StartSomeGood: The Blog

Noetic Business is developing a set of informative products to help business leaders shift the way they think and do business. Its vision for a modern business is one that accepts responsibility for helping create a world that we all can be proud of when we leave it to younger generations. As founder Michael Haupt writes so poetically, “No one should retire from business without having contributed to a truly global culture that is sustainable, peaceful, healthy, and prosperous.” To Launch Noetic Business, Michael needs to redesign the website, edit the book he co-authored with Marilyn Schlitz, and create the informative DVD and membership site. His campaign just launched and he’s striving towards his $10,000 tipping point goal.

whydev is creating a platform that enables aid workers from different parts of the globe that feel isolated during their missions to connect and support one another in their work to help out in the world’s poorest countries. This is a peer coaching initiative meant for global aid workers that lack the support they need to carry out their jobs because their organizations lack the resources to help them. whydev matches peer coaches across the world with one another. This campaign to support isolated aid workers across the globe is seeking seed funding of at least $3,000 to connect 300 aid workers to one another for support. 

In the last week of its campaign, 1000 Hummingbirds soared past its tipping point goal and raised a total of $1,637 for 1000 Hummingbirds Water Women. 1000 Hummingbirds is a women’s council creating a future where everybody matters and access to clean drinking water, which is a basic human right, is available to all. Women and girls come together to address water issues facing people around the world. As a result of this successful campaign, 1000 Hummingbirds will be able to host at least 400 women at the Hummingbird Village and address the world’s water issues so that clean water can one day be enjoyed by all.

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Social entrepreneurs, have these campaigns inspired you to start your own good? Do you have a social enterprise, a non-profit, or an amazing idea that needs some momentum to take off? Visit our site to find out how to start your own campaign today. Still have questions? We have answers—check out our FAQ section.

• Ashoka’s Youth Venture, in partnership with Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) Foundation and banks across the U.S., is very excited to announce the launch of the Banking on Youth Competition! This exciting competition provides youth a wonderful opportunity to showcase their exceptional ideas for benefiting society and creating positive social change. Young people ages 13-20 are invited to share their ideas for sustainable ventures that will directly benefit society through an original and fun 60-90 second video from now until June 10 for the chance to win over $100,000 in cash and in-kind prizes. Included among the prizes are 49 regional $1,000 cash rewards to help teams launch their ventures, an all-expenses-paid trip to the Annual Global Youth Summit in D.C. for the top 6 teams, and two larger cash rewards for the Audience Choice Award and Grand Prize winners. Apply by June 10 but the sooner you enter, the better—the first ten entrants will receive a Youth Venture surprise gift.  
• The MIT Ideas Global Challenge 2012 Community Choice Vote is open through April 29th and One Degree, who finished up a successful StartSomeGood campaign earlier this year, is part of the competition. The MIT Global Challenge is looking for three world changing ideas, voted on by the public, to support with $1,500 to further their work. Check out all the teams in the competition and vote for your three favorite ideas by April 29th. 
• The FT/Citi Ingenuity Awards: Urban Ideas in Action recognize leaders who have developed solutions that will have a significant and recognizable impact on cities and their residents. Specifically, Financial Times and Citi are looking for individuals who have made strides in education, healthcare, infrastructure, or energy in a new and creative way that ended up making the lives of city residents and workers better, healthier, or more convenient. Submissions are due by April 30th.
• The Rockefeller Foundation just opened its call to action for the 2012 Innovation Challenge. This year is the centennial for the Rockefeller Foundation, so it is seeking innovative ideas that have the potential to solve some of the world’s most  pressing problems for the next 100 years. Up to nine entrants will be selected by the foundation to receive up to $100,000 in grants to further develop and launch their ideas. This year, the categories for submission are Decoding Data, Irrigating Efficiency, and Farming Now. Does your idea fit one of these categories? Submit your proposal by May 25th.
• The Ideation Conference is coming to Chicago on May 7-9 and now is the time to register early and secure your spot. “Ideas are a dime a dozen”. It’s time to take your idea and begin to implement it. This conference will focus on creative social good and human care and bring together experts in the field to help those with great ideas draw inspiration and develop their thoughts so they can map out the next steps needed for implementation. If you are seeking support for your ideas from field experts in human care, this conference is a must!
• I really enjoyed this Inc. article about fast-growing social enterprise Warby Parker and the growing pains it experienced in the very beginning: How Warby Parker Almost Broke. Some really influential publications caught wind of Warby Parker before it was even a real business. GQ profiled the founders and they were completely unprepared for the influx of orders that were placed after the article got published. They even forgot to add a “sold out” function into the site! As we all know, Warby Parker worked out its growing pains and from that experience, the founders learned a few key lessons any asipring entrepreneur should take heed of: understand where the system breaks down, there can be a high cost to free services, and you can’t cure what you haven’t diagnosed. Read the full article on Inc.

In preparation for World Give Day on May 4, 2012, we asked ten inspiring entrepreneurs who have run or are currently running campaigns on StartSomeGood to respond to the following statement:

Small gift, big impact: tell us about a time when you saw a small act of giving create lots of unexpected joy.

The response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic and we’re so glad to be able to share these truly amazing stories with all of you. Last week, we shared the experiences of Ehon, Tom, Jack, Gina, and Christina. This time around, we’re excited to share a few more inspiring stories of giving from Daniel, Yanti, Micah, Aimi, and Leo. Read, enjoy, and get ready to be inspired.

Daniel Nettles
Four Teachers Project
$5,358 raised for Help Us Build The Desk 

As a teacher, I see small gifts make a big impact all the time. That’s what we live for, the small moments that inspire change in a student’s mind, heart, or soul. In my five years teaching I have seen many of these, but there is one time of year that always sticks out: our Annual Adopt-A-Kid Christmas party.

The High School I teach at is a Title I school with a lot of low-income students. I have had homeless students, students in gangs, students with foster parents, and many other “at-risk” kids. Every year, just before our Winter Break, we have an Adopt-A-Kid party. On this day, each class adopts a needy kindergarten student and gets a wish list. All the students in the class pitch in a little money or food and we purchase gifts and throw a Christmas party for the student. 

On the day of the party, “Santa” and his “helpers” (other students dressed up in costume) come by and get their picture taken with the little kid, who is getting more and more excited. Then it’s time for presents. All the high schoolers gather around and assist in opening, inching their present closer and saying, “Open this one!” Then, in the midst of little kids riding bikes through the halls and having story books read to them while finishing off a piece of cake, the announcement is made that it is time for the kids to return to the elementary school. We all help them pack up their gifts and say our goodbyes and Merry Christmases. The little guys and girls leave with great big smiles on their faces, almost as big as the ones on the big kids’ faces who got to experience the joy of giving.  

Yanti Turang
Learn to Live
$6,925 raised to Get Learn to Live Off the Ground

When I was in Indonesia in 2008, I was visiting with my family in North Sulawesi. My family lives in a compound in a small town called Tomohon. The compound is made up of three houses all where my father and his siblings grew up also. My cousin was one amongst 15 cousins living there, all wanting and trying to make their lives different, however often having to compromise their dreams to earn money and make a living for the family. My cousin Harke had dreams to play music, play in a rock n roll band, but could never afford to buy a guitar. That year I gave Harke enough money to buy an electric guitar and encouraged him to play. Five years later Harke now lives in Jakarta and plays in a touring rock n roll band. Everyday I see his shows or see that he is recording, it makes me smile and realize how one act of giving can create such a life of joy and help fulfill his dreams.

Micah List

TOK
$1,421 raised for The TOK Project 

I spent a month in Gulu, Uganda summer of 2009. It was an experience that I could never forget if I tried. One experience that sits in my mind like it took place yesterday, happened early on the morning after our first night in the country. A few friends and I came out of our hotel to explore the town for a few hours that morning when we stumbled on three young children sitting outside of their shack of a house. We had brought a frisbee with us for some reason, so we took it out and motioned to them to see if they wanted to play. At first they looked confused about the weird round object that I held in my hand. Then we started playing frisbee with each other to show them what it was all about. Slowly their faces started to light up. We included them and started what turned into a half hour session of throwing, or in the majority of cases, dropping the frisbee. For a half hour I watched three small children who had nothing, yet their faces showed that they had everything. The joy that radiated from their smiles accompanied by the shrieks of laughter that came from their mouths was such hopeful thing. A small round object and thirty minutes of our time was all it took. So simple, so profound.

Aimi Duong
Oimei Company
$5,660 raised to Promote Peace Building in Developing Countries

One of my favorite memories of when I experienced a small act of sharing create an abundance of joy and laughter was when five of my friends and I visited a small school in rural Vietnam (near the border of China). We were on our way to visit another province and in getting lost we  found ourselves at a small school with adorable vietnamese children curiously gazing at us westerners and we had to stop to say hello. We wanted to snap some photos of the charismatic children and as we pulled out our cameras they all stood back in awe. As we began to snap some photos of them, we’d turn the camera around to replay the images and each time they bursted in laughter and excitement. We began gathering them closer and briefly showed them how to use the camera to take photos of each other and each time they got to take a photo and see the result, they were overjoyed and had a blast capturing photos of one another. Their laughter and pure excitement was completely unexpected but truly humbling and reminds us how having excitement for the simple things and memories in life is key to creating lots of unexpected joy.

Leo Gorman

Grow Dat Youth Farm 
$5,965 raised for Grow the Green Campaign 

Twenty-five bucks may not seem like a big deal, but for Carnisha, a first-year Grow Dat Youth Farm Crew Member, it amounted to one afternoon’s stipend earnings at her first real job. She beamed with enthusiasm when she opened her first pay check, funded in part from multiple $25 donations received through our Grow the Green campaign on StartSomeGood. Carnisha and twenty of her Grow Dat peers are honing their leadership potential through the meaningful work of growing food this spring and summer thanks to small gifts with big payoffs.

This post is part of a blog series inspired by World Give Day and hosted by GiveForward. To find other posts in this series please visit worldgiveday.com or follow us on twitter @worldgiveday.

Are you passionate about community-led change and social entrepreneurship? Do you love sharing a good story in person, on blogs and through social media? Are you excited about the potential of crowdfunding (and you’ve probably chipped in to a couple of friends projects already)? Are you drawn to help others and do you want to make a difference in the world on a huge scale?

If you answered yes to all these questions we might have the perfect opportunity for you.

StartSomeGood was founded to empower changemakers to launch and grow the innovative ventures we need to create new futures for our communities and the world. Our goal is to help create a world where anyone can be a changemaker and communities can determine their own destiny. We were founded by social entrepreneurs for social entrepreneurs and we’re passionate about creating the world’s leading social change crowdfunding website — although we actually prefer the term peerfunding. 

We are looking for a passionate advocate of social entrepreneurship and peerfunding to tell our story and the story of the people making great things happen on our platform, educating social entrepreneurs, non-profits and the media on the world-changing potential of peerfunding for social good.

As a boot-strapped social startup this is a commission and equity-only position, for now. But we are growing rapidly and with your help this will change quickly! We are looking for a risk-taker, someone prepared to take a leap, just as we have, to pursue a dream, a mission and a huge opportunity. We are looking for someone to join our small but brilliant team and come on a journey to grow a world-shaking social enterprise.

We need someone to take charge of engaging with and growing our community, sharing expertise, resources and stories to help more changemakers succeed. We are looking for a public face of StartSomeGood, someone who can represent us within the larger social change and non-profit community to tell the story of StartSomeGood, our ventures and peerfunding.

We want someone who is as excited by the potential of StartSomeGood and as committed to realizing that potential as we are. We want someone able to offer approximately half-time hours, although we won’t be counting; you’ll be judged by your success!

Title: StartSomeGood Community Builder

Job Description:  The StartSomeGood Community Builder is an approximately half-time position for someone with their pulse on the world of social entrepreneurship, social change and peerfunding. You will ensure that StartSomeGood is known by those in our space and that we’re engaged in the conversations that matter to us. We want you to share what we’re learning about peerfunding so that more changemakers succeed. 

Specific duties include:

• Managing or contributing to our presence on various social channels including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIN, Pinterest, YouTube and G+;
• Actively participating in and representing StartSomeGood in conversations and chats online, through Twitter (eg. #SocEntChat), blogs and online groups and forums;
• Managing and supporting the StartSomeGood Mobilizers network, a global network of people who share our passions and represent us in their home city;
• Managing our event program and keep the events page on StartSomeGood up-to-date;
• Pitching stories and ideas to bloggers and media, sharing success stories and insights from StartSomeGood;
• Writing blog posts and venture resources;
• Creating partnerships with other social entrepreneurship organizations and networks;
• Some direct Venture support, hosting “office hours” and chats to answer questions.

You will also be expected and encouraged to participate in all StartSomeGood brainstorming, planning and strategizing. We are very open in our decision-making and collaborative style. You will be considered a full thought-partner and co-owner of the enterprise.

We are a virtual team, with members in Washington DC, California, Texas and Australia. This position however needs to be based in North America, to work in those time-zones. The exact location however is flexible. As a virtual organization we make full use of a number of cloud-based collaboration tools and you will be expected to fully participate and share your information on these platforms.

Who you are:  

• You’re entrepreneurial and self-motivated;
• Passionate about social entrepreneurship and community-building;
• Relentlessly positive and energized by human connection;
• Experienced with social media;
• Comfortable being part of a virtual team;
• Self-driven, efficient with your time and highly communicative;
• A great writer and storyteller;
• Preferably you would also have some design skills, capable of whipping-up a quality presentation or banner.

Who we are: 

StartSomeGood a platform for changemakers to raise the funds and grow the community of supporters they need to transform an idea for good into action and impact.  We just celebrated our first birthday and have helped 48 social good initiatives raise over $270,000 so far. Most importantly after a year of refining the platform and story we’re now growing rapidly and looking to continue. We’ve supported non-profits, for-profits, ventures run completely by students and ventures run by Ashoka fellows.  We are partnered with some of the leading social entrepreneurship organizations in the world such as Ashoka, Compass Partners, School for Social Entrepreneurs, The International Youth Foundation and Teach for America. And the best is still to come!  We’ve got a brilliant, passionate team committed to revolutionizing fundraising for social good, and we’re looking for the right person to help us expand our reach and better tell our story.

StartSomeGood was founded by Australian Tom Dawkins and American Alex Budak, who met while working at Ashoka in Washington DC. Tom was previous founder and CEO of award-winning Australia non-profit Vibewire Youth Inc.

Compensation: 

We want you to have a stake in the success of StartSomeGood, so we’ll offer you both a share of our revenue as well as equity in our company. 

We are generating revenue already and this amount, and your very generous commission with it, is increasing rapidly. As a key member of the team at this early, bootstrapped stage, you will be rewarded with generous equity.

Ready to apply?  

Great! We’re looking for someone passionate about both social impact of StartSomeGood and the specific work involved in this position, with energy and enthusiasm for connecting with people and great ideas. To apply, please send the following to tom@startsomegood.com:

• a cover letter explaining why you’d be perfect for this position
• your resume
• a link to a piece of writing online that you’re proud of
• links to your main public social profiles
• a one-paragraph answer to the question: “What will it take to create a world where everyone can be a changemaker?”

This position is being recruited on a rolling basis and will be open until filled. If you’re excited about the opportunity please get in touch today!

The Urban Seed Project sells a collection of heirloom seeds that can be used for container growing on balconies, rooftop gardens, and windowsills. This appeals to an urban market that has very little free outdoor space to grow their own food. It promotes local and sustainable food in urban areas where people typically have no choice but to patronize local big box grocery stores that sell food transported from all over the world. The main goal of this project is to create jobs in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in addition to helping develop sustainable food programs within Vancouver’s inner city. This campaign will help launch the Urban Seed Project, with funds going towards hiring workers, promotions, and the purchase of materials and seeds.  

SPOUTS of Water is developing a ceramic water filter production center in Uganda. The goal is to increase access to sanitary water in Uganda, decrease their dependence on foreign aid, and give Ugandans a sense of pride and ownership in personal water hygiene. The water filter design is durable, cheap, and easy to produce from materials already found in Uganda. The simplicity and low-maintenance requirements of this filter will result in it being more accessible and easy to get Ugandans using it in their homes quickly. To launch SPOUTS of Water, equipment (a generator, a hammermill, a clay mixer, a press, and a kiln) needs to be purchased for the factory in Uganda.

Dandelion Support Network collects and sorts pre-owned nursery equipment and children’s clothes and distributes them through local support agencies to families in need. Dandelion Support Network is creating a future where local communities support each other in an inclusive and nonjudgmental way—where families can accept help from the community, free of prejudices and shame. Dandelion Support Network is utilizing this campaign to officially launch and cover overheads for the first year. 

Adventures in New Giving raised over $10,000 from 150 backers, making an inspiring rally in the last few hours of its campaign to surge past the tipping point. Now, Nathaniel James can pursue his mission to research and explore the newest frontiers of the evolving altruistic community. He will be taking a 90-day, 10-city multimedia road trip to investigate the shifting landscape of giving. Follow along on his trip as he shares what he learns and discovers at adventuresinnewgiving.com.

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Social entrepreneurs, have these campaigns inspired you to start your own good? Do you have a social enterprise, a non-profit, or an amazing idea that needs some momentum to take off? Visit our site to find out how to start your own campaign today. Still have questions? We have answers—check out our FAQ section.

• Ashoka Twin Cities is hosting an Ashoka Solutions Forum live interview on healthcare innovation with Ashoka Fellows Kathryn Hall-Trujillo and Josh Nesbit on Tuesday, April 24th, 7:00 PM CST at the Minneapolis Central Library. The event is completely free and open to the public, but you must register ahead of time.  
• On Thursday, April 26th, the Chicago Social Enterprise Alliance invites you to join The Cara Program for a free night of social innovation. The Cara Program Presents Social Innovation will feature two exciting and innovative social enterprises, Cleanslate and 180 Properties. Guests will get to tour Cleanslate’s operation center and learn more about both of these great up-and-coming social enterprises in Chicago. 
• StartUp America has posted a really useful article for any entrepreneur wondering about the best way to handle keeping in touch with people that are crucial to your business’ success, especially when it comes to fundraising and idea exchange among other entrepreneurs—An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Relationship Management: Who to Keep in Touch with and How Often.

Also, there are some exciting social entrepreneurship related university events coming up in the next few weeks:

• The Association for Enterprise Opportunity is hosting its 21^st annual National Microbusiness Conference in Washington, DC from April 30 – May 2. The conference plans to attract over 700 attendees and will hold sessions on topics such as impact investing, capital access in rural communities, and crowdfunding as a means of helping the “low wealth” entrepreneur.
• The Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is hosting Littleton, Colorado’s Christian Gibbons, the co-inventor of the greatly successful “Economic Gardening” economic development plan. Gibbons will speak on “Economic Gardening” and how it has affected Littleton at Economic Gardening: An Entrepreneurial Approach to Economic Development on April 30.
• Princeton University is bringing together hundreds of student entrepreneurs from around the country to network and share ideas at the 2012 East Coast Startup Summit on April 20th (today!) through the 22nd, hosted at the Princeton campus. 

In preparation for World Give Day on May 4, 2012, we asked ten inspiring entrepreneurs who have run or are currently running campaigns on StartSomeGood to respond to the following statement:

Small gift, big impact: tell us about a time when you saw a small act of giving create lots of unexpected joy.

The response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic and we’re so glad to be able to share these truly amazing stories with all of you. Below are the experiences that Ehon, Tom, Jack, Gina, and Christina were so eager to share. Check back next week for five more inspiring stories of giving.

Ehon Chan
The Spur Foundation
$3,175 raised for Soften the Fck Up

Back in August 2010, I gathered a group of my closest friends and we brought beanbags, camping chairs, biscuits, and some coffee and tea, set them up in the middle of a busy Square and offered “free chats” to random strangers - no judgments, no bias, no political or religious discussion, just conversations. Over the next 4 hours, almost 100 people sat down, chatted and shared their deepest worries, sorrows, joys, and happiness. From corporate executives to a homeless man, we saw humanity in action - a mutual respect for each other’s differences and a celebration of our common similarities. I often wondered what this would mean for the homeless man, or the corporate executive and how their life has changed, if they did. Often times, a conversation and an expression of genuine compassion, kindness, and empathy can change a life.

Tom Malone

The Backpack Company
$850 raised to date (ongoing campaign) for Bring 100 Backpacks to 100 Children in Mali

When I started The Backpack Co. I thought that this would be a cool way for everyone to help out, while getting something for themselves in return. What I did not know was the profound impact that it would have on the children receiving the backpacks, and ultimately myself. It’s funny, we always say things about how we have so much and take it for granted, but it finally dawned on me in March what that actually meant. When I showed up with the bags filled with school supplies to Quelcata, Bolivia, it was like Christmas for those children. They were so excited! This town had been stricken by poverty, and apart from the organization I went with, it had no real help from the outside world in building any infrastructure (schools, hospitals, etc). The children were so excited to receive the backpacks, and it was even a little humorous. They didn’t know how to wear the backpacks, so they wore them on their chests, as opposed to wearing them on their backs. I knew the big impact The Backpack Co. and its customers would be making in terms of giving a chance for a proper education for their future. What I did not know was the impact it made on their lives in terms of giving them hope and joy for the present.

Jack McDermott
Balbus Speech
$3,246 raised to Help Balbus Speech Launch SpeechForGood

This past February, I volunteered at a program called Level the Field, a non-profit that uses sports and teamwork to empower low-income children. I was immediately struck by how a simple game like dodgeball or basketball can transcend even the most difficult of situations. A few kids, a couple mentors and a ball is sometimes all that’s needed to bring a new level of joy to one’s life. 

Gina LaMotte
EcoRise Youth Innovations
$2,871 raised to date (ongoing campaign) to Inspire a New Generation of Green Leaders

One year, at our annual end-of-year Youth Solutions Showcase where students present their green design innovations, we received a donated laptop to use as a prize. It wasn’t just any donation. When a goup of employees at a local company heard about our non-profit and the showcase, they decided to collect money amongst themselves to buy and donate a laptop on their behalf. Those small donations meant providing an important resource for the lucky winner. Alejandra is a first-generation Mexican-American who is pursuing her education in Austin. The 15-year old student won the competition with her

prototype for a bicycle-powered generator to use after natural disasters. The look on Alejandra’s face when she won and was handed the laptop was priceless. She now has a resource to help support her education and path to college. Alejandra wants to pursue a career in sustainable designs and social entrepreneurship. It’s moments like these that truly reflect what our organization is about – inspiring a new generation of green leaders to design an environmentally sustainable future for all. Thank you to all of our supporters.

Christina Mirando
Women.Design.Build
$1,225 raised to date (ongoing campaign) for Handy Women

In the summer of 2009, I helped a local Austin nonprofit design and build garden beds for a community of single mothers and their children. What inspired me about this particular project was how the coordinators were so invested in engaging the community in their garden bed initiative. That piece of community empowerment was so important because it allowed the residents to become inspired and actually participate. We built four garden beds that day, planted a handful of vegetables, and ate many delicious tamales. That experience of collaboration brought everyone so much joy.

This post is part of a blog series inspired by World Give Day and hosted by GiveForward. To find other posts in this series please visit worldgiveday.com or follow us on twitter @worldgiveday.

Enhancing Teen Communication (E-T-C) is a face-to-face communications program for teens that encourages them to forego texting and improve their oral and written communication skills. This program will help develop students’ self-esteem and self-worth so that they can leave the program feeling confident in the way that they communicate with others. The Help Teens to Speak Instead of Text campaign is raising funds to put together a training manual, record and produce DVDs and MP3s, and make a board game to sell online.

The Veterans Homeopathy Clinic for PTSD is looking to offer a free clinic for veterans

by using homeopathic treatments. With two homeopathic clinics already under their belts, these healers are looking to expand the reach of their services to veterans while also spreading the use of homeopathy through education, research, and new clinics. The campaign to Help Serve Veterans for 6 Months will help raise funds to run a clinic for at least 6 months that is solely dedicated to treating veterans with physical and mental trauma. 

Devin Thorpe wants to inspire you to find a way to make Your Mark On The World. Through his writings, his goal is to expose people to more projects and motivate and empower them to take action while still maintaining their professional careers. Devin Thorpe is in the process of writing Your Mark On The World, but needs to raise funds to publish it and take a trip to India to visit a charity that he wants to include in his book. 

The Backpack Company, as you might guess, sells backpacks. What’s special about this company is that for every backpack it sells, it donates one filled with school supplies to a child living in poverty. The Backpack Company believes that education is the key to relieving poverty in developing nations. Bring 100 Backpacks to 100 Children in Mali will help fund a trip out to Mana, Mali to deliver 100 backpacks to children living out there. 

Lida Olbia houses and cares for over 700 dogs that have been injured, abused, and abandoned. In addition, Lida Olbia is working to change the world’s perspective on how animals should be treated, going to schools and teaching children to respect animals. Spaying and neutering stray dogs is essential so that overpopulation does not become even bigger of an issue, but this procedure isn’t cheap. Lida Olbia is raising funds through this campaign to spay and neuter stray dogs that have been taken into the shelter.

The KGSA Foundation reduces poverty and gender inequality in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya. KGSA Foundation partners with the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy, a local community-run all-girl secondary school, to provide resources to local leaders that help empower their communities through education. This was KGSA’s final week of its campaign, Their Voices Will Be Heard, to raise funds so that Ellie Roscher, a graduate student at Sarah Lawrence, can write the story of the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy. This will draw exposure to the academy and help enlist more prospective volunteers, donors, and partnerships. KGSA was able to make a final strong push to bring the campaign over the tipping point, raising over $3,000 for Ellie’s project.

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Social entrepreneurs, have these great new campaigns inspired you to start your own good? Do you have a social enterprise, a non-profit, or an amazing idea that needs some momentum to take off? Visit our site to find out how to start your own campaign today. Still have questions? We have answers—check out our FAQ section.

• Join Cheryl Dorsey, President of Echoing Green, for a Net Impact NYC event where she will speak about Echoing Green, her career path, and the up and coming trends in social entrepreneurship. Come meet Cheryl and others from Echoing Green for a night of inspiration, collaboration, and social change.
• Loyola University is hosting a webinar, Make Your Mark: Change the World with Social Entrepreneurship, on Tuesday April 17th at 1:00 PM CST. Karabi Acharya, global director of Ashoka Impact, will be moderating a discussion with Molly Barker, founder of Girls on the Run, and Chris Balme, Executive Director of Spark. They will discuss how both of their organizations have helped transform the lives of youth in low income communities and how families can come together and introduce innovative solutions to the world’s biggest social issues.
• RSVP for FREE for this once in a lifetime opportunity to see Muhammad Yunus speak at Harvard Business School. Social Business with Muhammad Yunus: New Models for Providing Sustainable Services to the Poor—on April 19th, join Muhammad Yunus, one of the world’s most influential social entrepreneurs, discuss his recent efforts to build social business and healthcare efforts in his native country, Bangladesh. 
• Being a compelling storyteller is such an amazing and crucial asset for social entrepreneurs. 3 Reasons to Master the Art of Storytelling by Riley Gibson at Inc. is a must-read this week for entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs alike. Why are stories so important? They are memorable, they travel further, and they inspire action.
• Two successful StartSomeGood ventures have some exciting updates. Learn to Live, which provides affordable healthcare to the people of North Sulawesi, Indonesia and raised $6,925 during its campaign on StartSomeGood, just launched a new website—check it out! Also, The 2012 Echoing Green Fellowship Finalists were just announced and One Degree made the cut! One Degree connects low income students and their families to critical life resources. Rey and his team raised $4,684 during his campaign which will help launch One Degree. Very many congratulations to Yanti from Learn to Live and Rey from One Degree and good luck in your quests to change the world! 

Hey! I went to UCLA (notice the Bruin connection?) and studied Design | Media Arts and Global Studies. While a senior at UCLA, I co-founded philosophie, a digital agency that works with start-ups and ad agencies to design and develop awesome products. I’ve been building philosophie for a little over 3 and a half years and just moved to NYC to start our East Coast presence. I help out StartSomeGood with design and front-end development (the code that turns the designs into something you can see online).

How did you get involved with StartSomeGood?

I was good friends with Alex at UCLA. We were sports fanatics. He knew that philosophie did design and programming so asked if we could help. We love working with start-ups and thought his idea (and Alex) was brilliant. We welcomed the chance to work with him, Tom and Bryan (who I also knew at UCLA). After the launch, I stuck around to help out on the side.

What social issues really get you fired up?

I’m very passionate about education, especially in low-income areas. And of course, anything that has to do with technology helping people’s lives. I strongly believe that education is one of the cornerstones of building a successful population and believe our current system is antiquated. There are tremendous opportunities to leverage technology and the internet to reform our education system with limited costs.

Do you have any favorite social entrepreneurship resources?

I’m an entrepreneur at heart so most of my entrepreneurship resources are not just focused on social causes. I read TechCrunch, FastCompany, Inc, and a handful of other blogs. I’m also in love with the Ted Talks series, which always has really enlightening presentations often with a look at improving the world. 

What do you consider the greatest album of all time?

I’m awful at selecting the Greatest of anything. Depends on the hour of the day. I’m a big fan of rap and EDM.  There were a ton of great tracks on Lil Wayne’s The Carter II and The Carter III.

What keeps you occupied in your spare time?

Most of my spare time is focused on building my business, philosophie. And some more of it is dedicated to trying to make StartSomeGood even MORE awesome! When I need to clear my head, I love going to the movies and am a sports FANATIC. One of my favorite hobbies was performing magic, but I haven’t had time to dedicate to it in a number of years. Looking forward to getting back to that in a few years.

Have you come across any must-read books recently?

I wish. I spend too much time reading blogs and not enough time reading books. Two of my all-time favorite books are: Carter Beats the Devil and Devil in the White City. 

Where is your dream travel destination?

Spain (Ibiza and Barcelona) and the Maldives.

Sociecity is a retreat and an incubator for multiple points of view that foster harmony among people, nature, and the places we inhabit. The Final Straw Project campaign just launched last week and it is an initiative to bring people together within the Natural Farm movement in Japan and Korea and tell the story to a wider audience through film. Reaching the $5,700 tipping point goal will allow Sociecity to cover travel expenses, provide stipends for the artists and producers putting the film together, and produce the film and start sending it to festivals.

Michelle in Training is transforming high school girls from urban communities into the next generation of leaders. The campaign, 25 Days for 25 Girls, asks people to give $25 to teach 25 girls the skills they need to create their own future as leaders. The girls will go through a program that includes a rigorous curriculum, mentors, and college prep. The $4,000 tipping point goal will allow Michelle in Training to start a class with 10 girls and the $10,000 total funding goal will allow the class to expand to 25 girls.

1000 Hummingbirds is a women’s council creating a future where everybody matters and access to clean drinking water, which is a basic human right, is available to all.  Women and girls come together to address water issues facing people around the word. The council’s mandate reads “CLEAN WATER and well-being for all; no exceptions; everybody counts, everybody matters”. This new campaign, 100 Hummingbirds Water Women, is seeking a $1,500 tipping point to host at least 400 women at the Hummingbird Village and address the world’s water issues.

Advocates for World Health (AWH) collects surplus medical supplies and distributes them to relief agencies in developing nations. This serves two purposes—it provides for underserved patients and reduces medical waste. To Expand AWH Operations and Save Lives, AWH has launched a campaign to raise at least $6,000 for expansion of its warehouse and inventory. Reaching at least the tipping point will allow AWH to send over 100,000 pounds of medical supplies valued at $2 million to people in underserved countries whose lives depend on things that we sometimes take for granted. 

With 11 days left, TOK has reached its tipping point goal, raising over $1,000 to rehabilitate women slave and sex trafficking victims through the art of handicrafts. Through the TOK Project, these women will learn new crafts, TOK will sell their wares, and the proceeds will help create new jobs with fair wages and growth opportunities for victims of slave and sex trafficking.

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Social entrepreneurs, have these great new campaigns inspired you to start your own good? Do you have a social enterprise, a non-profit, or an amazing idea that needs some momentum to take off? Visit our site to find out how to start your own campaign today. Still have questions? We have answers—check out our FAQ section.

• If you are in the NYC area, there is a really exciting Skillshare class offered next week, April 11th, at the MLB Fan Cave in Manhattan. Doing Well & Doing Good: Opportunities in Social Innovation is a Skillshare class being offered by Lyel Resner, a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship at NYU. This class is for people looking to find a meaningful career in the field of social entrepreneurship. It will offer an overview of some of the leading players in the social innovation space and help those who are seeking a job in this field understand exactly where to look for opportunities.
• Fast Company published a great article for those of you who are aspiring entrepreneurs—The Dirty Little Secret of Overnight Successes tells the story of companies like Angry Birds maker Rovio, Pinterest, and Groupon, all of which have huge followings now but were relatively unknown just a few years ago. Rovio spent 8 years and almost went bankrupt creating Angry Birds. Pinterest struggled for a while before finally becoming a hit, and suffered lots of criticisms along the way; now it’s among the fastest-growing websites in history. Groupon nearly shut down before making it big. The moral of the story? You are more than likely going to fail a few times before making it big so roll with the punches, pick yourself back up, and keep on trying—each failure is one step closer to success.
• Beverly Schwartz, Ashoka’s Vice President of Global Marketing, just released Rippling: How Social Entrepreneurs Spread Innovation, which lays out five actionable principles individuals can follow on their paths to becoming Changemakers. The book shares the stories of various Ashoka Fellows from around the world to inspire readers and show them that creating meaningful change is possible for anyone that puts their mind to it. Pick up your copy today and start creating your own roadmap to change.
• The d.light design New Markets Marketing Fellow program application deadline is April 15th and fast approaching. This 12 month fellowship, located in Mountain View, CA, is an exciting opportunity to work directly with d.light design’s President and Founder. The Fellow will support d.light’s efforts in markets all over the world and may have the opportunity to travel to countries where d.light is opening new distribution. If this opportunity sounds like the perfect fit, make sure to visit d.light’s Fellowship Program page and apply before April 15th. 
• Applications for Social Startup 48 Sydney close next Friday, April 13th. This is a weekend event for people passionate about entrepreneurship who also have a desire to create social impact. At SS48, people meet, come up with business ideas, form teams, and bring their changemaking ideas to reality. If you want to attend and be part of a team dedicated to creating change, make sure to apply by April 13th.

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Social entrepreneurs, have you been inspired to start your own good?  Do you have a social enterprise, a non-profit, or an amazing idea that needs some momentum to take off?  Visit our site to find out how to start your own campaign today.  Still have questions?  We have answers—check out our FAQ section.

We had some great successes this week with three campaigns reaching their respective tipping points:

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  Sports for Sharing is just about to finish up its Sports for Sharing Camp campaign, which has raised over $2,000 thus far. Reaching the tipping point means it can host the 2012 Sports for Sharing camp and sponsor 35 Mexican children. The main goal of the camp is to raise youth awareness of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, promoting them to think about global challenges and how their actions make a difference. Thanks to the success of this campaign, at least 35 Mexican children will be able to come together and learn how to live more purposeful lives.

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  Bindle Bags is also about to wrap up its campaign to officially launch Bindle Bags’ operations. Setting an ambitious tipping point goal of $7,750, Bindle Bags received a late push to send the campaign just over its tipping point. Bindle Bags raises awareness of and fights against homelessness in America by employing homeless people to make women’s handbags. Campaign funds will help Bindle Bags rent an office space, trademark the logo and name, design and build a brand, and purchase materials and equipment to officially launch it into operation. 

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  The VPRJ Gardens Project is a beautification project for the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail. Kelvin Yao, a college freshman, wants to plant a garden outside the jail in hopes of creating a healthier environment, nutritionally and aesthetically, for inmates. Kelvin’s campaign has tipped and with the funds raised to this point, Kelvin will be able to create a large herb garden by purchasing mulch, topsoil, building materials, tools, and seeds. He still has just under two weeks to raise funds beyond the tipping point, allowing him to create additional gardens.

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Social entrepreneurs, have these success stories inspired you to start your own good? Do you have a social enterprise, a non-profit, or an amazing idea that needs some momentum to take off? Visit our site to find out how to start your own campaign today. Still have questions? We have answers—check out our FAQ section.

StartSomeGood’s SocEnt Book Club is pleased to host Lauren Anderson, Innovation Director at the Collaborative Consumption Lab to discuss  What’s Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption on our monthly book club conference call. Our call will be held next Wednesday, April 4th at 2 pm PST/5 pm EST.

What’s Mine is Yours is about the phenomenon of sharing that our new connectedness is bringing. Companies like Airbnb, which lets you rent out an extra bedroom for short stretches of time, and Zipcar, which allows users to pick up and drop off cars without owning them, are perfect examples of the new form of sharing that’s growing in our society.

What’s Mine Is Yours has essential messages for social entrepreneurs. Any good venture will take advantage of the culture of collaborative consumption that is becoming more prevalent. At its root, the rise of collaborative consumption should make anyone involved with social entrepreneurship very optimistic because it arises out of an impulse to mutually benefit and improve the world through that action.

Lauren Anderson is the Innovation Director for Collaborative Lab, working with organizations to deliver socially game-changing and profitable solutions in the Collaborative Consumption space, named by TIME as one of the “10 Ideas That Will Change The World”. Playing an instrumental role in building the Collaborative Consumption brand, growing global movement and researching the latest examples for International book editions of What’s Mine is Yours including the UK and Brazil, Lauren is a leading source of strategic knowledge for entrepreneurs, journalists, and venture capitalists who want the latest market insights on new goods and services in the market.

To RSVP and for information on joining Wednesday’s free conference call, please email Aaron(at)startsomegood.com