StartSomeGood: The Blog

May 29

StartSomeGood News

ConstruCycle provides sustainable and affordable housing for citizens who couldn’t otherwise afford to own a home. ConstruCycle makes panels for homes, but the panels are made out of locally available recycled raw materials. Ricardo, the founder of ConstruCycle, wants to attend the Dell Social Innovation Lab this summer, but needs to raise funds to purchase his plane ticket. He was chosen as a fellow this summer to work on ConstruCycle as part of the program and needs to fly from Nicaragua to Boston, where the Dell Social Innovation Lab is held. Help Ricardo Attend the Dell Social Innovation Lab by contributing to his $800 round trip ticket.

One Can Grow educates the youth about social entrepreneurship and the many possibilities that it brings. It is launching an 8-week pilot program to educate high-school students about social enterprise and the many career opportunities that it offers. One Can Grow is raising funds for its campaign, Educate Young Social Entrepreneurs, to officially begin its pilot program on June 8th. The $5,000 tipping point goal will help One Can Grow build a curriculum, recruit mentors, search for partnerships, increase marketing efforts, and further develop its website so that it is fully functional.

Garth Wells wants to make the HR2990 Monetary Reform bill the number one issue for the 2012 election and his ultimate goal is to get this bill passed. He believes the monetary reform that is proposed as part of this bill will lead the economy into prosperity and sustainability by increasing job security and strengthening the middle class. Garth’s organization, HR2990.org is raising funds to mobilize the voices for monetary reform. Funds for this campaign will be used to put together starter kits for volunteer organizers. The $3,000 tipping point goal will help jump start 25 organizers in various districts.

Vibewire ensures that young people are included in conversations that matter. It captures conversations that matter to young people and showcases them online so that people can engage in conversations based on what issues are most important to them. It also provides young people with a space and resources to take action on the issues that matter to them and launch their ventures. The Vibewire Hub is a co-working space that supports younger social innovators on their missions to create change. Normally, users must pay to access the Hub, but it wants to raise funds to provide scholarships to three social startups. Vibewire’s campaign to Support Young Social Entrepreneurs is raising funds to support three projects in the Vibewire Hub for at least three months.

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 just reached its $1,700 tipping point and will help launch the Urban Seed Project, with funds going towards hiring workers, promotions, and the purchase of materials and seeds.

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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.

May 25

This Week in Social Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneur Magazine is hosting a contest for young entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 26 that are currently enrolled in college. The College Entrepreneur of 2012 Contest is looking for great business ideas that are making a positive impact. How are you bringing light to your industry, employees, and community? Enter the contest before June 15th for a chance to be profiled in a special January 2013 edition of Entrepreneur Magazine.
The Praxis Accelerator Program is accepting applications for the 2012-2013 fellowship class through June 1st. As a fellow. you receive training and practical advice from successful social entrepreneurs, advanced mentoring, connection to a network of peers for life, the chance to refine your business strategy with oversight from successful entrepreneurs, the chance to win up to $50,000, and world class coaching from the Praxis team throughout the program. Apply now to be considered for the 2012-2013 fellowship class.
The 1440 Foundation is offering $75,000 for up to three ideas, products, or solutions that help non-experts learn, improve, and share self-awareness, authenticity, trust, and empathy through technology that reaches a wide audience. To enter the 1440 Contest, like the contest facebook page and enter a description of your idea before June 1st.
The Social Impact Exchange Conference is coming to New York City June 13-14. The Social Impact Exchange community is full of funders, investors, philanthropists, and advisors that want to share their knowledge and help top social impact initiatives grow and scale. This conference is by invitation only, but you can register here for an invitation. The conference will hold sessions on how to identify initiatives that can be scaled, connecting with others who share your interests, and amplifying philanthropy through collaboration to achieve the greatest possible social good.
Could your social good initiative use some social media tweaking? Check out 3 Old-School Organizations For Good That Have Mastered Social Media for some great advice. This Fast Company article highlights Goodwill, The United Way, and American Red Cross for their recent successful forays into the world of social media. Between 2009 and 2010, Goodwill went from 200 facebook fans to over 22,000 by measuring traffic and engagement and adjusting the strategy accordingly. In 2008, United Way launched the “Live United” campaign to unify its brand, which really helped drive its social media presence. The American Red Cross is launching a social media digital operations center so that it can use social media to react to disasters more quickly and efficiently by monitoring tweets to locate areas with specific issues and needs. Use these organizations as resources and inspiration to launch your business’ own successful social media campaign!

May 24

Meet the Team: Clem Auyeung

Clem Auyeung collaborates with ventures to help them polish and launch their campaigns. Before transitioning into this role, he started out doing a variety of behind-the-scenes projects for StartSomeGood — such as analyzing feedback on campaign experiences and researching startup financing options. He graduated from a midwestern liberal arts college with a degree in biology. Outside of his role, he writes for a social entrepreneurship website, helps Ashoka Twin Cities with events planning, and searches for new bike routes where he can marvel at cool architecture.

How did you get involved with StartSomeGood?

I initially found out about StartSomeGood through Alex’s Tumblr, which I have been following for a while. When Alex and Tom announced that they were looking for a Director of Community, I knew I wasn’t qualified for the position but I took a chance and asked them if they could use an intern. I feel grateful that they saw something in me and gave me the opportunity to help them build their vision.

What social issues really get you fired up?

Every time I read about someone who finds personal empowerment, overcomes disadvantages, and achieves his or her goals, something just grips my heart. That’s probably why I perk up whenever the topic of education comes up. I have a habit of rooting for the underdogs. Education is at the root of all organizational or cultural change and we need to find ways to do it better.

Do you have any favorite social entrepreneurship resources?

Honestly, the best resources for social entrepreneurship reside in people themselves. I believe that something incredible comes from meeting someone face-to-face. So I encourage people to attend events or reach out and connect with other like-minded changemakers in person. In fact, the way I learned about social entrepreneurship was through reaching out to various people in my city on Twitter and having coffee with them. If you can’t find the right community in your city, create one! I may be biased, but I’d also recommend checking out seToolbelt.

What do you consider the greatest album of all time?

I like an eclectic mix of songs and genres so it’s hard to choose. It really depends on my mood, I guess. Right now, I’m into the SoCal surf-y sounds from bands like Atlas Sound, Real Estate, Beach House, and Surfer Blood. It’s a perfect start to summer. I also rotate through the irreverent and synth-y beats of The Glitch Mob, College, and Thieves Like Us — my latest find. I like hunting for new music, if you can’t already tell. I will admit, though, that I’m loving The Black Keys’ latest album, El Camino — it’s my ‘go-to’ album. It’s pretty rare that I like every song.

What keeps you occupied in your spare time?

My life seems like it’s always in transition. Right now, I’m looking into graduate schools. But in a true entrepreneurial spirit, I also don’t believe in being handicapped by the lack of degrees, so I’m learning on my own and reaching out to relevant people whom I could learn from their experiences. I’m taking education into my own hands, if you will. I’m getting ready to start a new project based on my personal learning — with or without grad school.

For fun, there is an urban lake called Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis that I frequently go to for bike rides, jogging, sinking my feet into the sand, picnics, etc. I really enjoy cooking with friends so I do that often, too. We make a lot of pies and quiches…

Have you come across any must-read books recently?

The best ones center on human relationships. The two that I found tremendously useful are Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi and the classic, How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. It’s amazing how often the simplest things create the biggest impact.

Where is your dream travel destination?

I love stepping outside of my comfort zone and being amazed at how big and diverse the world really is. I’ve always dreamed of backpacking across Europe. There’s so much history and culture to explore.

May 23

Celebrating Some Wins

We’d like to celebrate the fact that, over the past week, three campaigns tipped and one finished up raising far beyond its total funding goal:

nutreats addresses malnutrition in developing countries by selling a great-tasting, nutrient-fortified snack to parents and children living in tough to reach areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. The snack will be a bar, similar to a granola bar, that is fortified with micronutrients such as Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, and iodine. In A Taste Test to Fight Malnutrition, nutreats is raising funds to purchase prototypes of its nutritious snack bars. These bars will be used to conduct market tests in Tanzania. Data collected during this market test will go into product formulation later this year. This past week, nutreats’ campaign tipped and has raised $770 to purchase prototypes.

Still with a whole month left in the campaign, Haiti Circle of Friends (HaitiCoF) has raised $1,605 and is well on its way to the $5,000 tipping point goal. HaitiCoF helps Haitian children that are in danger of being sent to orphanages because their families can’t afford to feed them. It wants to create a small farm to help feed these children so they can be kept out of orphanages and stay with their families. In addition, this provides a way for mothers to be sustainably and healthfully self-sufficient. Women who participate in this program are given the opportunity to run the farm and sell the produce at a local market. Farming for Families in Haiti is raising funds to start the mini farms.

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 to connect at least 300 aid workers to one another for support. whydev has just achieved its tipping point goal, raising $3,250 towards this initiative and with a little over three weeks left, there is still time to achieve the $10,000 total funding goal.

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, and just finished up his campaign with $2,745, raising far beyond his total funding goal, which will allow him to publish the book and take a trip to India to visit a charity that he wants to include in it.

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May 22

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May 21

StartSomeGood’s Newest Campaigns

Uncharted Play produces products that utilize the power of play to solve important global issues including energy access, health, and climate change. The SOCCKET is Uncharted Play’s first product, a soccer ball that acts as an eco-friendly portable generator. Send the SOCCKET soccer ball to Brazil has a $2,960 tipping point that will cover the costs associated with production of the balls and implementing a play program for children in Brazil.

MOMTraders is a platform where mothers can go to trade their unused items for things they need. The goal is to have a local MOMTrader network for each county in the United States where MOMs can support and provide for each other by trading their unwanted items. The campaign’s tipping point will cover the costs of programming a basic beta site with over 3,000 functioning local trader networks.

Kinyei has two socially responsible businesses that promote social entrepreneurship—a bike tour and a training cafe, both of which work together empower the youth of Cambodia to work together to improve themselves and their communities. The bike tour stimulates the local Cambodian economy while also providing insight for tourists into what life is like in rural Cambodia. The cafe provides a space where community members and travelers can come to share ideas, news, and culture. The campaign, Coffee Cycling and Community, is raising funds to train Kinyei staff to manage these two businesses so they become locally driven and run. Kinyei needs $12,000 to implement an 18-month management training program for four high potential Cambodians.

The North Korean Human Rights Film Festival (NKHRFF) has a goal to share the stories of human oppression that are occurring in North Korea through the medium of film. The only way to ignite action is through awareness. The film festival will help raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in North Korea. Help Launch the North Korean Human Rights Film Festival. This campaign’s tipping point will help launch the film festival, covering the costs that go into securing a venue and rights for film distribution.

Real Good Food is a trading, sales, and organizational platform for cooks at home and local food artisans to discover and celebrate the good food in their own local economies. It is developing a user interface for users to post and search for local food, join/create groups, and host/participate in local food events. When people can purchase foods from local artisans that they know and trust, there is full transparency in the origin of the food and, hence, the system will encourage healthier people and healthier local economies. The campaign will help Real Good Food build a working platform for anyone’s use.

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Social entrepreneurs, have these 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.

May 18

This Week in Social Entrepreneurship

The NJ Social Entrepreneurship Summit encourages social business in New Jersey. Being in between two large cities, New York and Philadelphia, it can be tough to attract social business in New Jersey. The Summit raises the profile of social entrepreneurship in NJ by bringing leaders in the field together to learn from and support each other. Hosted by the Rutgers Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development and sponsored by PSEG, this year’s summit is taking place on May 24th from 8 AM to 5 PM at the Livingston Student Center in Piscataway, NJ. Noted speakers include Brenda Palms-Barber, CEO of Sweet Beginnings and Brian Trelstad, CFO of Acumen Fund. If you are a social entrepreneur in NJ, this event is a must-attend and is definitely the biggest social entrepreneurship event held in NJ. Register ahead of time for a $10 discount.
On May 21st, AshokaLive is hosting a live Q&A with Ashoka Fellow Adbelfattah Abusrour, moderated by President of Ashoka, Diana Wells. Adbelfattah is an innovator who provides youths in conflict zones with a safe place for creative self-expression. He believes that children growing up in violent environments like conflict zones can be strong and convincing advocates for peace and collaboration. Check in on the AshokaLive page on May 21st, where the session will be streaming live. If you have questions for Adbelfattah, leave a note in the comments section or Tweet with the hashtag #AshokaFellow during the event.
The American Express NGen Leadership Award honors one nonprofit leader, age 40 or under, who has demonstrated a significant impact in addressing some of society’s most critical needs. This individual must have a proven record of being collaborative and innovative and should be a model for other aspiring nonprofit leaders. If you know someone that fits this description that you admire and would like to see win this award, nominate them by May 21st. The award recipient will be announced in July and will be recognized for their accomplishment during the IS Annual Conference in November.
Bold New World: be a visionary! Check out Echoing Green’s new video, Bold New World. Echoing Green asks—How do you see the world? Does this video inspire you to join the social entrepreneurship movement?
AshokaU and George Mason University are offering an amazing opportunity for aspiring and early stage social innovators who could benefit from a formalized class addressing the entrepreneurial process and the history of the social entrepreneurial movement and the opportunities that it has created. They are offering a 100% FREE class, Entrepreneurship and Globalization: Making the Most of 21st Century Opportunity that is running from June 4th to July 18th. This is a participation-intensive online course that will help direct students toward developing a personal plan of action in their entrepreneurial pursuits. This class requires a lot of time and effort to complete assignments and actively participate, so make sure you can commit to this before signing up as a student. Otherwise, you also have the option to sign up as an auditor, who will have access to the classes and materials, but is not required to attend all classes or participate in the assignments. Check out the detailed course description—this offering is a huge opportunity and a class of this calibre is rarely, if ever, free. So, if you have the time to dedicate to a full course-load, it’s strongly suggested that social innovators take advantage of this exciting opportunity!

May 17

Meet the Team: David Cameron, Canadian Ambassador

David Cameron is StartSomeGood’s Canadian Ambassador. He recruits and then supports Canadian ventures and projects throughout their campaigns. He graduated with honors from the Sauder School of Business and is an entrepreneur by default. Right now, in addition to being StartSomeGood’s Canadian Ambassador, he’s working to start a few creative projects around the subjects of urban agriculture, personal development tools, and education.

How did you get involved with StartSomeGood?

A Friend recommended that I check them out. I was connected to Alex and we had a conversation about why he started the company and where he wanted to take it. I liked what I heard.

What social issues really get you fired up?

People being taken advantage of—that really gets the blood boiling. I’m also passionate about education and civil liberties, and I spend a lot of effort trying to help others overcome things like depression and addiction. Society throws a lot of stuff in our face that distracts us or takes us away from becoming who we want to be. Helping people find the articulation necessary to make their next choice is what I like to focus on.

Do you have any favorite social entrepreneurship resources?

Google, community groups, meet-ups, and events. I think most social entrepreneurs need help with the business side of their venture, and there’s already plenty of resources for entrepreneurs that cover that already, without a need to distinguish social entrepreneurs from entrepreneurs. When it comes to putting social and environmental weights into the business process, I tend to default towards strategies for implementing values in our own lives. We’ve already honed that process down over many years, and I don’t think it’s too far a stretch to use similar strategies to incorporate social and environmental weights and values into a business—its culture, its sourcing criteria, its marketing principles, etc.

What do you consider the greatest album of all time?

I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been much of an “album” guy. By the time I got into music, I skipped the CD or record era and was straight into digital music files, so I tended to mix and match.

What keeps you occupied in your spare time?

My girlfriend and family. I also tend to read a lot and browse websites like Cracked.com or Instructables.com. I’m also at a bit of a pivot point in my work, so I’m spending a lot of time getting ready to start some exciting new projects!

Have you come across any must-read books recently? What are some of your favorite books?

The Filter Bubble and The Education of Millionaires. They take a while to explain certain points, but some important stuff there, nonetheless. Two of my all-time favorites are A Man’s Search for Meaning and The Art of Learning.

Where is your dream travel destination?

The world. Haha…there’s so much I have yet to see. I’ve been to over 20 countries on four continents, and I feel like I’ve barely begun. There’s so much I have yet to learn from other people, cultures, and places.

May 15

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May 14

StartSomeGood News

Everyone benefits from acts of kindness. Big Random Acts of Kindness (BRAK) exists to help unleash the kindness within you. This is an initiative through The All Hearts Alliance which is dedicated to making the world a kinder and more connected place. BRAK strives for a future where every person, through acts of kindness, feels connected and important and feels empowered to contribute to the greater good of humanity. Help start a ripple effect of kindness with a cup of coffee. This campaign allows you to pre-pay for a cup of coffee for a commuter at a train station in Australia. The goal is to raise enough funds to pay for coffee for 250 commuters on June 1, 2012.

Balls of Steel will help cool your drink while contributing to a good cause. Cooling your drink can now help men struggling with testicular cancer. The goal of Balls of Steel is to help fuel the research for the treatment and cure for testicular cancer in men. In addition, it hopes to build a community where patients can share their experiences and struggles with each other and also be connected with a community of survivors. The Balls of Steel campaign is raising funds to cover manufacturing fees for 500 initial units and create a website to start an online community.

MeForYou is not just selling backpacks. For every backpack that is sold, one full of school supplies will go to a student in need. “Buy One. Bless One.” For every backpack sold, MeForYou will donate one full of school supplies to another student in need around the community where it was purchased. Help Lauch MeForYou—this is a student-led non-profit that is trying to officially get off the ground. MeForYou’s goal for year one is to help 1,000 students locally.

The Living Philanthropic Project is a web series that highlights the joys of volunteerism. It will produce 12 episodes, highlighting one non-profit organization each week. This campaign will help to fund the filming of at least three episodes of this web series. The total funding goal will support the filming of ten episodes.

Haiti Circle of Friends (HaitiCoF) helps Haitian children that are in danger of being sent to orphanages because their families can’t afford to feed them. HaitiCoF wants to create a small farm to help feed these children so they can be kept out of orphanages and stay with their families. In addition, this provides a way for mothers to be sustainably and healthfully self-sufficient. Women who participate in this program are given the opportunity to run the farm and sell the produce at a local market. Farming for Families in Haiti is raising funds to start the mini farms. Funds will go towards purchasing and housing livestock, in addition to various farming tools that are needed.

With still a few days left, EcoRise has reached its tipping point, raising over $9,000 from more than 100 backers to inspire a new generation of green leaders that will design a sustainable future for everyone. EcoRise is trying to fully launch its green education program in seven schools in Austin for the upcoming school year. Funds raised so far will aid EcoRise in developing a curriculum, create an EcoRise toolkit, and produce these toolkits for seven schools.

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