In this video taken in Tanzania , 9-year-old Glory leads her class in a song about the HIV crisis in her country. We believe this little girl’s song – and other videos and images like this one – have the power to inspire real change. (If you’d like to learn more about Glory, check out her expanded story here.) Technology, like the mashup we’ve proposed, can amplify voices like hers.
At Epic Change, we believe that one child’s story may be more powerful motivator of action than statistics aggregated about an entire population. According to recent research by Wharton professor Deborah Small, stories are far better than statistics at generating an emotional response that inspires giving. Additionally, according to the July 2007 edition of The Chronicle of Philanthropy, “Fund-raising appeals do best when they are crafted around a single gripping image.”
So we’ve proposed a mashup in the Net2 Mashup Challenge that enables all non-profits to transform their Flickr images & Youtube videos into eCards & eGifts that can be sent via email & social networking sites by donors, supporters and consumers-turned-activists for $1. We believe this tool will enable charitable organizations of all types (including, likely, most of those participating in this competition!) to share their stories in an effort to raise funds, empower their donors & supporters, and generate awareness of their causes.
If you believe that stories like Glory’s have the power to change the world:
Epic Change has entered a really interesting competition sponsored by Net2, an organization that links IT professionals to create social change on the web. Their contest is looking for great “mashup” ideas from charitable causes & social innovators; a “mashup” combines data and functionality from multiple existing web tools to create a new tool or service. If the competition has led you here – welcome & Happy St. Paddy’s Day! We hope you’ll spread the luck o’ the Irish & vote for us here after reading more about our entry. Please note that before you’ll be able to vote, you’ll need to register at Net2; ignore the stars, too, as they’ve been disabled during the voting period; vote counts will not be published until the competition ends. For your reference, here’s a link to the voting instructions, too.
We’ve included the details of our mashup below, including examples, a use case diagram, expanded data sources and many compelling statistics that illustrate why we believe this tool could have incredibly broad application & appeal, so read on:
THE WHAT?
The EPIC CHANGE: Story-Powered Activism mashup will create a storybank (i.e., database) of images & videos from various non-profits & charitable organizations that consumers/activists can personalize as eCards & eGifts and send to friends via email and social networking sites for $1 each. This tool will enable charitable organizations of all types (including, likely, most of those participating in this competition!) to share their stories in an effort to raise funds, empower their donors & supporters, and generate awareness of their causes.
At Epic Change, we’ve been looking for a great tool that allows us to sell & circulate eCards & eGifts we’ve designed to share stories about a school we’re building in Tanzania & raise funds to support our efforts. We’ve scoured the web for what seems to be simple functionality to no avail – and the potential market is vast. Imagine how much money & awareness could be raised for our cause (and many other causes) – all by enabling non-profits to share their stories by circulating $1 eCards & eGifts based on videos or images that they’ve already stored on Flickr, YouTube, Slide and on similar image- & video-hosting sites. Here are a couple of examples:
In honor of World AIDS Day, Epic Change could send to our supporters an eCard based on the video below, which features children at the school we’re building in Tanzania singing about the HIV crisis in their country. Their song is led by 9-year-old Glory, an orphan whose inspiring personal story you can read more about here.
A consumer-turned-activist could go to our mashup site in search of a Valentine, and select this image to send, which features Pius, Max & Egifred, three boys who attend the school we’re building.
The general use cases that are presented later in this post explain more thoroughly how these specific examples would work.
THE WHY?
Here’s why we think this story-based tool will make a significant difference in raising funds and generating awareness for many important causes:
Stories Matter. According to recent research by Wharton professor Deborah Small, stories are far better than statistics at generating an emotional response that inspires giving. In fact, statistics seem to suppress giving.
Pictures = 1,000 Words. According to the July 2007 edition of The Chronicle of Philanthropy, “Fund-raising appeals do best when they are crafted around a single gripping image.”
Greetings are Profitable. Consider the following statistics:
The Cupcakes for a Cause online eGift campaign sold over 3,000 $1 virtual cupcakes in the first 24 hours of the campaign, and sold over 10,000 in the first week.
Peer-to-Peer Philanthropy Works. According to this vlog entry by Peter Deitz, a micro-philanthropy consultant who founded SocialActions.com, peer-to-peer fundraising is an appealing strategy because one’s friends are viewed as reliable, credible sources of information about causes who may also convey a sense of contagious enthusiasm.
Here are a few more details about how this might work: Senders would customize images like the examples above with a personal greeting, formatting and potentially skins or audio clips. Additionally, the eCard or eGift would include links – created by either the non-profit, the sender or a tool like Sphere – that give more information about the cause or story featured in the image, highlight related offline products that for sale on a site like CafePress, and, most importantly, enable the recipient to forward the video again at a cost of $1 per send (or, perhaps, a sliding scale for multiple orders, or a subscription fee). Contributions would directly benefit the organization that provided the image, with a nominal percentage/fee directed to Epic Change for each transaction.
Here’s what we think a few general use cases might look like. Of course, we’re not as technically gifted as many of you, so this is just some initial thinking to, hopefully, start the conversation.
Here’s some of the potential data sources and shared services our mashup might use, too:
I hope you’ll agree that this tool will be valuable to many charitable causes who are constantly looking for effective new ways to share their stories, empower their donors & supportes, generate awareness and raise funds. Certainly, Epic Change looks forward to leveraging this story-powered mashup as a potential sustainable source of income to fund loans we make to community improvement projects across the globe, like our current effort to build a primary school in Tanzania.
So, please register at vote for us at Net2 to help us get resources and funds to support the further development of this idea. We’d love to get your ideas, suggestions & feedback here, too, so leave a comment . . . Thanks!!!
I just got “friended” on Facebook by someone from high school. To be more specific, someone I had a crush on in the 11th grade. He played the trumpet. For some reason, it got me thinking about all of the reasons I’m grateful, even up working at 2:30AM on a Friday night, to be doing exactly this.
I get to connect – and reconnect. I can’t tell you how many old friends like the trumpet player I’ve found from as far back as fourth grade with whom I’d lost contact and how many new people I’ve met through my involvement with Epic Change. My 3rd-level network on LinkedIn surpassed 1,000,000 this week.
My project deliverable is a school in Africa. Um … I used to work on projects where the next big deliverable was an offsite, a test plan, a swimlane diagram or a process diagnosis. There’s something refreshing about working on something that really matters.
I’ve learned to live off of nothing (and appreciate everything). The truth is, we don’t need much; most of the world makes due with far less than I have. A little food, a $600 apartment, a student loan payment, some kibble for your dog, just enough to make the next journey, and, well, you’re done.
I have limitless learning opportunities. Sanjay has never, ever coded before. But he does now. I am not a video editor. Oh, yes I am. And an accountant, a greeting card designer, photographer, graphic artist, blogger, guerilla marketer, postcard manufacturer, fundraiser, UI designer, social networker, even a charity ZUMBA instructor. If it will help, we’ll figure it out.
I could talk to a wall. When I used to work in the traditional 9-5 world (or for me, 24/7), I had nothing to say at a cocktail party except “I’m so glad I’m not at work.” Now I’ve got interesting stories, the stuff lives are supposed to be made of.
I get to hang out with kids. For some reason, kids weren’t often invited to meetings at my previous jobs, which is a shame. Children don’t believe in impossibility and possess an incredible sense of empathy. For this reason, they are some of our most ardent supporters and fortunately, I now often get to spend time with them, like today when I visited a classroom that had collected $85.76 from their change, allowances and tooth fairy money.
I am never (EVER) bored. When I was in the 5th grade, I used to chew on my hair during reading class because I was bored. I don’t really cope well with boredom. That’s no longer a problem.
I have become living proof that sleep is irrelevant. The human body is amazing. An endorphin-adrenaline cocktail with a twist of inspiration offers a glimpse of immortality.
I am reminded every day that I am powerful beyond measure. 6 months. 350 people mobilized. Nearly $40,000 raised. $1000 grant awarded. 4 classrooms constructed & open. 170 smiling faces. Enough said.
Best of all, I get to remind others that we are all powerful beyond measure. There’s something incredibly inspiring about awakening that little voice inside someone that reminds them that they’re capable of miracles. You are.
I’m sure most of you have seen this before, but since I’ve alluded to it here, and it’s such an incredible quote, here’s a reminder:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
[Often reported to have been quoted in a speech by Nelson Mandela, the original source is Return to Love by Marianne Williamson.]
Of course there are moments, including several today, that are disappointing. This week, for instance, I just did not have enough hours. I ran up against a deadline today for submitting a MashedUp for the Net2 competition, and wasn’t able to complete our entry to my satisfaction before the 5pm PST deadline (but I’ll post here about our idea this weekend – don’t worry!); our IdeaBlob entry came in third or fourth place today & a few more votes would have made us one of 8 finalists with a chance to win $10,000. We’ll try again next week.
