02:26, 23 March 2010
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This isn't your usual nonprofit/charity online popularity contest -- because, as you know,
I loathe nonprofit/charity online popularity contests.
As many of you know,
I volunteer with Bpeace, a nonprofit organization focused on helping entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and Rwanda. Each year, Bpeace chooses six promising entrepreneurs with a dream and a fledgling business plan, and Bpeace matches those entrepreneurs with American experts online to more fully develop those plans to better ensure success. They started with 250 applicants back in August 2009 and, through various means, six have now been chosen as having the most potential to create several hundred jobs.
If you go to voting page, you will see the six Afghan and Rwandan Race to Innovation Finalists, their "pitch" videos and why their business is important to their community.
BPEACE wants to raise $10,000 for
each Finalist through the
"vote for hope" campaign. 100% of the funds raised will transfer to the Finalists for them to buy the equipment and rent the space they need. Yes,
Bpeace is charging you to vote. But that's how money will be raised for these finalists. The minimum amount required to vote is just $15!
Though I have, indeed, been the primary volunteer for one of the entrepreneurs and, therefore, have strong feelings for such, I'm not going to ask you to vote for that person
just because I'm helping. Instead, I'm asking you to
go to the voting site and
judge for yourself who you think you want to invest in. No popularity contest -- instead, a real vote based purely on your opinion. For the record: yes, I've voted (and it was more than $15!). Here's more about
my volunteering with Bpeace.
Please
let me know you voted, and who you voted for!
01:31, 23 March 2010
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Sorry not to be blogging regularly -- turns out Internet access in Australia is
quite hard to come by!
I just finished by fourth
all-day training here in Australia -- this time, Perth, at
Volunteering Western Australia -- regarding working with volunteers successfully in our relatively new century and how to exploit all the emerging trends. Feedback so far to all these workshops has been excellent and attendees have been
really talkative, and saying, "It's so great to be hearing something NEW!" It's very energizing for me!
Also, twice since I've been in Australia, nonprofit organization tech staff have refused to allow me access to their wireless network for "security reasons" (and other staff told me the same staff often refuse their requests for web sites they can manage themselves for their volunteer programs, access to instant messaging to work with their volunteers, access to Facebook to work with their volunteers, etc.). I'll be blogging about that soon, as it's a problem that is not at all unique to Australia -- one that is very much holding volunteer managers back.
Wednesday, way early in the morning, Perth, Australia time, I'll be live on the radio with
Ron Tait of ABC radio, talking about all the exciting crazy, wacky things happening in the world of volunteering.Tune in! But don't ask me how to tune in because I don't know how...
I'll be back in the USA around April 1 -- and ready to train in my own country! My schedule fills up quickly (usually suddenly -- I've had a free month fill up in just a few days), so don't wait to
contact me to discuss your training needs and how I can help. You can see a
list of my training gigs to date. You can also see a list of
all training and consulting topics I can address. Trainings can be tailored to fit your needs, your time allotment, and different skill levels.
