support from American Express will help us to improve other areas of the organization.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
We worked with an external consultant from Boehringher Ingelheim (BI) from Germany for 5 months. He came to Argentina to work in our organization as part of a global partnership between BI and Ashoka called Making More Health. Ashoka Fellow María Ana Angeleri, founder and Executive Director of Fundación Educacional, was selected for this project. The result of this experience was the previously mentioned e-learning program, Nutrición en Interacción.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Please select
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Learn about new strategies to engage new partners.
2.
Develop 3 partners to finance our new e-learning program in order to reach new locations and more schools.
3.
A digital marketing campaign to disseminate our new program.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
With our existing programs we have reached 300,000 children and more than 730 schools in 8 provinces of Argentina.
• 89% of students said the way of working was entertaining and attractive
• 92% of students have increased their knowledge regarding health, nutrition, physical activity and healthy habits
• 30% of participants have changed their attitudes towards healthy breakfast options
• 98% have shared these health messages with members of their community
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
With the new interactive program and partners, we expect to increase our impact and reach 20 schools in at least 3 new locations around the country achieving similar results as the ones mentioned above.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Ayurveda could, if explored in its full potential with wide spread awareness about living healthy principles,contribute to the world of medicine a GREAT CHANGE in its VISION...
Created on 03/25/2013 by mwolfe2016
The Careers is a website inspiring youth to take an interest in academics through sharing information about industry, careers, and successful professionals.
Organization: The Careers
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United States, FL, Deerfield Beach, Broward County
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Not registered
How long has your organization been operating?
Less than a year
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Idea (you're poised to launch)
This Entry is about (Issues)
Summary: What specific issue or problem does your Venture address?
The Careers addresses the issue of unsatisfactory educational performance, especially in students grades 5-10. It targets the students' side of the issue often called "accountability" through emphasizing inspiration and instilling a sense of purpose in youth. Accountability is the idea of giving schools, districts, and educators the responsibility for student achievement, and my venture aims to improve student accountability through raised awareness and motivation of the relevance of education (hopefully inspiring them along the way). Struggling students often lack a sense of purpose at school, feeling stupid and discouraged which only makes improving even more difficult than doing well in the first place. The Careers targets these students and aims to give them a brighter perspective toward scholastic achievement and a sense of purpose as to why they should put effort into education.
Misson Statement: What will your venture do?
The Careers will provide information about industries and careers, explaining the importance of education in each, with the intention of inspiring students to choose and pursue a goal, thus giving them a personal reason to put more effort into their academic performance. In terms of accountability, schools are responsible for building a solid curriculum, districts deal managing schools and setting standards, teachers are charged with educating, and students with learning. Students are the only branch not receiving an income for the fulfillment of their responsibility, and often lack an explanation to the teacher-hated question "why do I need to know this?" Students receive no universal or standard incentive to even try in school; each is driven by some combination of parent influence, fear of authority, fear of failure, personal goals, or has no drive at all. My venture will offer "proof" as to the relevance of education in relation to careers, and motivation to succeed in school.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
Alex is a freshman at a public high school is South Florida. She has three C's, a D in English and Science, and an F in her low-level math class. Her younger brother also has poor grades and her parents do not push her or punish her. She is uninvolved in activities and spends her time at the mall with friends. Alex doesn't do homework or worry about her bad grades, crediting them to the fact that she is "bad at school, and school is stupid anyway." She loves fashion magazines and idolizes the design team behind Proenza Schouler and the editor in chief of Teen Vogue Amy Astley. While on stumbleupon.com, Alex comes across TheCareers.com and browses around, looking at pictures and reading about jobs that look exciting. She finds the fashion industry page of the site and reads about the job descriptions of designers, magazine editors, stylists, and writers, among others. Interested that many professionals in the industry have gone to universities and design schools, she discovers that Amy Astley has a degree in English Literature and designers behind Proenza Schouler have degrees from Parsons. Alex reads about many other industry successes and finds that they praise the value of knowledge of many disciplines, including art history and fashion history, social sciences and anthropology, and foreign languages. This experience ignites wishes and hope inside Alex, and she begins to take more of an interest in school. She sees that the people she admires, and people like them she didn't even know about, are well educated and have proven the value of knowledge.
The Community: Define your community, local or international, that you will work on behalf of. What population is affected? Are there other organizations working in this space?
Because my Venture, at least the central project, is a website, my community is essentially global, although I can target my efforts in my local community. Access to the website will be free to users, and the user needs only access to the internet. The youth population is mainly affected as I am targeting students in grades 5-10. As with all ventures, my audience will be small and centered around my community upon the initial website launch. By hosting career days or presenting at schools in the three South Florida counties (Miami Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach county), I will be able to spread the word and promote The Careers in my community. Miami-Dade county is the 4th largest district in the country and Broward is the 7th (roughly 350,000 and 260,000 students, respectively), so targeting these areas to work on behalf of will enable me to make a large impact with my voice and venture. There are many career books, a few websites dedicated to describing careers, and organizations targeting youth in terms of education improvement, but there are not organizations trying to improve academic performance through means of "career awareness."
Founding Story: What inspired your venture? Why?
It all started with my best friend. Eden is kind, generous, and a great friend, but I have always been worried about her because she has never seem academic success nor liked school at all. She went to a speech therapist for phonation issues as a child and has gone through three years of tutoring, but her low grades have never improved because she has no drive to put forth effort. In my own school, my friends are frustrated with the amount of work we do, without anyone telling us "why." I have often wondered what sets my good grades and willing attitude apart from Eden's poor academic performance and my friends' skepticism toward the value of our education. I realized that it is the influence of inspiration- I see the connection between knowledge now and acceptance to my "first choice" university and the opportunity to have a "cool" job as an adult. I came up with the idea for this website as a means of enlightening teenagers about cool jobs that exist and how education plays a role.
What is your long-term vision for your Venture?
My long-term vision is that middle and high school students will visit the website based on word-of-mouth, a teacher recommendation, or coming across it on a discovery engine. I intend to create a website that students will find inspiring and entertaining, which will be enhanced in certain communities with career day presentations at schools and community centers. I aspire to explain and convince youth that putting effort into their education is worthwhile while helping them establish a sense of purpose. Eventually spread the message of The Careers through other means of media, possibly as a software application, social media pages, or a television commercial.
Define your company, program, service, or product in 1-2 short sentences
The Careers is a website inspiring youth to take an interest in academics through sharing information about industry, careers, and successful professionals.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat do you want to accomplish in your first year?
In the BIG PICTURE of the first year, I see four categories of key activities to develop. 1) There is the creation of the website itself which means want to write and organize all of the content for the initial launch of the website, and produce and launch the website itself. 2) There is the promotion of the website- I want to market my venture and figure out how to get the website in the loop of discovery engines like StumbleUpon (over 25 million registered users), SpinSnap, and Pinterest (48.7 million users). Through this accomplishment, I plan to find other means of popularizing the website. 3) Within the first year I would like to look into supplementary website activities- such as blog posts, feature articles, establishing a scholarship program, or creating competitions, among other ideas- and accomplish selected ideas for the website. The boldest and most effective supplementary activity would be running small-scale career days in schools (starting with public middle schools in my area). There is no better way to teach and persuade than in person, with spoken words and live presentations. While the website is more of a passive approach to the issue, career fairs are an aggressive method of ensuring that my message is heard, not to mention gives me and my team a better opportunity to evaluate the influence of our ideas and discuss the status of academic performance in the schools. 4) Funding: I want to find sponsors to contribute to the project.
* The 6 month milestone will not allow me to type more than a line.
My six month milestone is:
Create, launch and promote the website and establish related projects, especially the career days in schools across Broward, Dade, and Palm Beach counties. The careers days are an optimal time to track growth- presenters can have discussions with groups of students and administrators to evaluate the impact of The Careers. The Careers, first and foremost, is meant to serve struggling students; and so we should mainly focus on the percentage of students who moved from below to at or above standard proficiency levels. Academic improvement of students with learning deficiencies should be taken into account, along with students of ethnic minorities, children learning English as a second language, and economically disadvantaged students.
In twelve months, I would have like to accomplished the following:
The website should be completely created structurally, with new pages being added easily each month. Additionally, we should have an established list of schools for which we plan and host annual career days. By the twelve-month mark, I would like to have shifted some focus to activities beside the careers days (such as the idea of offering scholarships or having online competitions of sorts).
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
Create, launch and promote the website & establish related projects, especially the career days in schools in my 3 counties.
Task 1
Research careers and Interview professionals.
Task 2
Establish website layout and design. Write entries and Edit videos (and post them).
Task 3
Talk to professionals (asking for volunteer speakers), talk to schools (asking to host a career day), and create a presentation.
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
Designated promotion tactics, established schedule of career day presentations (2-3 weekly), new understanding on status of edu.
Task 1
Get noticed and used by discovery engines.
Task 2
Establish scholarships, competitions, and other website activities to attract readers.
Task 3
Use academic statistics& federal and state laws (like NCLB act) to redefine academic success to better inspire & educate readers
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideHow will your Venture define success in the short term (1-12 months)?
In the short term, the first priority is creating the content, which involves research, conducting, interviews, writing, and organizing media on the website. Thus, my Venture defines success as completing this within seven months.
In the long-term (1 year?)
The definition of long term success for this Venture is acquiring readers, inspiring them with goals of fascinating careers, and proving that education has merit and is vital to having one of these dream-inducing careers. Success will also come in the form of keeping certain elements of the website current, possibly including keeping up with a weekly or monthly featured career, posting questions for readers, adding new industries and career entries to the website. Success is being in a state of constant improvement.
How will you measure success?
Initially our success will be whether or not we have a website to launch. Long-term success is mostly a function of how many readers we acquire, how much we influence them, and how much they like the website and its features. I can measure the "how many" with a website hit counter and the subjective measurements will be made by user comments, questions, and concerns from the "Contact Us" page. Additionally, I can post surveys and evaluation questions on the website specifically asking users how (if at all) the website has motivated them to improve their grades and if it has given them previously inaccessible information they wanted. Our goal is to improve proficiency rates through providing students with a source of inspiration and a sense of purpose- evaluating annual proficiency rates based on standardized testing or looking at academic improvement of specific groups of struggling students (students with mental/physical disabilities, ESOL students, economically challenged students, etc.) can potentially measure our impact on our target students.
Why?
Reading individual testimonies, analyzing trends in academic performance & status of meeting standards will enable us to improve
Created on 03/24/2013 by megkidsbridge
Kidsbridge created the Kidsbridge Tolerance Museum located on the campus of The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in Ewing, NJ. It is the only 'evidence-based' youth tolerance museum in the U.S., and we would like to replicate our successful 'learning lab' model on other college campuses.
Organization: Kidsbridge, Inc.
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United States, NJ, Trenton, Mercer County
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, NJ, Trenton, Mercer County
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
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Replicating Evidence-Based Programs that Promote Empathy/Empowerment for Youth and College Students
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Scaling (the next step will be growing impact on a regional or even global scale)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Kidsbridge created the Kidsbridge Tolerance Museum located on the campus of The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in Ewing, NJ. It is the only 'evidence-based' youth tolerance museum in the U.S., and we would like to replicate our successful 'learning lab' model on other college campuses. Not only do we have statistically significant attitude improvements for visiting youth and college student docents, but this program improves teaching and motivation in the areas of character education, diversity appreciation, victim empowerment and UPstander behavior for teachers, counselors, anti-bullying specialists and principals as well. Most innovative about our approach is the committed partnership among Kidsbridge, TCNJ's Education & Psychology departments, and the college students themselves.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
1) Pilot our youth tolerance museum model on other college/university campuses.
2) Create a mobile youth tolerance museum -- a.k.a., an outreach program on wheels that travels to schools and organizations unable to visit our tolerance museum.
3) Expand our reach to educate more kids, youth, college students, parents and educators (teachers, counselors and principals).
Need #1
Opportunity Analysis
Need #2
Message & Brand Strategy
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
Kidsbridge needs assistance in creating a business and communications plan that will strategically assess our resources, capabilities and challenges to export our successful museum model to other college campuses, tolerance centers or children's museums. Our 'evidence-based' model does not exist anywhere else, and we believe the time is right to replicate this program that teaches strategies and promotes discussion about: anti-bullying; diversity appreciation; respect for all persons; empathy & victim empowerment; UPstander behavior; peaceful conflict resolution; youth activism and aspiration to college. A successful collaboration includes: involved Education and Psychology departments of the college/university, college students trained to be volunteer docents and retired educators who also volunteer their time. It is the foundation on which this successful 'learning lab" format is based, as such can be easily replicated given a commitment to youth education, empathy and tolerance. Expert consulting will strengthen our analysis and guide us in the next strategic steps. More than 160,000 kids avoid school each year in the US because they fear being bullied. We can't wait any longer.
1.
Honesty and no hidden agendas.
3.
Working with empathetic persons who want to make the world a better place.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
In addition to business acumen, a business plan and strategic thinking, financial support would be used to work with a museum design company to: 1) Accurately assess the cost to replicate the museum to other venues, 2) Brand the Kidsbridge name and tolerance museum for other venues and 3) Create a marketing/communications plan to pilot a replication of the tolerance museum – including the critical steps of recruiting committed partners and choosing the right setting. The museum program is the jewel in the Kidsbridge crown. Other Kidsbridge programs could be reviewed for replication as well.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
Kidsbridge has not had the resources to replicate our 'evidence-based' museum program. We believe the time is right to clone this model. Our museum program is strong; since opening in 2006 we've educated more than 15,000 youth and 300 educators (2500/year). With the focus on bullying and cyberbulling’s daily threats to kids, educators are looking for more effective answers. Our museum program provides them.
Kidsbridge has worked with many consultants before including; special event planning companies and those focusing on strategic planning, branding, social media and database management.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Business plan to replicate tolerance museum pilot program complete with costs and schedule.
2.
Marketing/communications plan for tolerance museum pilot program to include social media.
3.
Promotional/marketing kit to send to prospective colleges/universities.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Assessing since 2007, our 'evidence-based' program has created statistically significant improvements in youth outcomes for: 1) empathy, 2) stereotype knowledge, 3) aspiration to college, 4) religious diversity, 5) moral reasoning and 6) empowerment. Each year 300 college students are trained and volunteer as museum docents to lead small group discussions with visiting youth.
This is significant for two major reasons: Empathy is precipitously dropping for our youth and bullying/cyberbullying are on the rise. Educators indicate they have noticed recent changes in the core values and ethics of young students. This new generation is driven by materialism and an increasing addiction to technology – leading to declines in interpersonal skills and lack of empathy for their fellow classmates.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
Our ‘evidence-based’ program will be effective in creating empathy, empowerment and other positive attitude characteristics – yielding more youth, college students and adults who are practiced and empowered to stop bullies, intervene safely in potentially dangerous situations and stand up to make their schools and communities safer, better places to thrive.
Creating a learning lab on a college campus will allow that university to nurture a culture of empathy and empowerment for students, professors and administrators. For example, Penn State would be perfect for a tolerance museum. Sources state that this University has not moved forward in an impactful way to change its “football first” culture. A new safe place on campus could serve as a culture changer for those who need it most.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/22/2013 by aadewole@adcem.com
ADCEM Healthcare is a technology driven operator in kidney care within Nigeria. We are deployed to save lives by making dialysis more accessible to under-served regions in Nigeria. We will improve awareness among the general public and healthcare practitioners and through advocacy & partnerships with the public sector, contribute to development of socially impactful health care policies
Organization: ADCEM HEALTHCARE LIMITED (ADCEM)
Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hideOrganization Name
ADCEM HEALTHCARE LIMITED (ADCEM)
Organization's Country of Operation
Type of Organization
For‐profit
Year of launch of the organization
Years in Operation
Operating for more than 5 years
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
Award For Excellence as Distributor for Fresenius Medical Care in Nigeria for the Middle East and Africa Region
We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
The founder is Adeyemi Adewole, a graduate of Pharmacy. I incorporated the company to function in a professional niche area of Pharmaceuticals/ healthcare. Fresenius came along looking for a distributor to promote Dialysis products and specialized Pharmaceuticals. My"aha" moment came when I researched into dialysis/kidney disease, to discover that services were gravely inadequate.. Duty called!
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Catchment Escalation: Innovating for Acute Kidney Injury Treatment
Explain what the "innovation" is about, e.g., is it the idea and/or the model you use to accomplish the idea, or your understanding of the target population, etc.?
For over 20 years, ADCEM has provided integrated services and solutions that has supported the management and treatment of kidney disease in Nigeria. Research suggests that 90% of people in need of treatment in Nigeria does not have access to it, and those that do cannot afford it. This makes infrastructure deficit a major challenge for dialysis treatment.
Through the adaptation and deployment of Mobile Haemodialysis Service (MHS), acute kidney injury (AKI) treatment and interventions will reach otherwise unreachable regions of known areas of critical need. AKI in Nigeria is very common amongt the youth and young adults most of whom are in their economically productive years. MHS is currently designed to be tested around a pilot in Ogun State of Nigeria and will involve the following components:
(1) develop, upgrade and strengthen the capacity of the Dialysis Center of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH)
(2) OOUTH now becomes the base center where the Mobile Haemodialysis units depart daily to previously identified areas of critical need in the state
(3) constantly train members of the recipient communities and develop local capacity through partnerships with NGOs and other private actors
Describe how your innovation model is distinct from any other organization in your field?
Facts to be considered:
(a) the mobile approach that targets communities is not deployed anywhere in Nigeria
(b) most of the target areas do not have access to electricity.
(c) the MHS is mounted on a truck, can run without electricity, and does not need to be connected to a water source
The MHS crew takes off from the OOUTH and makes 2 trips weekly to other local health facilities in the Ogun State. Expert physicians and nurses will accompany the equipments. Training will be conducted for staff of the receiving hospital as part of the overall operations, pre-during-post visits. This makes capacity building a critical success factor.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
As in many parts of the world, AKI is a serious health issue, more so in the less developed countries of sub-Saharan Africa like Nigeria. Intervention in Nigeria is dominated by the private sector (80%) and mostly concentrated in the urban areas, making availability almost an impossibility for the non-urban dweller (coupled with high treatment costs). This means that innovative approaches like the MHS that engages stakeholders from the three major sectors - public (OOUTH), private (ADCEM) and NGOs (capacity building and project expansion) are a sure way of bringing much needed service to the under-served communities of Ogun State.
How do you make sure you constantly innovate in light of (potential) external challenges, or your growth plan?
For over 20 years, ADCEM has delivered quality services and provided solutions in renal care across Nigeria. Our customers are the tertiary institutions - Teaching Hospitals, Federal Medical Centres, General Hospitals, Private Hospitals and Private Organisations who through their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), have partnered with ADCEM to provide Renal care to their immediate communities. ADCEM also promotes and manages an ultramodern Dialysis training centre in Ikeja, Lagos.
Given our success and experiences over the years, we believe that engaging the public sector (Ogun State of Nigeria in this case) through partnerships that create highly needed social value (like the MHS) is a clear and demand-driven endeavor that is self-sustaining just by the volume of need.
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideThe systemic challenge you are trying to overcome (select one)
Bring accessible healthcare to communities in emerging markets
Health area (target market) where the need is [select only one]
Acute care (hospitalization, etc)
Categories along the health continuum you are covering [select all that apply]
Prevention, Detection, Intervention, Follow-up, Social integration.
Please describe in more detail: what problem are you trying to solve in the organization's specific context?
ADCEM is trying to make AKI interventions possible for under-served residents of Ogun State Nigeria, a known region for low availability for AKI care.
With about 4 million people in Ogun state, there is only 1 dialysis centre owned by Ogun state government and 1 by the Federal Government.There are a couple of other privately owned Centres that are not fully functional.
Sufferers of AKI can benefit from the following components of the MHS:
1. Availability
2. Capacity building for Healthcare personnel in Diagnosis and Treatment
3. Timely intervention
4. Awareness of the causes and treatment by the general public
5. Lower cost
6. Local capacity building (recipient health facilities)
7. Community outreach and enlightenment activities
Stage that best applies to your solution [select only one]
Idea (poised to launch)
Core strategies of your business model [select all that apply]
Approaches to behavioral change at the individual level, Patient-centered design, Redesign of the public healthcare system for more efficiency (in terms of processes, structure etc.), New approaches to distribution of health products and services, Unconventional partnerships (between traditional healthcare players and players outside healthcare), Other.
Most relevant tools you are using to implement the strategies outlined above [select only two]
Technology, Education/training.
Please describe your solution in more detail
First component
Acquire WTU’s (Water Treatment Units) and install appropriate Water Pre-treatment System
Provide continuous medical education in Nephrology
Encourage and enhance hands-on training for technical and nursing personnel
Solicit support from relevant international organisations
Strengthen research capabilities
Commence Peritoneal Dialysis for Acute Kidney Injury especially in children.
Second component,
Dialysis centre in OOUTH should commence a Mobile Haemodialysis Service (MHS) which will be used to reach out to all other remote areas in the state.
Third component,
Private dialysis centres in the state be co-opted and a profit sharing relationship be negotiated.
What are your vision and overall objectives?
To bring stakeholders together to pilot, study, and escalate processes that will make affordable care available for AKI sufferers in mostly non-urban and under-served regions of Ogun State of Nigeria. Lessons learned should hopefully be used in expanding treatment to similar regions across the country.
Partnership development and capacity building will form key components of this effort.
What is your value proposition?
ADCEM HEALTHCARE LIMITED (ADCEM), an affiliate of ADCEM PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED, is the sole representative of FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE (FRESENIUS) of Germany, the world’s largest integrated provider of products and services for individuals undergoing dialysis due to chronic kidney failure. The company, ADCEM, has been in business for over 20 years, delivering quality services and providing solutions in renal care across the country. Our customers are the tertiary institutions - Teaching Hospitals, Federal Medical Centres, General Hospitals, Private Hospitals and Private Organisations who through their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), have partnered with ADCEM to provide Renal care to their immediate communities.
Who is your customer(s)?
children and young adults, particularly women in labour. These represent the higher population group at risk of AKI in Nigeria
What approaches to you use to reach your customers?
- a central and well equipped (both equipment and personnel) center (identified here as OOUTH) to serve as the planning and logistics unit where the MHS infrastructure will be supported
- an outreach program that serves the dual purpose of needs-assessment and heath education and awareness-building for the intervention recipient communities (e.g., screening campaigns)
- capacity building and training for local recipient institutions (e.g., local clinics and hospitals)
- continuous advocacy (bringing together private, public and non-governmental groups) aimed at finding ways to drive down cost
What are your primary activities?
-Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) care through the use of environmentally and technologically appropriate dialysis equipment.
- Design and deployment of efficient logistics to facilitate timely intervention.
- Screening of the beneficiary communities for risk of Chronic kidney disease
- awareness campaigns to prevent occurrence of AKI
Who are your peers and competitors? What problems could these players pose to your success or growth?
ADCEM actually seek partners and collaborators given the magnitude of challenges.
there is a severe shortage for AKI (and Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) care in Nigeria, despite the exponential increase demand for care over the last decade. CKD, for example, accounts for about 10% of patients admitted to medical wards in various hospitals in the country while community studies have revealed a prevalence of between 15 and 30%. AT an approximate cost of about $800.00/week for treatment, most sufferers are forced to go without treatment.
Attacking the general problem from the perspective of AKI allows ADCEM to target children and younger adults and thus possibly prevent escalations to chronic stages where treatment typically unavailable, and where available, costs are not affordable to most.
What other challenges - individual, organizational, or environmental – are you currently facing or might hinder future success of your business, and how do you plan to overcome those?
The biggest problem in Nigeria is the overall health care policy environment. Getting the public sector actors to participate in activities that will yield public policies geared at lowering the very high barrier to adequate availability of care and lower costs of treatment remains a challenge.
By piloting the the Mobile Haemodialysis Service (MHS) as a form of intervention for traetment of AKI through collaborations with the Ogun State government of Nigeria (public sector), ADCEM has at the core of its effort a process that "brings stakeholders together to discuss and initiate actions relevant to finding workable solutions to AKI treatment in Ogun State," and eventually across Nigeria.
Briefly describe your growth strategy going forward
The pilot project in Ogun State as a case study will yield the necessary outputs that will be studied and expanded to other areas of need in the country. This is why the outreach, advocacy and capacity building components of the MHS effort are critical success factors.
What dimensions for growth are you currently targeting for your innovation [select all that apply]
New customer group(s), New regions(s).
What makes your business "ready" for growth?
That demand for our work is high is a given. We have been equipped and have experienced growth at every stage of our existence which spans over two decades. This means that we have the experience to deliver on the technology and logistic aspects of the MHS. What we seek are collaborations that will allow for increases in treatment availability, cost reductions, and awareness building.
What are your key growth objectives?
To expand our customer base by tapping into the Corporate Social Conscience of organisations in diverse industries.
To operate more as a Social Enterprise with clear development goals
To partner with government at all levels in improving the efficiency of dialysis services to the general populace and reducing cost to the patient.
To champion technological innovation in the healthcare sector
What is your timeframe for growth, in the short and mid-term? What are the growth milestones and key activities going forward?
Within the year, to start a pilot for substantial government funding of dialysis, thereby greatly expanding the market for products and services. Also start a pilot for mobile dialysis service in Ogun State
In the next 5 years, we should have set up a manufacturing facility for the production of Peritoneal dialysis fluid and similar products. We should also be taking advantage of Government's policy of substantially funding chronic dialysis. This should strengthen the care for all types of kidney care.
We should have a full network of mobile dialysis services in critical need areas across Nigeria.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat has been the impact of your solution to date?
As we are yet to start, we cannot report any impact for the MHS. However we can report on our current activities in supporting Chronic Kidney disease treatment at public hospitals, experiences that position us to drive the MHS effort.
In partnership with Corporate Organisations. A good example is our work with MTN Foundation in setting up dialysis CENTRES situated in secondary and tertiary hospitals all over the country. This intervention is for a 5 year period and includes renovation, equipment, furniture, consumables, training, screening for risk, awareness campaigns, management and maintenance.
We can report improved access to treatment, minimal down-time, enhanced accountability and judicious use of resources, better quality of care, heightened knowledge of staff and awareness in the host communities.
MTNF have employed advanced Monitoring and Evaluation matrices culminating in a report to be published soon, and ADCEM is a key contributor to this effort.
What methods for quantification of social impact are you applying (if at all)?
Enumeration of patients treated and populace screened for risk of Chronic Kidney Disease, records of demography including age, sex, records of aetiology, etc.
Could your solution work in other geographies or regions? If so, where?
Yes..in other less urban parts of the country. Keep in mind that 80% of treatment centers for kidney diseases and infections are privately owned. This may be responsible for their concentration in the urban areas of the country, and not in the less urban / rural areas where over 68% of the population reside
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
Attain 50 percent improvement in primary and secondary health institutions with access to dialysis capability.
Improve healthcare personnel's knowledge and participation in kidney disease related intervention significantly
Achieve escalation of this intervention at the Federal level(the rest of the country)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideElaborate on your current financing strategy
A clear challenge in our part of the world is extreme competition for very limited financial resources, more so for AKI/CKD given the absence of clear public policy instruments, as is available in more developed parts of the world, to articulate and support the critical need for public funding.
Given these and other challenges, our current strategy relies on finding local and international development agencies or Corporate Organisations to support our proof of concept (pilot), an outcome of which is hoped to provide the necessary results that will serve as information and tool that will be utilized in better advocacy to enlighten and solicit the public sector (state and local governments) for escalated buy-in. Such buy-in will serve the dual purpose of increasing funding availability and positively influencing policy discus around the treatment of all aspects of kidney diseases.
It should also encourage contributions from corporate organisations and NGOs, given that the pilot will provide clarity on all aspects of the MHS effort.
Income will also be generated during the pilot phase from paying patients and counterpart funding from Ogun state government and NGOs. This underscores the question of sustainability. The MHS will benefit from the tripod input of (1) technology, (2) policy, representing the public sector, and (3) commercial, representing the private sector. The MHS pilot effort understand that a confluence of these three inputs will represent the zone of sustainability. This means sound technology, good policy, and financial reward are success factors.
Share of revenue generation in total income of organization (in percent)
Direct sales to patients or other beneficiaries (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these sales listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Friends and family, Individuals, Patients, Private businesses.
Licensing fees, e.g., for technology/franchise model (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these licensing opportunities listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Service contract with organizations, e.g., government, NGOs (in percent)
Of the possible sources of the service contracts listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Foundations, NGOs, Private businesses, Regional government, National government.
Explain your revenue generation strategy in more detail
In Nigeria, patients typically pay for all services rendered in the public health system. If we consider a possible proportion of defaulters then 15% is reasonable. Friends and Family also form a strong support group for acutely ill patients. We shall also be requesting counterpart funding from Ogun state government since they are the main beneficiary
Share of philanthropy in total income of organization (in percent)
70% for the pilot phase, with significant decreases by the end of year 3. ADCEM is currently about to start the pilot
Philanthrophy strategies you are using
Single strategy, Diversified strategy.
Explain your philanthropic approach in more detail
International Development Agencies, NGOs,Corporate organisations will be approached in exchange for demonstrated accountability and impact assessment reports
Expand on your selections; explain how you will sustain funding over the next 1-3 years.
We will ensure interim reporting of positive outcomes in each year so as to encourage donors to continue funding, we also plan to be innovative in raising revenue by providing advertising opportunities.The Federal government is looking into the possibility of implementing a policy compelling government to substantially contribute to funding dialysis. ADCEM is currently involved in designing a pilot study for this purpose. We expect that at least the funding of acute care should have commenced by the end of year 3.
More significantly and as mentioned in earlier input, the MHS will benefit from the tripod input of (1) technology, (2) policy, representing the public sector, and (3) commercial, representing the private sector. The MHS pilot effort understand that a confluence of these three inputs will represent the zone of sustainability. This means sound technology, good policy, and financial reward are success factors. This also underscores the fact that ADCEM understands the importance of the commercial function in intervention projects like the MHS. While the entire effort will seek to escalate treatment availability while decreasing cost, attention will be paid to processes that will ensure reduction in share of philanthropy (currently estimated at 70%). This will mean more private-sector input once the process is deemed profitable. That balance between treatment affordability to patient and profitability to investor is part of what the MHS service seeks within the next 3 years
This project also has a Changeshop where you can read more about its latest progress.
Go to Changeshop: WINGS Soars!.
Created on 03/22/2013 by adampom
WINGS is working to solve poor long-term outcomes of low-income students with our innovative social and emotional education program. WINGS teaches kids how to behave well, make good decisions, and build healthy relationships by delivering a social and emotional learning curriculum into a fresh and fun after school program. We serve at-risk, low-income kids 3-hours per day, 5-days per week, for the entire school year – more than 500 hours annually.
Organization: WINGS for kids
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United States, SC, Charleston, Charleston County
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, SC, Charleston, Charleston County
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
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Scaling (the next step will be growing impact on a regional or even global scale)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
WINGS is working to solve poor long-term outcomes of low-income students with our innovative social and emotional education program. WINGS teaches kids how to behave well, make good decisions, and build healthy relationships by delivering a social and emotional learning curriculum into a fresh and fun after school program. We serve at-risk, low-income kids 3-hours per day, 5-days per week, for the entire school year – more than 500 hours annually.
Research shows social and emotional education delivered in the after school setting increases academic achievement, school attendance, and student behavior. Evaluations of our program show WINGS kids make better grades, score higher on standardizes tests, attend school more often, and have better behavior than non-WINGS students.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
1) Develop a long-term strategic plan – we are working to identify strategic opportunities for the long-term growth and sustainability of WINGS.
2) Continue with our evaluation efforts – we will be entering the second year of a randomized control trial study on our program effectiveness, the gold standard in program evaluation.
3) Increase the number of students we serve – we are currently in four Charleston, South Carolina schools and two Atlanta, Georgia schools. We are working to increase enrollment in our current schools by more than 25% and add a new school in rural South Carolina.
Need #1
Opportunity Analysis
Need #2
Staffing Capabilities
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
We need to develop and refine our long-term strategic plan through opportunity analysis in order to maximize our impact and to achieve systemic change. Currently we are in an expansion phase, adding new programs each year. We are also in the midst of a randomized control trial study, which we anticipate will definitively document the positive outcomes of WINGS. When we receive our positive evaluation results we need to be prepared for widespread demand.
Our current direct service model is very good at achieving impact, but it is labor intensive and we are only working with a handful of schools. If we were to double our number of schools each year, it would take 14 years for us to reach the nearly 100,000 public elementary schools in the US. Given our current model, that type of growth is unrealistic. In order to achieve real systemic change we need to evaluate the best delivery mechanism of WINGS. Now is the time for us to evaluate the overall marketplace and to identify opportunities where we can achieve the greatest impact, whether it is through our direct service model or another avenue.
1.
Partners who challenge us in our conventional thinking.
2.
People are who willing to make a real commitment to working with us, just as we are willing to make when working with them.
3.
We share common goals of what we want to achieve.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
The only service we currently provide is our direct service after school program, so support will be focused on our overall organization. As a result of the consulting support it may be determined we should pursue an alternative service delivery option, such as a training and curriculum service in order to increase our impact. We are anxious to for the insight the consultants will provide as we go through this evaluation process.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Better understand the marketplace in which we operate
2.
Explore alternative service delivery options to maximize impact
3.
Initiate the framework to develop a more detailed strategic plan
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
In 2010-11 we partnered with UVA researchers for a preliminary outcome study. The results found executive function skills improved by 21 percentile points and applied problem solving skills improved by 8 percentile points. Increases in these areas are predictors for positive long-term outcomes: improved high school graduation rates, higher income potential, and reduced rates of criminal behavior.
Due to these results, the researchers wrote and received a $2.8 million grant from the US Department of Education for a randomized control trial study on WINGS, the gold standard of program evaluation. Previous evaluations by Yale University demonstrated WINGS kids attained higher math and reading scores and better grades and school attendance than non-WINGS kids.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
We are currently serving 650 kids each day in six low-income elementary schools, and we anticipate expanding our services to more than 900 kids next year. While this is a significant year over year growth rate, we are still falling short of achieving systemic change – we are only hitting a small percentage of all at-risk students. By working with the professionals with American Express we hope to identify a way for us to greatly increase our scale. We realize we will not be able to serve all students in the next year, but we believe this will help us lay the framework for widespread scaling and systemic change.
This Entry is about (Issues)
AHA! is committed to eliminating bullying and violence between teens and to improving teens' achievement in school and in life outside of school. We set the stage for adolescents to grow into successful, healthy adults and cultivate character and conscience. We accomplish this through our original curriculum, which teaches listening and communication skills, emotional intelligence and empathy through active games, short teaching segments, circle discussion, creative expression and mentorship with skilled facilitators.
Created on 03/19/2013 by Project_CHEF
Project CHEF is a travelling, experiential, curriculum-based elementary school program that teaches children and families about healthy food: where it comes from, what it tastes like, how to prepare it and how to share it around a table.
Organization: Project CHEF: Cook Healthy Edible Food
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Director and Founder, Project CHEF Education Society
Organization Name
Project CHEF: Cook Healthy Edible Food
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
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Established (past the previous stages and has demonstrated success)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Project CHEF is a travelling, experiential, curriculum-based elementary school program that teaches children and families about healthy food: where it comes from, what it tastes like, how to prepare it and how to share it around a table. Designed to immerse the participants in the process of cooking from preparation to clean up, this 5-day outcome-based learning program addresses the obesity epidemic by teaching children, parents and teachers the knowledge and skills necessary to make healthy food choices and encourages the development of healthy attitudes toward food while empowering participants to make nutritious balanced meals for themselves.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
Priority 1: Hire an administrator to tend to the day-to-day running of the program and increase the number of program volunteers to assist with the program operations (correspondence, sourcing ingredients, shopping). Priority 2: Hire/train a second Project CHEF team (chef instructor, two chef assistants) to allow for program expansion. Priority 3: Develop a curriculum package and a training program to be able to expand beyond the Vancouver School District and enable other school districts to implement Project CHEF.
Need #1
Performance Management
Need #2
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
To date, administration of the Project CHEF program has been done voluntarily by the program developer/teacher. The program is in high demand with over a 2-year waiting list in Vancouver and requests for the program in over 40 other school districts/independent schools/community organizations. We need to extend our reach and in order to do so, we must hire and train staff and develop a platform to enable program expansion. American Express can assist with developing strategies for appropriate staffing and management. In order to extend our reach to other districts we will need to develop a comprehensive training program and fund raising strategy. Due to budget constraints in the public school system it will be necessary to assist school districts in finding program partners to help fund the delivery of the program. Additionally, we will need to develop the capacity to train staff to implement the program and to monitor program delivery on an ongoing basis. This will necessarily require expanded administrative support and enhanced management capability.
1.
Philosophical alignment with Project CHEF goals.
2.
Commitment to making a societal difference by empowering children to make healthy eating choices.
3.
Action oriented to help educate our children today in order to impact our society tomorrow.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
The support of American Express will be focused on the organization overall. Project CHEF provides an educational program whose effectiveness is proven and can make a dramatic difference. What our organization needs is assistance in developing staffing and management strategies to enable the program to expand and become sustainable. American Express can assist with making the existing program scalable and help extend its reach beyond its current focus in the Vancouver district.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
No, we have not worked with outside consultants before.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Children will develop the knowledge about healthy, sustainable food that is necessary to lead healthy lives.
2.
Children will develop skill and confidence in making nutritious meals for themselves.
3.
Children will apply principles of safety in the kitchen: food safety and personal & kitchen cleanliness and safety.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Since 2008, we have taught 6300 children. Evaluative data has been collected from all program participants (children, teachers, administrators and parents). Data has been overwhelmingly positive with 100% of teachers/principals rating the program as excellent. The average rating from parent volunteers is 4.94 out of 5 and the average rating from children is 4.74 out of 5. Anecdotal data and post program feedback shows that the Project CHEF program has made a very strong impact on children, noting positive changes in children’s knowledge about food, their skills in creating food for themselves and their families, and attitudes toward food. A school principal succinctly summarized the program, “Project CHEF is the best kind of educational experience: it changes lives.”
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
With the support of American Express, we can build the infrastructure needed to expand the program, thus enabling us to reach more children in BC. If every school-aged child in BC could learn the knowledge and skills needed to feed themselves healthy food choices, we can be assured that our children will lead healthier lives today and they will lead longer, healthier lives as adults.
This Entry is about (Issues)
This project also has a Changeshop where you can read more about its latest progress.
Go to Changeshop: Respect On The Inside.
Created on 03/18/2013 by therespectinstitute
In 2013, we will teach The Respect Basics to advocates reaching 30,000 youth in institutions, foster-care and those who are at-risk for pregnancy and dropout. Youth problems including the above and all forms of violence, oppression and poor health, impede the ability to thrive. They are also symptoms of an underlying fundamental problem: A lack of respect for one's self and others. Our solution redefines what respect means for youth.
Organization: The Respect Institute
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United States, CA, San Jose, Santa Clara County
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, CA, Santa Clara County
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
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Scaling (the next step will be growing impact on a regional or even global scale)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
In 2013, we will teach The Respect Basics to advocates reaching 30,000 youth in institutions, foster-care and those who are at-risk for pregnancy and dropout. Youth problems including the above and all forms of violence, oppression and poor health, impede the ability to thrive. They are also symptoms of an underlying fundamental problem: A lack of respect for one's self and others. Our solution redefines what respect means for youth. Those with true self-respect believe they have equal value to others and behave as if, "I matter, you matter." We provide critical tools necessary to practice this type of self-respect daily youth are enabled to create respect in their relationships and to positively impact their communities as leaders of social change. We call these tools The Respect Basics.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
1. To reach 30,000 youth and their influencers with respect-building tools by training at least 200 youth advocates at one live training conference.
2. Identify and train at least two national education partners to reach at least 10,000 youth with our new 12-week program.
3. Launch our free online platform where educators can access tools, and resources, practices to build self-respect in their own environments.
Need #1
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Need #2
Digital Marketing Strategy
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
We are collaboration-based: Our programs are designed to be “plugged in” to other programs through training and a sustainability plan that guides partners through easily integrating them into an organization or school’s overall culture, curriculum, online and offline spaces, and key youth development methods. The Respect 360 program also includes exposure and practice for youth influencers to become models of the program.
In 2013: We need help to identify and engage the key people and organizations that will attend our trainings, both online and in-person at a live training conference. The attendees will be youth influencers—who can reach 30,000 at-risk youth/young adults in the jail, foster and group home systems—with self-respect development tools to help those aged 11-25 break cycles of disrespect and increase their ability to thrive. Based on our needs assessment, the program will consist of a self-care retreat, support circles, best practice exchange, and training to incorporate our groundbreaking research, The Respect Basics, a daily or weekly program, respect-based coaching skills, and other tools into their intervention and recovery services.
3.
Commitment to high impact
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Support will be focused on our Respect On the Inside in-person training conference that will train advocates reaching 30,000 youth in institutions, foster-care and those at-risk for teen pregnancy and high-school dropout. Our research shows that having a foundation of The Respect Basics is the key determining factor in ending cycles of disrespect that stifle potential. Our research also demonstrates that once a foundation of self-respect is laid, it does not waiver like self-esteem, so building self-respect is a more permanent solution to the problems that ail all youth.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
We have delivered components of our Respect programs to 10,000+ youth nationwide since 2006. In 2012, we partnered with two sites to become Respect Labs. At the labs, we are testing our new self-respect indicators scale as well measuring the effectiveness of our program. The Respect Lab sites serve predominantly African American and Latino youth from low-income areas. We have done minimal marketing and client outreach and feel that with additional support from American Express, we could attract the necessary clients and support to complete our training conference.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Train 200 youth influencers who will reach 30,000 youth with respect-building tools
2.
Provide attendees with research and tools to facilitate ongoing programs to reach youth year-after-year
3.
Receive feedback from attendees reporting measurable increases in their own self-respect and that of the youth they serve
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
After attending a Respect program, more than 1,300 youth surveyed in September 2011 reported the following...
• 94% of youth said they feel more comfortable setting boundaries and speaking up (24% increase)
• 86% of youth said they now had the tools to deal with bullying, cliques or abuse and felt safe about speaking about disrespect that affected them (a 27% increase)
• 90% of youth say their definition of RESPECT shifted to include respecting themselves as well & “to look again” and “I matter, you matter.”
• 88% of youth agreed that The Respect Basics have given them new, better ways to practice respect for themselves and to help spread respect to others
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
With support from American Express through our interactive programs, we will train partners to reach 30,000 youth over the next three years with empathy-building tools like the Respect Basics and a new definition of respect.
After completing our Respect 360 program, our impact goals include:
• 80% of program partners will report success in implementing our tools and programs
• 80% report notable reduction (based on their % goal) in the key indicators they identified in effecting (e.g. bullying, teen pregnancy, dropout, violence) or increase in the key indicators (e.g. increased compassion, healthier relationships, better communication skills, stronger support circles, ability to get help.)
• 80% of youth advocates trained report measurable increases in their own self-respect
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/17/2013 by seattlekaranja
We at popit4aprofit are tying to make a difference in our community in Seattle, Washington. We are teaming up with local business to try to help give resources for teens so that they can become leaders in the future.
Organization: popit4aprofit
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Is your organization a
Please select
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Scaling (the next step will be growing impact on a regional or even global scale)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
We at popit4aprofit are tying to make a difference in our community in Seattle, Washington. We are teaming up with local business to try to help give resources for teens so that they can become leaders in the future.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
Our next priorities in the next year is to expand our website, so that students take advantage of the resources they have when it come to organizations trying to help them. Also, we want to work with more businesses so that we can help them get more community constumers and so that they build relations with the community. Another, is to get sponsors for our website so we don't have to worry about the financing for our website.
Need #1
Staffing Capabilities
Need #2
Customer Relationships
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
We need help trying to access staff recruitment, we are willing to recruit computer programmers from colleges so that we can work with them.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Our website isn't really a product, it's more of a service we try to get students engaged in programs, internships, and networking events so that they can have good exposrue in the real world.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
I have worked with other entrepreneurs in my neighborhood, we have made a similar website for internet entrepreneurs, and we have expirience with the service we are providing.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
3.
Increase in Community Engagement
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
We haven't started our solution, because we need American Express executives to try to help us with our venture.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
We see popit4aprofit expanding to different states and continets. Who wouldn't want to learn more about internships, programs, and organizations in their community to be involved in?
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/16/2013 by seattlekaranja
Popit4aprofit is a resource website that high school students or even any students could go to learn about programs and organizations they should be in. We try to help organizations be resourceful for students, and we link them to internships, college fairs, parties, and programs they should be in.
Patiseria Pa-tí-sera (Bakery for you in Spanish) is a micro-enterprise bakery set up in the El Milagro slum in the city of Trujillo, Peru. Ex-FairMail teenagers and ex-garbage belt dwellers Patricia Quesquen and Betty Wayder (both 19 years old) started a bakery business in this empovered part of town where most inhabitants work on the local garbage belt. With their bakery they hope to create a source of income for themselves and future local employees.
Created on 03/15/2013 by Paige Nelson
Growing up should be healthy, safe, & fun!
MYO ("mee-yo"): Mine. Yours. Ours. focuses on achieving a thriving adolescence for area teens. MYO is about personal development, understanding others, and making the world a better place.
Organization: RYASAP : The Regional Youth/Adult Social Action Project
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RYASAP : The Regional Youth/Adult Social Action Project
Organization Country
United States, CT, Bridgeport
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
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Established (past the previous stages and has demonstrated success)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Growing up should be healthy, safe, & fun!
MYO ("mee-yo"): Mine. Yours. Ours. focuses on achieving a thriving adolescence for area teens. MYO is about personal development, understanding others, and making the world a better place.
MYO recognizes the power of youth to make positive change in their lives, the lives of their peers, and in the world. MYO is a network of youth programs, a process of leadership, an online community, and a calendar of engaging events and activities. All MYO programs are facilitated by MYO AmeriCorps Members, who are trained to be excellent youth workers and grow the field of youth dev.
MYO works because it has become a brand that is cool and youth feel brand loyalty. In buying into the brand, teens buy into positive outcomes and healthy norms of behavior.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
1. Grow MYO AmeriCorps into the nation's leading youth worker training program and most popular service program for 17-23 year-olds.
2. Develop MYO products for the marketplace.
3. Edit and publish MYO curricula and training materials
Need #1
Message & Brand Strategy
Need #2
Digital Marketing Strategy
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
MYO, as a brand, needs help in maintaining a cohesive message that captures different voices: one that elicits youth involvement and also parent support--specifically, one that positions MYO AmeriCorps as a great opportunity for young adults. An articulated recruitment campaign is necessary to grow and sell the AmeriCorps component.
Support is needed in optimizing different channels and sustaining momentum. Coming from a nonprofit perspective, MYO needs lessons from the for-profit marketplace in how to "sell", maintain customer loyalty, and release products. A blog, www.myospace has been a successful channel and social media (all under "myospace"--fb, twitter, etc) is active; yet, assistance is needed in linking the message across all platforms and creating a customer base that is trackable and reachable. Many points of entry are necessary and training staff to manage is a hurdle that time does not provide for; due to lack of resources, things get neglected and tools to help support the small business aspect of product development would be helpful. Advice on copyrighting, trademarking, accepting funds, etc is wanted. Legal help in protecting the voice of minors would be helpful.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Support would be focused on RYASAP's MYO work, arising from the YouthINC division of the overall organization.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
MYO was developed from a 4 year grant award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, during which support was offered from outside consultants in policy and in communications (Spitfire). Other support from management consultants (KJR) has been used to orient new staff and from marketing consultants (Ruder Finn and Red Poppy) to attract press. The logo itself was developed in partnership with a social media firm, Carrot Creative.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
To create an aligned marketing strategy that launches the brand into the teen market
2.
To articulate a cohesive and cool recruitment campaign for MYO AmeriCorps
3.
To gain knowledge and perspective on how to grow a brand that does good for the world
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Through the MYO programs, which recognize the power of youth to make positive change in their lives, the lives of their peers and in the world, RYASAP's YouthINC division is making significant impact. YouthINC has expanded MYO AmeriCorps, which fosters the development of high quality youth directors, to 75 Members per year, teaching 860 students the Safe Dates Curriculum in the 2011-2012 school year, working with 7 schools and reaching 954 total youth weekly with additional MYO programming. Small youth groups, “MYO groups”, were implemented after school for older teens and during school for younger teens. In addition to the social media and marketing components, including the websites myospace.org, over 25 activities and events such as the MYOscars and MYOthello (search either on fb)
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
MYO will become a recognized brand in the marketplace that stands for positive outcomes and benefits the teens themselves, through profits and through the intrinsic buy-in of a "cool brand": MYO Pop-Up shops to play games, do homework, and hang out with friends, MYO shirts sold in the mall next to cool brands, MYO shirts being worn by teens doing service projects, MYO arts nights with positive message, MYO games where teens can have fun, be healthy, and play. The logo is secured and the tools to sustain growth are in hand.
Critical to this vision is the growth and prominence of MYO AmeriCorps as a premier service program, widely accepted as a great experience for the college-aged set. With a clear and attractive recruitment campaign, MYO AmeriCorps can expand its reach and impact.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/15/2013 by changemaker2012
The issue that this program is helping to solve is cultural awareness and sensitivity in our school and community. First Nations studies is an exploratory program all grade 6 and 7s take as part of their exploratory rotation. This program is a fun and exciting program that uses a hand-on learning approach to teach students about Aboriginal history and culture. The program creates awareness and respect for Aboriginal people, traditions and activities amongst the students and serves to build bridges between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal learners.
Organization: Southgate Middle School
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Canada, BC, Campbell River
Country where this project is creating social impact
Canada, BC, Campbell River
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
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First Nations Studies Exploratory
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
The issue that this program is helping to solve is cultural awareness and sensitivity in our school and community. First Nations studies is an exploratory program all grade 6 and 7s take as part of their exploratory rotation. This program is a fun and exciting program that uses a hand-on learning approach to teach students about Aboriginal history and culture. The program creates awareness and respect for Aboriginal people, traditions and activities amongst the students and serves to build bridges between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal learners. First Nations Studies is proving to be a very successful tool for increasing the participation of Aboriginal learners, families and communities in the mainstream education system.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
1. Growth of the program to involve all middle school students.
2. To create a website.
3. To grow within the School District, implementing another program like this one within the School District.
Need #1
Digital Marketing Strategy
Need #2
Message & Brand Strategy
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
Specific project needs:
1. Grow the audience through digital marketing such as through a creative innovative website which markets the idea of cultural diversity.
2. Cohesion of content through digital marketing which creates a voice and personality to the website that reflects the program.
3. To create a platform for students to framework their great ideas and projects through digital marketing.
4. To have an understanding of the organically grown content this benefits the social realm through digital marketing.
5. To keep communication open through digital marketing.
6. To showcase the relationships and growth of students through digital marketing.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
American Express would be focused on helping grow the program through digital marketing which would have a larger positive impact on the school and school district by helping us (First Nations Studies) grow and get the cultural diversity message out through this huge communication tool of digital marketing.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
I have not focused on this area before or worked with any outside consultants before and I realize the importance of growing this area to maintaining positive communication and growth, therefore it is a priority.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
To learn to create a website that is easy to maintain and use
2.
To use digital marketing in creating a website that will have lesson plans for other educators to access easily.
3.
To use digital marketing to grow the program, offer educational tools and serve as a platform to showcase students learning.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
The impact of the program has been received by the students, parents/guardians, other educators and school districts positively. I was asked to speak at an educator’s conference and other districts were interested in how to start up a program such as this one and interested in lesson plans which is when I realized the area of opportunity and direction the program needs to focus on. The social impact of the project/program has resulted in creating students who are able to be more culturally sensitive and appreciative of the diversity of Canadian Aboriginals.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
The future impact after receiving the professional support from American Express will be realizing growth within the school by offering a program such as this one to grade 8s, to have a website that serves as a platform to showcase students learning and projects, to have a user friendly website that serves as a communication tool, to have a website that has lesson plans available for other educators, to have a website that has useful links for learning tools such as Kurzweil, to have a teacher who is able to help others with creating their own websites and programs(shared learning). This project would be modern, diverse, fun, hands on, and a great tool for communication.
This Entry is about (Issues)
This project also has a Changeshop where you can read more about its latest progress.
Go to Changeshop: AHA! - Jennifer Freed, PhD.
Created on 03/15/2013 by ideokinesis.mlb@gmail.com
AHA! is committed to eliminating bullying and violence between teens and to improving teens' achievement in school and in life outside of school. We set the stage for adolescents to grow into successful, healthy adults and cultivate character and conscience. We accomplish this through our original curriculum, which teaches listening and communication skills, emotional intelligence and empathy through active games, short teaching segments, circle discussion, creative expression and mentorship with skilled facilitators.
Organization: AHA! - the Academy of Healing Arts for Teens
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AHA! - the Academy of Healing Arts for Teens
Organization Country
United States, CA, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, CA, Santa Barbara, Carpinteria and Goleta, Santa Barbara County
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
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AHA! - Jennifer Freed, PhD
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Scaling (the next step will be growing impact on a regional or even global scale)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
AHA! is committed to eliminating bullying and violence between teens and to improving teens' achievement in school and in life outside of school. We set the stage for adolescents to grow into successful, healthy adults and cultivate character and conscience. We accomplish this through our original curriculum, which teaches listening and communication skills, emotional intelligence and empathy through active games, short teaching segments, circle discussion, creative expression and mentorship with skilled facilitators. We serve primarily teens 14-19 years of age but have also begun to serve a small number at-risk young adults at our local community college.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
1. To secure funding to continue to serve the 2000+ youth we serve this year, and to be able to expand our services
2. To secure funding to contract an educational/marketing consultant to make our AHA! facilitator trainings (for which we wrote 3 books in 2012) available beyond Santa Barbara - to market these trainings and spread our good work into schools across the U.S.
3. To locate and secure a dedicated space for our programs (we currently share space with other organizations and have vastly outgrown those spaces).
Need #1
Message & Brand Strategy
Need #2
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
AHA! is at a point where its services are in wide demand and strongly appreciated within its home community. We are poised to leap into the next level of service - to move toward serving all Santa Barbara area teens (about 20,000 per year) and to offer trainings in other parts of the state and nation. To successfully garner the funding needed for this next step, we need to re-brand our organization as a whole. Our organization name is not an instant revelation of what we do, and sometimes people find it confusing. Our work tends to be mischaracterized by those who have not had intimate contact with it. We wish to re-brand in a way that will make AHA!'s role and importance instantly and easily recognizable and its value more apparent without extensive explanation. This shift will be instrumental in the marketing and PR push needed to fundraise for our next steps as an organization.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Support would be focused on our organization overall.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
We have not enlisted outside consultants to help us with branding or marketing. Several members of our Board of Directors have branding/marketing expertise that they've shared. All concur that outside consulting help would be of great value at this time.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Successful and accurate re-branding of our beloved AHA!
2.
...which would lead us into more successful PR, marketing and fundraising, and...
3.
...adequate funding to compensate staff to serve more teens and to hire a marketing specialist to help us train others
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
86% of 125 participants in AHA! after-school programs report improvement in at least one problematic area of their lives; all of these participants reported improvement in 2+ problematic areas and 70% reported improvement in 10+ of these areas. In our in-school programs, over 80% of program participants report that they were more accepting and respectful of others as a result of participation in AHA!. Period truancies fell by half in classes served by AHA! at Santa Barbara High. Reductions are reported in disciplinary problems and student-on-student altercations in schools we serve. At Carpinteria High, suspensions/disciplinary referrals have fallen 70% since we started serving freshmen in 2007. Standardized test scores rose 14 points at Carp High and 41 points (!) at La Cuesta High.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
We hope to bring the reductions in disciplinary actions, violence, bullying and prejudice we've seen already into more schools. By creating safe school environments with our curriculum, we intend to support more improvements in standardized test scores and academic achievement, and to help level the playing field for at-risk kids who might not make it through high school or start college without the competencies and supports we deliver through AHA!. Social-emotional learning programs like AHA! are one promising avenue for prevention of substance abuse and mental illness in teens; ths is part of the impact we wish to have as well. By training more teachers and other youth professionals to work with teens through the AHA! curriculum, we hope to spread its impact rapidly and deeply.
This Entry is about (Issues)
This project also has a Changeshop where you can read more about its latest progress.
Go to Changeshop: Benevolence Inn.
Created on 03/15/2013 by rv4life
The mission of Benevolence Inn is to provide exceptional, family-oriented lodging accommodations that supports operating funds for youth development programs while providing meaningful employment for youth.
A key component attracting guests to Benevolence Inn will be our giving to youth development programs. Imagine being able to benefit charity by staying at a hotel that is very comparable to already existing national brands.
Created on 03/14/2013 by earthcustomdesigns
Earth Custom Designs (ECD) is a social venture business, which supports students in third world countries by acquiring products from those same third world countries and distributing them in the United States. ECD was founded and managed by high school students.
Created on 03/13/2013 by arysenational
ARYSE assists resettled refugee youth in becoming confident, engaged, and productive members of American society. We fulfill our mission by growing university and college-based tutoring and mentoring programs with resources, trainings, and best practices.
Created on 03/13/2013 by Teaching and America's Future
NCTAF STEM Learning Studios organize teachers, professionals, and students into cross-disciplinary inquiry teams that work on significant community challenges. Studio investigations promote deeper student learning, continuous teacher development, and high impact industry engagement. As students learn STEM by doing STEM, they become curious, thoughtful learners who develop the 21st century knowledge and skills they need to prepare for college, careers, and life.
Organization: National Commission on Teaching and America's Future
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National Commission on Teaching and America's Future
Organization Country
United States, DC, Washington DC
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, MD, Prince George's County
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
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NCTAF STEM Learning Studios
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
NCTAF STEM Learning Studios organize teachers, professionals, and students into cross-disciplinary inquiry teams that work on significant community challenges. Studio investigations promote deeper student learning, continuous teacher development, and high impact industry engagement. As students learn STEM by doing STEM, they become curious, thoughtful learners who develop the 21st century knowledge and skills they need to prepare for college, careers, and life. Teachers develop deeper knowledge and skill in the sciences and engineering by working with their colleagues and industry professionals to design and execute cross-disciplinary inquiry projects. STEM professionals, working as long-term, part-time Studio residents, discover how to translate their expertise into engaging learning.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
NCTAF’s goals are to:
1. Develop a well-documented and evaluated Learning Studio implementation and technical assistance strategy that enables us to mobilize and army of STEM professionals, including recent retirees, in education.
2. Add momentum to this mobilization by building and leading a national movement of similar initiatives that are remodeling education for the 21st Century
3. Partner with industry, school districts, and schools of education create Educator Development Studios for Next Generation STEM Educators, who acquire their professional knowledge and skill as Learning Studio team members.
Need #1
Message & Brand Strategy
Need #2
Digital Marketing Strategy
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
NCTAF Learning Studios received a 2011 Changemakers award for “creating well-structured, long-term, part-time opportunities for STEM experts to make significant contributions to more effective teaching and deeper student learning… that is a particularly effective way to engage young women and students of color who too often tune out traditional STEM education.” In partnership with NASA, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and the U.S. Naval Academy we created 24 Studios in 21 Maryland middle schools and high schools where 144 teachers and 30 STEM professionals work with teams that include 4,200 students; in New Hampshire five school districts have seven Studios where 42 teachers and 200 students work with advanced manufacturers and a regional medical center. NCTAF’s stretch goal is to build a national Learning Studio movement to mobilize 100,000 Baby Boomer professionals who join forces with 10,000 teachers and 300,000 students in citizen science projects that address significant community needs. To grow this movement we need to develop a clear brand and marketing strategy that attracts commitments from business partners, educators, government agencies, and community based organizations.
1.
Our partnerships build a clear game plan to orchestrate diverse resources around well-defined goal.
2.
Partners are mutually accountable for building their capacity to meet well-defined benchmarks.
3.
Each partner contributes and each has an opportunity to benefit and grow.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
NCTAF is a nationally recognized advocate for rebuilding American education with teamwork to improve teaching, learning, and school performance. Learning Studios are innovation incubators where educators, business partners, and community leaders are teaming up to reinvent STEM education for the 21st century. American Express support will enable us to: 1.) scale-up Learning Studios to ensure that thousands of youth have a genuine opportunity to prepare for success in a global innovation economy; and 2.) drive our national leadership agenda.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
NCTAF has been developing this initiative for six years with grants from Carnegie Corporation of New York, MetLife, NSF, Gates, NASA, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and the Deerbrook Charitable Trust. We have a strong track record for issuing school reform publications and recommendations that are widely covered by traditional media (newspapers and radio). We are novices when it comes to digital media. We have not previously used brand or marketing consultants.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Develop a clear and compelling "must have" brand identity for Learning Studios.
2.
Launch an effective media campaign to recruit new business, education and community partners.
3.
Launch studios in five more states and three large metro regions during the 2013-2014 school year.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
With NSF, MetLife, NASA, Gates , Pearson , and Carnegie grants, we have developed core principles we use to train and deploy teams of teachers and STEM professionals who have well-structured responsibilities for engaging students in deeper learning. We are also evaluating the impact of Studios on student learning, teacher development, and professional engagement in education. In partnership with NASA, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and the U.S. Naval Academy we created 24 Studios in 21 Maryland middle schools and high schools where 144 teachers and 30 STEM professionals work with teams that include 4,200 students; in New Hampshire five school districts have seven Studios where 42 teachers and 200 students work with advanced manufacturers and a regional medical center.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
Half of the 78 million Baby Boomers in our country want to give back to their community and most want to do that in education and youth service. The Learning Studios movement will give them well structured pathways for working with youth as citizen scientists to support learning with meaning that makes a difference in their communities. The DC region will have 1.5 million new retirees in less than five years; our goal is to deploy one percent (15,000) in Studios to demonstrate the potential of a national Learning Studio movement that could deploy at least 100,000 Boomers (the best educated, most experienced generation we have ever had) in Learning Studios by 2020 (one percent of Boomers is 780,000, which would exceed our goal by seven fold).
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/13/2013 by Three Birds
In partnership with public schools in low-income communities, Three Birds develops renewable energy initiatives that engage and inspire students, thus creating a culture of curiosity and environmental stewardship. Our society's best source of creative capital is our children. To solve our toughest problems, we need our children to be engaged and involved in finding solutions. So, how do we engage and inspire our students? We view solar panels, wind turbines, energy monitoring systems, and the like as seeds of innovation that can grab the attention of students.
Organization: The Three Birds Foundation
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The Three Birds Foundation
Organization Country
United States, VA, Herndon, Fairfax County
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, DC, WASHINGTON, Washington
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
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Renewable Energy Education in Low-Income communities
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
In partnership with public schools in low-income communities, Three Birds develops renewable energy initiatives that engage and inspire students, thus creating a culture of curiosity and environmental stewardship. Our society's best source of creative capital is our children. To solve our toughest problems, we need our children to be engaged and involved in finding solutions. So, how do we engage and inspire our students? We view solar panels, wind turbines, energy monitoring systems, and the like as seeds of innovation that can grab the attention of students. These technologies can engage students while teaching them what they need to know to invent their own solution.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
Work with more schools on renewable energy initiatives.
Elevate the conversation around renewable energy education in low-income communities.
Raise money.
Need #1
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Need #2
Digital Marketing Strategy
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
We need to reach more people and spread our vision. We want every student in America to have meaningful learning experiences with renewable energy before graduating high school. To make that vision a reality, we need a lot of people to adopt the vision and take action to make it happen.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Support will be focused specifically on developing strategies to develop and implement renewable energy initiatives in low-income communities in the National Capital Region. Support will also be focused on spreading our vision across the country and across the globe.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
We are a pretty young organization and have not had the opportunity to work with outside consultants before. We are very excited for the opportunity to engage professionals in the development of various strategies.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
More people who know about what our organization is trying to do
2.
More renewable energy iniatives started
3.
Clearly defined strategy for spreading our vision
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
We have worked with low-income schools in Virginia and Washington, D.C. on a number of sustainability initiatives. We've done solar and wind demonstrations, helped schools win small grants, and coordinated speakers in an effort to build momentum towards actual installations at schools. We intend to drastically expand our network and impact in the 2013-2014 school year now that we have a series of pilot projects under our belt.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
Our vision for Washington, D.C. is to create a model for renewable energy education. We believe renewable energy and sustainability initiatives can create student and community identity. In the immediate future, we believe we can develop the National Capital Region as the undisputed leader in sustainability education. And, by doing this we believe we can influence the development of sustainability efforts across the country.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/12/2013 by sumitmitra
SchoolSpice aims to assist 9th-12th grade students in developing 21st century skills for post- secondary education regardless of socio-economic status.
Created on 03/11/2013 by shaun@mdjr.org
MDJunior (MDJr.org) is a Leadership Society with the mission to ‘Inspire Selfless Service through Mentorship’. We focus on local and global initiatives. In doing so, we bring together passionate healthcare professionals with middle and high school students, to build a mentoring relationship - all with a special focus on the underserved communities. MDJunior operates on 3 Pillars of Success – Knowledge, Skills and Attitude. The organization was founded by a 9th grader in 2009, as an after school student club and today is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization with over 20 Chapters across the U.S.
Created on 03/10/2013 by bpa1501
I started a nonprofit to help feed the homeless, and provide supplies, technology tools, and Christmas presents for children living in low income housing. We have raised over $513,000 over three years so far for our various efforts.
Created on 03/10/2013 by Khadijahde
Foster Teen Exression(FTE) is a youth lead organization that advocates for youth rights between the ages 14-19 in the Child and Family Services Agency(CFSA) through art such as mixed miedia, poetry, and photography. FTE gives youth in the foster care system the opportunity to walk away with a new definition of who they are as individuals and not defing themselves by their troubled circumstances.
Created on 03/10/2013 by nataliesereda
Recorders of Hope, a not-for-profit organization, aims to bring the joy of music to AIDS and HIV impacted children across the globe who would otherwise not have access to musical instruments and instruction. We collect new and used plastic recorders and other instruments from the community and distribute them, while introducing musical instruction. www.recordersofhope.org
Created on 03/8/2013 by africaid
Tanzania has one of the lowest secondary school graduation rates for girls in the world with only 5% of Tanzanian girls graduating from high school. AfricAid is working to improve this statistic through the Kisa Project in order to develop future female leaders for Tanzania, thus advancing the status of women in this country. Pervasive causes of the problems include deeply-rooted cultural/societal beliefs that women are not as “valuable” or as “worthy” as men.
Organization: AfricAid
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United States, CO, Denver, Denver County
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
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AfricAid/The Kisa Project - Website Enhancement to Empower Tanzanian Girls
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Tanzania has one of the lowest secondary school graduation rates for girls in the world with only 5% of Tanzanian girls graduating from high school. AfricAid is working to improve this statistic through the Kisa Project in order to develop future female leaders for Tanzania, thus advancing the status of women in this country. Pervasive causes of the problems include deeply-rooted cultural/societal beliefs that women are not as “valuable” or as “worthy” as men. Through Kisa, we provide girls with more options for independent lives, including preparing for university, providing vocational training, or helping them start their own business. The most innovative aspect is that we ask our graduates to mentor 15 to 20 girls each from their own communities, creating a "pay-it-forward" effect.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
• To expand the Kisa Project, our girls' educational/empowerment program, to include 150 new girls in the 2013 school year, and to have 300 Tanzanian girls attend our Career Day in October 2013;
• To expand our Teaching in Action (TIA) teacher training program so it will be school-based in 2013.
* To grow awareness and loyalty among supporters and potential supporters by enhancing our website layout and design, and improving various functions.
Need #1
Digital Marketing Strategy
Need #2
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
Our specific project need is to enhance the system, layout and graphic design of our website: www.africaid.com. AfricAid's original website was originally launched in 2003, and its current site was established in 2007. While the website has served AfricAid well, its layout and functions are in need of review and enhancement to facilitate visitors' abilities to navigate and take action on our site. Areas for improvement include: graphic design and overall look of the website; website and page layouts, including images, colors, fonts and content placement; software platform; security; navigation structure; navigation menu; online promotion; image rotation; multimedia components; newsletter registration; and ability to serve as the center of a robust social media program. We are interested in upgrading existing, and adding new, functions and tools, including SEP optimization; mobile accessibility options; search option; shopping cart; RSS feeds to capture contact information; E-commerce; Social Media plug-ins; fundraising pages, etc.
1.
Honesty - the ability to communicate openly and frankly within our working relationships.
2.
Competence - having the skills required to mutually benefit and/or help each other.
3.
Flexibility - the ability to work in a mutually-agreeable manner and timeframe.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Support from American Express will be focused on the organization overall, but more specifically, on our signature program--The Kisa Project. Our budget funding for this program is largely dependent on individual sponsors from the U.S.A. and Canada, and it is important that we branch out to reach new sponsors via socal medial, digital marketing, search engines and other avenues. This will go hand-in-hand with our second stated need, which is Consumer/Audience Acquisition. Due to the mission of AfricAid, the scope and geographic nature of its work, strategic communication tools are essential.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
AfricAid utilizes a variety of mediums, both online and in print, to communicate with existing and potential supporters. We've focused on our website and social media using our small staff and interns. But with new communication technology, systems and tools being introduced into the market, AfricAid needs to identify and implement those which best serve its mission. To ensure we're truly on the right track and equipped for the future, we could greatly benefit from professional advice and input.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
To greatly enhance AfricAid's ability to communicate more efficiently with existing and build future supporters.
2.
To secure increased financial contrubitions via its website and new fundraising functions.
3.
To have strategic messaging and electronic tools essential for providing communication to our clients.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
In terms of our Kisa Project, the impact of the solution to date has been:
• In February 2012, our first Kisa class of 22 girls graduated from secondary school.
• We are thrilled that 20 girls (out of 22 total) in this first Kisa class are going on to university or another form of post-secondary training. This 91% rate is extraordinary for girls in a country where less than 1% of women have any training/education post secondary school.
•Upon graduation these young women—as part of our Kisa program—returned to their home communities and mentored over 300 girls with lessons from our Kisa curriculum.
• In terms of our website impact, it has given a "face" and a means of communication to our organization, but has not developed new supporters/donors as well as it could.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
After receiving professional support from American Express, AfricAid and the Kisa Project will have a greatly revitalized and improved website that is easy to navigate, more technologically savvy, and will help create more awareness about our organization and draw in new supporters. This, in turn, will allow AfricAid to continue developing and expanding our Kisa Program to empower young Tanzanian women, as well as continue conducting leadership development trainings, providing scholarships, coordinating teacher training workshops through the Teaching in Action (TIA) Program, building classrooms, installing computer labs, and supporting a school lunch program at Losinoni. It will also make it possible for AfricAid to help take on other projects in Tanzania.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/8/2013 by parthcu@hotmail.com
Project BEST (Building Excitement for Science and Technology) is a student-led, non-profit organization dedicated to providing students with education, enrichment, and a joy for learning and understanding the exciting science and technological advances happening around us. This is achieved through interactive programs, workshops, chapters and a unique entrepreneurship aspect that fosters an interest in innovation. Based on the three pillars of Knowledge, Discovery, and Experience, Project BEST creates and drives curiosity in students everywhere.
Created on 03/8/2013 by esztere
It is very hard for a parent to feed children healthier, even though every parent is highly motivated to do so, and a lot of advice is available. Who hasn't been told to feed kids more broccoli? For a child to eat better tonight and become a healthy eater as an adult a sequence of events has to go right beginning with planning what to serve to choosing, buying, preparing the food, involving the child, learning how to try new food and eating together.
Organization: Feeding Your Kids Foundation
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Feeding Your Kids Foundation
Organization Country
United States, CA, San Francisco, San Francisco County
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, CA, San Francisco, San Francisco County
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
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Make feeding kids healthier easier for parents
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
It is very hard for a parent to feed children healthier, even though every parent is highly motivated to do so, and a lot of advice is available. Who hasn't been told to feed kids more broccoli? For a child to eat better tonight and become a healthy eater as an adult a sequence of events has to go right beginning with planning what to serve to choosing, buying, preparing the food, involving the child, learning how to try new food and eating together. Parents also need to apply the principles of feeding dynamics, as they are responsible for providing, but the connection is between the child's body and food. The Feeding Your Kids program is a unique internet based behavior change program for parents so they can make small changes to how they feed for lasting results in healthier eating.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
Increase user engagement by introducing interactive and self assessment features
Increase user base
Create an Advisory Board to guide the Foundation
Need #1
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Need #2
Digital Marketing Strategy
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
At present we acquire users through AdWords and word of mouth. We would like to develop a strategy about acquiring users in a more systemic way, integrate the social media platforms (Facebook and Twitter) into the user experience and use the above strategy in targeting our fundraising efforts.
1.
Providing an opportunity for each other to excel at what we are good at
2.
Giving credit for contribution
3.
Delivering true value to users
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Since the Foundation's objective is to create and operate the Feeding Your Kids program it is both the organization overall and the specific product. The only minor exception is that the custom program the Foundation runs for two clinical trials with two hospitals will remain controlled by the clinics.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
We have previously worked together with the Rose Company in Los Angeles to establish our first media presence and with Diana Kimbrell of the Kimbrell Company who helped us establish the cooperation with two children's hospitals and a nationwide childhood obesity initiative as well as created our first opportunities with Parent Teacher Associstions.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Higher user reach (at present it is 10-15 new users per day)
2.
Higher user engagement (emails opened, user feedback)
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
The Feeding Your Kids Program reached and impacted approximately 40,000 people in 85 countries since its inception. We have two clinical trials under way and a regular user feedback channel with lots of anecdotal evidence such as this "ALL THE INFO IS REALLY EASY TO UNDERSTAND. I share all the info with my 9 and 6 daughters. Every day there was a comment like: we need more fruit mom!!! or "is this according to the plan?" they LOVE the morning milkshakes too. My husband had 247 in cholesterol, after 3 weeks in the program he got 219!!!! Our bodies reacted to the program after day 3 and it's been a blessing.")
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
Our infrastructure and technical platform would enable us to serve 100 times the users, the marginal cost of serving a new user is very low, the "market" for parents whose children are "picky eaters", undernourished and overweight is in the millions in the US and several times that world wide.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Hundreds of millions of people are financially illiterate. Money management problems are exacerbated among individuals from the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum and are particularly prevalent among at-risk youth, leading to a state of de facto financial imprisonment. Mindblown Labs will empower teens and young adults to become financially literate through an innovative and experiential learning mechanism, a social mobile game.
Created on 03/7/2013 by Mrpigginz
Will be teaching underprivileged children at local elementary schools about the safety of the internet and the cause and effect of viruses and malware.
Created on 03/7/2013 by zapdramatic
This is an interactive simulation that allows the user to play the role of a kid in middle school who is confronted with and could become a victim of bullying behavior by his/her peers. As a victim the user relies on bystanders to speak out in support. As a bystander, the user is asked to stand up to bullying behavior and influence his/her peers. The user is confronted by the consequences of his or her decisions. The central idea is to develop empathy through victimization.
Organization: Zapdramatic
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Is your organization a
Hybrid
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Sir Basel Pike Public School
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Start-Up (a pilot that has just begun operating)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
This is an interactive simulation that allows the user to play the role of a kid in middle school who is confronted with and could become a victim of bullying behavior by his/her peers. As a victim the user relies on bystanders to speak out in support. As a bystander, the user is asked to stand up to bullying behavior and influence his/her peers. The user is confronted by the consequences of his or her decisions. The central idea is to develop empathy through victimization.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
We want to have our game used in schools. That's it.
Need #1
Digital Marketing Strategy
Need #2
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
We believe that this game will create useful discussion in school groups about bullying. (our pilot in three schools has demonstrated this). We want to broaden our reach and have many schools in Canada and the US aware of and using this game to talk about the dynamics of bullying. We need to get this project used.
1.
Access to our target audience of middle school kids
2.
Understanding that bullying is a group dynamic where individuals have the power to participate or not.
3.
Our partners must be willing to devote the time to facilitating discussion among the group about what is happening in the game.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Support will be focussed on the game, Sir Basil Pike Public School which is web based and simply needs buy in and fascillitation from schools.
We need to place the game in front of influencers to further its adoption.
We need help to create a revenue model that works for both us and our users.
We need help to spread the word about the game as far as possible.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
We have worked with subject matter experts Debra Pepler and Joanne Cummings from prevnet.ca
They have helped us develop and pilot the game in middle schools.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
To activate empathy for victims of bullying within general population of school.
2.
To understand how a bystander can enable or reduce bullying behavior.
3.
To encourage those who might be reticent to stand up to do so when confronted by bullying.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
We have only piloted the game in three schools but in those pilots we found that the game produced exceptionally deep and candid discussions among the students. Within the context of the game students were more willing to express their own experiences and share with the group. Also, boys were motivated to advise the girls and vice versa about what to do to a) deal with the immediate problem and b) how trying to succeed may negatively impact on another.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
After receiving professional support from American Express we hope to have the game in use throughout Canada and the United States. We want to develop a revenue model that enables all schools to participate while returning the cost of our investment.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/7/2013 by bahsi15
Team change is an organization that plans on educating teens about malaria, unclean water, and hunger. We also plan on fundraising for certain charities.
Created on 03/7/2013 by Peacemaker Resources
Our organization is committed to reducing bullying and creating communities of empathy and compassion in schools. Our solution is empowering youth to not only learn, but TEACH, social emotional and conflict resolution skills. The Speak Your Peace program provides a fun and simple way for students to learn how to reduce bullying, cooperate, and resolve conflicts and then share their learning by developing fun and informative presentations for students and even adults!
Organization: Peacemaker Resources
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United States, MN, bemidji, Beltrami County
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
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Speak Your Peace: A Social Emotional Program Where Kids Are The Teachers
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Scaling (the next step will be growing impact on a regional or even global scale)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Our organization is committed to reducing bullying and creating communities of empathy and compassion in schools. Our solution is empowering youth to not only learn, but TEACH, social emotional and conflict resolution skills. The Speak Your Peace program provides a fun and simple way for students to learn how to reduce bullying, cooperate, and resolve conflicts and then share their learning by developing fun and informative presentations for students and even adults!
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
1. Create an effective marketing plan to increase public awareness and interest in the Speak Your Peace program.
2. At least double the number of schools using the Speak Your Peace program.
3. Research and evaluate the impact of the Speak Your Peace Program.
Need #1
Message & Brand Strategy
Need #2
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
We have developed a product that we are extremely proud of, yet we are unsure as to how to adequately promote it. We are a small nonprofit in Northern Minnesota and almost all of our programming has been focused in this geographic region. As of now, our sales of the Speak Your Peace program have been minimal and local. We believe that the Speak You Peace program could benefit schools nationally and internationally and would like assistance on how we can market/brand Speak Your Peace to attract new larger audiences.
2.
Open and respectful communication
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
We are looking for support on a specific product - our Speak Your Peace program (SYP). This might lead to some focus on our overall organization, as our decisions with how to proceed with the SYP program could entail some broader changes.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
We develop a clear and actionable marketing strategy for the Speak Your Peace program.
2.
We increase sales and use of the Speak Your Peace manuals.
3.
Our organization generates increased revenue to support the continuation of our work
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Our model of empowering youth to be the teachers of peace skills originated though a program called STAR (Students Teaching Attitudes and Respect). STAR was created to develop leadership among youth in Northern Minnesota. Teams of middle school students from around the region would come to two day retreats in the fall and spring to learn leadership and peace skills. When they returned to their communities they would have the task of developing presentations to teach these skills to others. STAR has been operating 15 years and has trained over 2,000 students to teach. In 2011 Last year over 9,000 people were in attendance for STAR presentations. Due to STAR's success, Speak Your Peace manual was developed to provide a way to this model to be implemented in schools around the world.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
Our envisioned impact is that students all over the world will have the opportunity to learn and teach social and emotional and conflict resolution skills; leading to safer and more respectful schools and happier, healthier students.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/7/2013 by Surya Karki
We are fed-up of our people living in poverty. Another armed revolution or an 'Occupy Movement' will not change our future. We opened a school of love. Free education in exchange for two days of volunteering work.
Maya Universe Academy (MUA) provides quality, community run private school education to children in rural Nepal through a system based on the sharing of knowledge rather than money.
Created on 03/7/2013 by queenie1513
YOLO Pies is a youth run pilot program that grows organic fruits, vegetables, and herbs and sells value added organic products to the local Washington DC community. Our pilot product, launched in fall 2012, was our award winning sweet potato pie.
seattle United States
47° 36' 22.356" N, 122° 19' 55.4556" W
this is a test to see what a nomination form looks like
