“Crowdfunding isn’t a piece of cake, but following a few simple tips can help launch a killer Kickstarter project, rack up the pledges, and get your product off the ground.”
We wanted to share this fantastic blog post on crowdfunding. The material identifies Kickstarter specifically, and uses an actual product at the heart of a campaign, but the tips here are relevant for most crowdfunding platforms and situations. We hope you enjoy!
Storytelling is still so important for cultural context and conveying messages to diverse groups. The Giving Net‘s success is partially because they foster space for people to convene and tell their stories. Through story telling, people learn, find common ground, are empowered, and social change can be created.
The Giving Net, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, was founded by Arkansas native, Andrea Price, in 2013. After growing up in the Delta, working throughout the South on community-based initiatives and on community development projects, she saw a great need for an organization that focuses on empowering citizens to have a voice in their neighborhoods, communities, state, nation and world. Thus, The Giving Net was born. The power to strengthen our communities lies within people who are connected to each other, informed about the issues that affect them and are willing to use their strengths for good. The Giving Net works to empower people and ultimately strengthen communities.
The Giving Net’s “doing” is designed to encourage citizens, of all ages, to give their time, talent and other resources to causes that strengthen communities. The Giving Net hosts a Radio Show where guests from around the world share their personal stories of service and civic action.
The Giving Net designs and facilitates conversations and action based planning sessions for
The Giving Net shares information, ideas and stories about civic engagement via our Blog. The Giving Net host and co-host public programs related to civic life, philanthropy, justice and social change.
Listen to Gregg Potter, Project Kinect’s Founder, on The Giving Net’s radio show.
Project Kinect is a huge fan of Simon Sinek and Start With Why. One of his most relevant and useable tools is presenting the Golden Circle. We all understand the purpose for what we’re doing, but can’t always answer exactly why we’re doing this. The Golden Circle helps us, while we’re in ruts in our organizations, to figure out why. Here is where to go to find out how to present the Golden Circle.
If you want to learn more about Simon Sinek, check out his Ted Talk in March, 2014.
If you don’t know who Justin Simien is, then you may be familiar with his newest film, Dear White People. The movie is a satire about real issues of race that are very much present in our society. The movie only grazes the issues, but presents it in a humorous and tasteful way. Presenting these issues in such a way sets an atmosphere that will hopefully bring a more inclusive group to theater. Calandra Davis, an activist and soon-to-be contributor posted, “It felt good to a watch a movie that explored real issues and contained complex Black characters.”
Community mobilizing tool: Sometimes the issues need to be dealt with delicately in order to gain other important and invested allies.
Project Kinect loves this film for many reasons. First, it was crowd-funded. This genuine film was created by a community of supporters who wanted to see such a satire made. Second, and it is important to state this again; The film presents the issues in a way to bring more eyes to theaters. Most importantly, this film has been released at a time in our history when we must start having real, constructive conversations about racial tensions, modern racism, and white privilege. If these conversations are not had, then we are doomed as a society and will not continue moving forward as a global leader. The possible actions and reactions if these issues are not discussed and worked on will be disastrous and we will look foolish to the rest of the world. But for now, go see the film.
**Photo credit goes to the Houston Chronicle. Project Kinect loved the picture. Click here to find the whole Houston Chronicle article.
by Jenna Rhodes
Some people think that Community Engagement is one step in multi-step process for a project. Build a team. Check. Set a timeline. Check. Engage the community. Check. Create a plan. Check. But it’s not nearly so simple. Community Engagement is a collection of actions that can be found from the beginning of a project until the….well until forever. Community Engagement doesn’t stop when you finish a project because building relationships is a continuous process that will lead into your next project and your next. Relationships aren’t usually time bound. The contacts that you make on the first project will be contacts that you will use throughout your time in your current position and possibly for your entire career. Community Engagement is building your contact list, understanding the mission and vision of the organization that they represent, knowing what resources they have to offer, utilizing their expertise to move a project forward, gathering their opinions and impressions, and offering them your expertise and resources in return.
When engaging a community there are several things that can help the process:
1) Get out into the community and meet people – you can’t expect people or businesses to invest in your project, event, or idea if they’ve never met you.
2) Have lots of business cards – it’s not so much that they need YOUR info, but you need THEIRS and this is a great way to get it.
3) Have an organized system for collecting all of this contact info – an excel document can be a great tool to organize, sort, and utilize the rich resources that you’ve spent so much time collecting.
4) Communicate with your connections – an underutilized contact list is a waste of time and energy, stay connected by informing your newly formed network what you are doing, how it pertains to them, and how they can get involved.
5) Ask for referrals – you can’t possibly make every connection yourself, so ask your contacts to put you in touch with others who might have a stake in your project.
6) Follow up – if you say you are going to do something, do it.
Engaging a community is hard work that takes investments of time and energy. And there will always be more people to meet. This part of the process is ongoing. I have been working on one project for more than a year and I made seven new contacts just this week while working on a seemingly unrelated project. Never miss an opportunity to connect, either the work you are doing, or the work of your contacts to each other. Be a connector and you will create a reputation for yourself as someone to know.
Tickld has been self proclaimed “the ultimate procrastination” website. It can be that but the creators James and Kyle started something more than that; they organized an outlet for humor of all shapes and intentions. Humor brings us together and gets the proper chemicals flowing in our body. The most recent post on Tickld that brought me closer to people was titled, WTF is Wrong With Americans? This Guy Nails it.
The post looks at a very simple explanation of how we funnel money into other avenues and not into our schools. It is entertaining, satyrical, and gets to the point in a humorous way.
The Dodo is a website all about animals and the protection of animals. The most recent post, “The Day a Dozen Parents and Children Killed a Baby Shark for a Selfie” tells the horrible yet revealing story about how our vanity is getting in the way of our relationship with nature. Today’s children are not understanding how they are apart of nature but that they are somehow above it. Here is a teaser of the story…
The man maintained a grip on the tail. The boy squirmed up next to the shark, smacked a hand on his side in a declaration of ownership, and extended his other hand gripping an iPhone to snap a selfie.
“Shouldn’t you put the shark back in the water?” I asked. My voice was swallowed in the murmurs of excitement. I asked louder, “Shouldn’t you put it back?”
Panic arose from the circle. “No, I didn’t get a photo with it yet!” “It’s my turn first!” A group of kids and adults alike began more desperately clambering for a grip of the shark.
For the entire story and the Dodo website, click here.
Janee Woods just wrote this article that was featured on Quartz. It looks at how the actions taking place in Ferguson in response to the death of Michael Brown are changing the dialogue surrounding race in our country. Specifically, it looks at the white advocate and how to be a better advocate while creating more advocates. Finding our advocates is the most important step for positive social change. Here is a piece of the article. You can check the rest of the article on Quartz.
As we all know by now, Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenage boy, was gunned down by the police while walking to his grandmother’s house in the middle of the afternoon. For the past few days my Facebook newsfeed has been full of stories about the incidents unfolding in Ferguson, Missouri.
But then I realized something.
For the first couple of days, almost all of the status updates expressing anger and grief about yet another extrajudicial killing of an unarmed black boy, the news articles about the militarized police altercations with community members and the horrifying pictures of his dead body on the city concrete were posted by people of color. Outpourings of rage and demands for justice were voiced by black people, Latinos, Asian Americans, Arab American Muslims. But posts by white people were few at first and those that I saw were posted mostly by my white activist or academic friends who are committed to putting themselves on the frontlines of any conversation about racial or economic injustice in America. And almost nothing, silence practically, by the majority of my nonactivist, nonacademic white friends—those same people who gleefully jumped on the bandwagon to dump buckets of ice over their heads to raise money for ALS and those same people who immediately wrote heartfelt messages about reaching out to loved ones suffering from depression following the suicide of the extraordinary Robin Williams, may he rest in peace. But an unarmed black teenager minding his own business walking down the street in broad daylight gets harassed and murdered by a white police officer and those same people seem to have nothing urgent to say about pervasive, systemic, deadly racism in America?They have nothing to say?
Why? The simplest explanation is because Facebook is, well, Facebook. It’s not the New York Times or a town hall meeting or the current events class at your high school. It’s the internet playground for sharing cat videos, cheeky status updates about the joys and tribulations of living with toddlers, and humble bragging about your fabulous European vacation. Some people don’t think Facebook is the forum for serious conversations. Okay, that’s fine if you fall into that category and your wall is nothing but rainbows and happy talk about how much you love your life.
However, I think the explanation is more complex and mirrors the silence of many people that I witness in real life. A lot of white people aren’t speaking out publicly against the killing of Michael Brown because they don’t see a space for themselves to engage meaningfully in the conversation so that they can move to action against racism. It’s not so much that they have nothing to say but rather they don’t see an opportunity being opened up for them to say something or to do something that matters. Or they might not be sure what to say or how to do it. They might have a hard time seeing a role for themselves in the fight against racism because they aren’t racist, they don’t feel that racism affects them or their loved ones personally, they worry that talking about race and differences between cultures might make things worse, or they think they rarely see overt racism at play in their everyday lives. And, sometimes, they are afraid. There’s a real fear of saying the wrong thing even if the intention is pure, of being alienated socially and economically from other white people for standing in solidarity with black people, or of putting one’s self in harm’s way, whether the harm be physical or psychological. I’m not saying those aren’t valid fears but I am challenging white people to consider carefully whether failing to speak out or act because of those fears is justified when white silence and inaction mean the oppression and death of black people.
Let’s talk about an active role for white people in the fight against racism because racism burdens all of us and is destroying our communities. And, quite frankly, because white people have a role in undoing racism because white people created and, for the most part, currently maintain (whether they want to or not) the racist system that benefits white people to the detriment of people of color. My white friends who’ve spoken out harshly against the murder of Michael Brown end with a similar refrain: What can I do that will matter in the fight against racism?
White people who are sick and tired of racism should work hard to become white allies.
In the aftermath of the murder of Michael Brown, may he rest in power, here are some ways for white people to become white allies who are engaged thoughtfully and critically in examining the situation in Ferguson and standing on the side of justice and equity. This list is a good place to start your fight to dismantle racial inequity and shine a light on the oppressive structures that lead to yet another extrajudicial killing of a black pers
1. Learn about the racialized history of Ferguson and how it reflects the racialized history of America.
Michael Brown’s murder is not a social anomaly or statistical outlier. It is the direct product of deadly tensions born from decades of housing discrimination, white flight, intergenerational poverty and racial profiling. The militarized police response to peaceful assembly by the people mirrors what happened in the 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement.
2. Reject the “he was a good kid” narrative and lift up the “black lives matter” narrative.
Michael Brown was a good kid, by accounts of those who knew him during his short life. But that’s not why his death is tragic. His death isn’t tragic because he was a sweet kid on his way to college next week. His death is tragic because he was a human being and his life mattered. The Good Kid narrative might provoke some sympathy but what it really does is support the lie that as a rule black people, black men in particular, have a norm of violence or criminal behavior. The Good Kid narrative says that this kid didn’t deserve to die because his goodness was the exception to the rule. This is wrong. This kid didn’t deserve to die because he was a human being and black lives matter.
Click here for the rest of the list.
Every marginalized community needs to know who their allies are and how to empower them. Empowerment can only happen with patience and education. Patience is necessary for following new allies through the journey of becoming an ally. They may need time to learn the tools and vocabulary necessary to being a powerful ally. This process often requires changes in the new ally’s behavior so patience is needed for that as well.
Education is a process and goes hand in hand with patience. There must be different forms of education in order to best meet the learning needs of new allies. Also, a list of resources and tools must be readily available for assisting new allies. For new allies, guidelines should be presented so they can visualize how best to be helpful and advocate for the marginalized group. University of Missouri Kansas City has an excellent list of guidelines for becoming an ally. This list is specific to being an ally for the LGBTQ community, but if can easily be adapted for other types of marginalized groups.
It may not be obvious to all, but the largest marginalized community in the world is women. Men must learn how to advocate for women because men are the most powerful allies when fighting harassment, poorly created and hateful legislation, and basic equality issues. A cartoon recently created by Robot Hugs does an excellent job of illustrating what women go through and turning that into ways men can be allies and not perpetuate the problem. Take some time on Robot Hugs page. WE LOVE ROBOT HUGS! Here is a teaser of the cartoon.
Additionally, organizations and corporations can become allies in this still male dominated world. We sometimes do not recognize that it is happening when these large groups are being allies, but it happens. If we recognize it, then we become better allies. Project Kinect believes we are all involved (#WAAI) and this is true when advocating for any marginalized community. Here is an excellent example of a larger organization being an ally for women. Thank you Buzzfeed!
A close and personal friend of Project Kinect is creating an amazing documentary. She has reached her current goal but will need additional funds in the near future. Take a look and maybe help her out. Here is a little about the project:
The documentary is a community video project, engaging young people affected by incarceration and asking them to be a part of the filmmaking process. 5 teens will film their daily lives. Then, based on the footage they shoot, we will interview them one-on-one and follow them around for a bit. We think some pretty cool footage will result, as well as some very honest storytelling.
To help her out, check out the Kickstarter. Here is the preview video:
