Grants/doCCommons
Describe the project you are proposing as clearly as possible in just five sentences.
The project consists of a program that connects graphic designers and bloggers with charities. Supporting them technically and educating them in the production of content and self-promotion, thus facilitating the acquisition of donations as well as collaborating in the creation of Creative Commons content
This support is given from the creation of a blog – with design donated by volunteer graphic designers – to the training of the staff from the charities, for them to learn how to publish content – under the creative commons license – related to their institution, the people they benefit, the problems they face and how they solve them.
Detail the tangible project output (e.g., paper, blog post, written materials, video/film, etc.; this would be in addition to the final written report that successful grant recipients will be expected to deliver to CC at the conclusion of the project).
During the initial phase of the program (the first 4 months) we´ll achieve: A user´s guide for handling a website, a user´s guide for the creation of content (how to write, publish photos and videos), teaching material (presentations and videos) for training, and a reference document of the procedures required to work with the charities and the volunteer graphic designers, along with the web design of three blogs for three specific charities previously chosen by the program.
Describe the community you are targeting. How would the project benefit the community?
We are targeting underdog charities focused in social and economic development, education and academia, children and youth, and social problems (rehab centers, nursing homes, orphanages, etc)
The project will benefit these institutions by giving them a platform (the blog) to promote their own activities thus facilitating the acquisition of donations (both financial and of human resources) Part of the project involves teaching these institutions how to promote themselves using the tools we are giving them to empower them in the use of new technological media.br />
As individuals who want to help improve our country we want to join those who are already making efforts in solving social problems. We plan on doing this by using our knowledge and experience in the graphic design field and communications area to empower these organizations to grow and continue making a bigger difference with the support of new donors. We have, in previous occasions, worked with similar projects involving the development of websites to promote charities. Currently the three project coordinators work in the graphic and web design field and have a broad network of Guatemalan graphic designers (the volunteers for the project) Also, one of us is an active volunteer of different charities and has access to a wide database of different organizations (from where we´ll meticulously choose those who shall receive our support)
How will you measure and evaluate your project’s impact - on your main participants? Other contributors? On the larger community?
Given that at the early stages of the project a thorough investigation was made of each of the charities that are chosen to receive our support, a comparison profile will later be created to help measure the results. This profile will include an estimate of the help and donations they receive, the amount of people they benefit, the quality of the help they give and their newfound online presence.
Each trimester during the first year, a report will be made that includes: an update of the information involving the quantity of the donations received, a collection of the new generated creative commons content and an update of the advancement of each charities´ online presence.
Simultaneously a volunteer database will be created (keeping a register of volunteers, of the amount of material generated (when there´s none, what will be taken in account will be the time invested) and of those willing to participate in the future (requests, inquiries and donations).
How many participants do you expect to be involved in your project? How will you seek and sustain their involvement?
The first 4 months, six participants will be working in the project, after this period of time the number of participants will vary according to the quantity of volunteers that get involved.
At the early stages of this program, the selection of the designers responsible for the development of each charity´s project will be done in a personal manner. The official announcement for other designers to join will be done two weeks later through the main social networks. There´s already an established network of designers that will eventually be supporting each charity.
To attract volunteers we´ll use Internet promotion for the general public and straight forward communication with personal and business contacts which to date surpass the amount of 200 people from whom we expect at least 10% to get involved in the project.
The first real action will be to send an invitation for a Project presentation meeting. We are looking to recruit the participants as volunteers. The main idea of the meeting is to communicate to them the vision and spirit of the project so they can join.
During the time the project lasts and after the first four months of launching, the follow- up will be made through the main website of the project itself and by personal/individual contact between the coordinator and participants.
Describe how your project will benefit Creative Commons' mission to increase the amount of creativity (cultural, educational, and scientific content) in "the commons".
The project revolves around the creation of content for self-promotion for the charities that are favored. Our focus is in teaching them how to create quality content under the Creative Commons license for it to be reused by similar organizations in the future, saving them time and improving the quality of their work.
Describe what technologies and tools your project will use. What kinds of technical skills and expertise do you bring to the project? What are your technical needs?
Basically the project uses Internet, so the tools that will be used are those like: Wordpress, Facebook, among others. In addition, there are office tools like Microsoft Office or Google Documents.
Also the skills and experience that our team contributes to the project are those of graphic design, web development - including the use of wordpress -(at least 5 years experience), creating promotional campaigns in Facebook and online community management.
What challenges do you expect to face, and how do you plan to overcome them?
● Lack of website monitoring from the favored charity. To solve this problem a follow up phase was contemplated in which a team member will visit the beneficiary institutions to monitor their work and resolve doubts.
● Poor impact on the promotion of charities through the project Consultancy and support was contemplated for the charities to create relevant content and to promote themselves on social networks, it´s a phase in which the charities will have all the technical assistance necessary to achieve good results.
● Volunteer recruitment The interest in participating in projects of social nature from graphic designers is there, it exists; but there are not many projects out there that are focused on their area of expertise. To reel them in, meetings will be created to let them know about the project, introduce them to it, and offer them the opportunity to promote themselves and enrich their resume if they wish.
How do you plan to sustain your project after the Creative Commons funding has ended? Detail specific plans. How do you plan to raise revenue to continue your efforts in the future?
● Visits and promotion ● Sponsors ● Donations: The making of campaigns through digital media are considered a possibility. Advertising and requesting for financial and human support will be done depending on each charity´s particular need. ● The creation of an open platform for collaboration that allows the recruitment of new collaborators (graphic designers and bloggers)
On the long run this application - used for the project - will be completely open to the general audience. The charities and/or designers would be able to offer direct support for other charities - that like them - have made their immediate needs be known in the past.
How can this project be scalable, or have a scalable impact?
Being registered under the Creative Commons license, the tools, resources and activities developed for each charity will be adaptable for other new charities, making it possible to increase the quantity of content being created in regards to the amount of new volunteers that later join the project; allowing it to be a continuous overflow of resources, material and knowledge growth.
What resources and support do you expect Creative Commons to provide to your project to ensure its success (if any)?
Resources for the distribution of Creative Commons content (hosting, wikis, CMS, online tools for content distribution)
Describe how your organization currently communicates with its community members and network partners. (100 words)
Currently the basis of communication between team members is via email and webapps (Google Docs, Dropbox, etc). Whereas the communication with the participants, beneficiaries and potential sponsors is done by phone, online social networks (Facebook and Twitter.) and real life.
Legal
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