[Chapter-delegates] Day-to-day funding

[Eric Burger]

We love it. So much so, is that not how the community grants program works? Maybe staff needs to be more proactive advertising the programs we already have?

On Mar 12, 2013, at 9:55 AM, Elver Loho <elver.loho at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
> 
> I thank you all for your feedback on this issue -- please keep your
> ideas and insights coming! Who knows. We might be able to solve this
> problem after all.
> 
> Last night I was taking a break from doing some freelance software
> development for a client (who, thankfully, always pays on time), and
> came across a TEDtalk, which offered a unique and mindblowing
> perspective on the whole issue of NGO funding:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfAzi6D5FpM
> 
> And it made me think... What if ISOC just gave every chapter every
> year (or more often) $1k to be used solely for fundraising and
> advertising? Looking at just the Estonia Chapter, I think we could do
> quite a lot simply by:
> - Spending a few hundred on Facebook ads over the year. (I've been
> itching to try this out, but spending donations on Facebook ads would
> look immoral to way too many people, even though it would probably pay
> off in a few months.)
> - Printing informative booklets, stickers, pins, business cards,
> distributing them.
> - Paying transportation costs to go speak about issues at schools and
> universities all over the country, not just the few larger cities.
> - Organising a fundraiser event at a restaurant with a few speeches
> and some well-known guests.
> 
> This could be one of those grants where you just write a one page
> summary of how you plan to use the money and when the money runs out,
> you send back a one page summary of how it was used and what the
> effects were. This way ISOC global could also get feedback on which
> fundraising and advertising strategies work in different parts of the
> world, and then use this data to advise chapters on how to raise
> money. To make them self-sufficient. With a small amount of seed
> capital, global distributed experimentation, and a centralised
> analysis of the results. And we could also trade tips on this mailing
> list.
> 
> What do you all think of something like this?
> 
> Best,
> Elver Loho
> Vice Chair
> Estonia Chapter
> 
> elver.loho at gmail.com
> +372 5661 6933
> skype: elver.loho
> 
> 
> On 12 March 2013 15:08, Ernesto cruz <ernesto at onelinkpr.net> wrote:
>> Well said, Veni...+1
>> 
>> Best regards from Puerto Rico,
>> 
>> Ernesto
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>> On Mar 11, 2013, at 4:44 PM, Veni Markovski <veni at veni.com> wrote:
>> 
>> The best sustainable way would be for ISOC to go back to the origins of its
>> bid for getting the .org domain.
>> Back then the broad public was told that no money from .org would go to
>> cover expenses of ISOC. Currently the situation is quite different.
>> If there are 100 chapters, I would strongly argue that ISOC could allocate
>> 20 % of its budget to fund them - through grants, projects, etc.
>> No matter how we look at that - as investment, or as grant, or as
>> sponsorship, it will have a tremendous impact on the Internet, and the way
>> it is being developed around the globe.
>> Just think for a moment what a chapter in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, or
>> Latin America can do with about $ 100,000 / year.
>> It will:
>> - empower its active membership;
>> - allow it to organize tutorials, workshop, seminars to educate national
>> parliaments, governments, etc. on Internet-related issues;
>> - keep a whole office operational;
>> - allow chapter to provide small travel and educational grants to active
>> community/chapter members;
>> - provide the means for hiring good legal experts to help telecom ministry
>> formulate proper policies in the field of ICT;
>> - organize local awards for web creativity;
>> - support localization of Creative Commons licenses;
>> - allow young engineers to go to IETF meetings;
>> - ensure Internet connectivity for the chapter and its members;
>> - etc., etc., etc....
>> 
>> 
>> On 03/11/2013 16:35, Edwin A. Opare wrote:
>> 
>> Elver,
>> 
>> Well said.
>> 
>> Any ideas, thoughts or suggestions on chapter sustainability especially when
>> membership dues are not coming through and a chapter does not have any
>> corporate members and their relating support on board?
>> 
>> Edwin Opare
>> 
>> Ghana Chapter
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> 
>> Best,
>> Veni Markovski
>> http://www.veni.com
>> https://www.facebook.com/venimarkovski
>> https://twitter.com/veni
>> 
>> The opinions expressed above are those of the
>> author, not of any organizations, associated
>> with or related to him in any given way.
>> 
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>> 
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