Soe's explorations http://soeim.posterous.com exponential explorations posterous.com Thu, 23 Dec 2010 19:50:00 -0800 The Power of Cents http://soeim.posterous.com/the-power-of-cents http://soeim.posterous.com/the-power-of-cents

The success of The Power of 10 campaign reminds me about another fundraising campaign I was involved with over 2 years ago.

We raised about $100,000 over 2 months period for cyclone victims in Irrawaddy delta, Burma. The campaign is very labor intensive as we collect coins and small notes from passerby in a shopping mall. We obtained a permit to collect donations in the premise of a university and a shopping mall. I guess we are the only student group which has managed to obtain such a permit as S'pore is very strict with public soliciting of donations, and requires strict guidelines in auditing - especially so after a big charity scandal.

I still remember my logic that time to work on the campaign, instead of starting with a job and donating my salaries. The logic is to get people involved with the process of actually doing stuff - instead of complaining, or feeling helpless about the aftermath of the cyclone. Along this process, we learn about each other, bureaucracy, crisis management, and especially about ourselves. In addition to helping people in need, we built trust among ourselves and confidence in ourselves.

The most beautiful part I have observed throughout this process is The Power of Cents. People contributing cents - spare change for some, a big saving for others. We even collected old clothes and make sure these get delivered over air. One could ask about the efficiency of this - I agree too. However, the realization of the power of everyone contributing bits by bits to achieve a common goal via this campaign is simply invaluable.

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Tue, 21 Dec 2010 19:43:00 -0800 Power of 10 made it http://soeim.posterous.com/power-of-10-made-it http://soeim.posterous.com/power-of-10-made-it

Following is the email sent out to donors who have contributed to the campaign. It is interesting to see first-hand about the power of social graph; the power of all of us. Other than the amount of money raised, I believe the real impact of the campaign is the amount of awareness raised about Cambodia education.

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Newsletter Main image

Reaching our goal!

Power of 10 Friends and Family 

Today we reached the $100,000 mark with our fundraising efforts since the launch of the Power of 10 campaign! Even more incredible is that we have a donor who has promised to match the total, allowing us to raise $200,000 for our educational programs! Amazing. Thank you for your support, energy, encouragement, and for believing in the work that PEPY does in Cambodia. 

We are really grateful for this support and now that we have this funding, the real work and the real impact can happen. We are excited to be able to work toward our 2011 educational goals now that we have the funding to make them possible. Thank you to all who helped us reach our goal, for spreading the word, and for making the Power of 10 the successful campaign that it was. 

Your support of this campaign, and your ongoing involvement with PEPY, means that we can continue to provide young Cambodian students with the tools they need to turn their dreams into a reality. 

Thank you for investing in the future, in education, and in the next generation of Cambodians.

Much love, 
The PEPY Team

Invest in education for Cambodia's future generations www.jointhepowerof10.org

 

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Sun, 10 Oct 2010 19:38:00 -0700 Join the power of 10! http://soeim.posterous.com/join-the-power-of-10 http://soeim.posterous.com/join-the-power-of-10

On 10/10/2010, The Power of 10 (http://jointhepowerof10.org) is launched. It is aiming to raise $100,000 for education in Cambodia. The campaign uses Piryx (http://piryx.com) for donation processing.

The Power of 10 is a campaign aimed at raising funds and awareness about the work that PEPY is doing by creating a global network of informed, engaged, and active citizens. It is not only about highlighting how far your $10 can go, but how far-reaching YOUR impact can be. It’s about YOU, being a link in a long chain of people who want to invest and believe in Cambodia’s future.

I am just helping a bit with web stuffs. It will be interesting to see how it goes.

Media_httpjointhepowe_jbeez

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Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:33:00 -0800 Fundraising idea for OLPC http://soeim.posterous.com/fundraising-idea-for-olpc http://soeim.posterous.com/fundraising-idea-for-olpc

not sure whether it is sane or not, but i am writing it down as it comes to me when i am thinking of social fundraising

please feel free to steal the idea... or else i might end up doing :)

the idea is based on: 

  • social interaction (donor-beneficiary engagement) 
  • group push (multi-donors per laptop)

each olpc has 1,080,000 square pixels (1200 x 900) - a small but visible facebook/twitter user icon/avatar is 576 square pixels (24 x 24), a normal one is 5776 square pixels (76 x 76) - donors can buy up avatars to contribute to the cost of a laptop

donors who contributed would appear on the virtual wall in the laptop (easily accessible in navigation)

donors messages/comments are also included in the wall

assuming the rate is at $0.001 cent per pixel, a small avatar costs only ~$0.05 and a normal avatar costs only ~$0.50

the whole screen can accommodate about 186 normal sized avatars

why this is interesting:

  • the child recipient and donors can interact when the child browses through the wall (via facebook, twitter)
  • the donor walls are also accessible on the web
  • donors would also be informed of "filtered" activities carried out in the laptop (olpc has activity log feature) which would be posted on to the wall (get donors involved)
  • as it is micro-donation happening across social media platforms, i guess there is some viral element and the group push effect

related prior examples:

http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/

http://fixoutlook.org/

http://www.chapter.org/redevelopment/brick.html

http://www.myactionaid.org.uk/RebeccaHall/sponsor-a-brick-lego-house

http://blamedrewscancer.com/

similar idea:

http://www.slideshare.net/michaelsprague/olpc-micropayment-strategy

 

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Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:15:00 -0800 Scratching an itch http://soeim.posterous.com/scratching-an-itch http://soeim.posterous.com/scratching-an-itch

It is a wise phrase that is attributed to the origin of great startups.

Project::raise is about scratching our own itch. My colleagues have been asking this and that, wishing this and that for a long time; the itch has become so intense to deserve a soothing scratch. The itch that has been waiting for 4 years to get the scratch. The itch that would make important part of development ecosystem better when scratched. The itch that I feel itchy about.

I couldn't find who has come up with the phrase. However, if you need further reading on correlation between scratching an itch and doing startup, read David Cohen's post.

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Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:00:00 -0800 Code Name: Raise http://soeim.posterous.com/code-name-raise http://soeim.posterous.com/code-name-raise

I am announcing my first real startup, code-named raise, by bootstrapping. By announcing, I am creating a binding agreement with you (yep, you! who is reading this) to pull this project through.

Working as an insider for a non-profit and hanging out with too many people involved in development for almost a year, I have gained much insight of the real need which is under-served and is ripe for disruption.

It is a platform for social fundraising with focus on better donor engagement. I will report more on it as I work along.

 

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