Blog post 15

Well, this is it... My last SCORE blog post! This week has gone fairly smoothly. Although I've had to donate much more time than expected to Loyd's movie (about 6 hours total week), it has worked out okay because a majority of the work that I did for the foundation consisted of phone calls and email communication as well as independent research.

The board meeting went smoothly, and another one has been planned for the end of June or early July. Everyone is very pleased with the progress the EFH has made since winter, and it seems as if we're right on track for the upcoming year's application season!

Fundraisers are still in progress- a list of close friends to Elise has been compiled so that we may request their support for the EHF and her memory through donations, yet there are also two larger fundraisers which have begun to take shape; firstly, a benefit concert is confirmed to happen with one of my dad's artists... The details of which are still hazy,  but it is definitely happening. The second event will be a Banana's fashion show (the store bananas on main st. In Gloucester is a vintage clothing store owned by one of Elise's closest friends), which will be expected to occur over the summer/early fall. 

Blog Post 14

Well, today I continued to plan some fundraising ideas for the foundation. I think our greatest possibility to make some serious money would be by having one of my dad’s musicians (my dad is an artistic manager and concert producer) play a benefit concert at a local venue. It would be ideal to use the Rockport music hall that was built a few years back- it’s very popular and strategically placed. I know for a fact that many of the musicians with whom my dad works are very close to him, and there’s a good chance that one of them would agree to do this favor for our family in honor of Elise. So as of right now that’s what I’ve got going on the fundraiser front…

I also have two meetings planned for the next few days. Seeing as Mr. Magers wasn’t able to fit me into his schedule this week I will be meeting with him at 11:30 next Tuesday morning to go over the EHF’s mission and the possible opportunities that it would provide MERHS Green Scholars and other students interested in sustainable development and human rights. The second meeting that I have planned is a board meeting for tomorrow afternoon so that we can all get back on track and plan what the next steps will be for each individual member.

Blog Post 13

The agenda for this week is fairly unclear still- mostly because I have officially completed everything that was on my initial to-do list at the beginning of SCORE. I have set up the EHF so that we are up and running and ready to go! Last week’s marketing plan/ calendar outline for the next year was really the last step in getting everything super organized for the foundation’s upcoming year in receiving grant and scholarship applications.

As such, I have begun to think that the best way I can spend my time this week is by beginning to plan a few more fundraisers for the EHF. The foundation has already received $50,000 in donations last winter (since the EHF is in memory of my stepmother, Elise, these donations were made by the our family and friends as well as the Gloucester community).

After researching for the majority of last week which types of marketing plans would work best for the EHF I have a pretty good idea of what sort of things I should be planning. However, I will see my dad tonight to further discuss the details of what kind of fundraisers we want.

I also plan on meeting with Mr. Magers at some point this week- he asked me last week if we could have a follow-up session, but I was very busy with AP Exams and finals, so the plan is to meet sometime around mid-week to further discuss what the relationship between the EHF and MERHS (as well as other local schools) may grow to be.

Blog Post 12

Alright, well another week of SCORE is over. This week was much more difficult to feel like I got a lot of tangible stuff done, for while I did spend quite a few hours checking in with the rest of our board on the EHF and making sure that everyone was still up-to-date with the foundation's work, that is something that is hard to quantify at the end of the day. For the rest of my time spent doing SCORE I began outlining a marketing plan for the foundation (which I explained in further detail in my previous post).

I'm not exactly what the next steps in this process should be- mainly because I feel as if most everything is pretty well done: the website is up and running, a press release has been written, guidance departments have been contacted and given all the information they need, the applications have been written and published, and all the information has been written out clearly for anyone's use. From this point on the EHF is a working, established foundation! I suppose the next step would be to start organizing more fundraising events and networking projects for the summer/fall of this year. I'll have a meeting with my dad this weekend to discuss the next steps.

Blog Post 11

Well, I must say this week has been extremely busy. Between the paper being due on Friday, AP exams, and final exams, I’ve felt like I barely have enough time to do SCORE! Miraculously, I’ve found a way to fit it all in. Considering my SCORE paper is about the role that nonprofits and the government play in humanitarian aid, I’ve found that I can “double-dip” a bit and turn my paper research into my Comparative Politics study time.

As I posted earlier, I’ve been working on establishing a marketing plan for the Elise Hansen Foundation this week. That marketing plan has come to include a bulleted list of current EHF objectives to establish a network and community of actively participating donors/contributors.

 Likewise, I have also been doing an extensive amount of research on the different kind of marketing tactics used by nonprofits (especially since that works into what my paper focuses on). So far I have outlined in my marketing plan two kinds of approaches to marketing: the “Heartfelt Connector” and the “Beneficiary Builder”.

The Heartfelt Connector focuses on causes that resonate with the existing concerns of large numbers of people at all income levels, and by creating a structured way for these people to connect where none had previously existed. I find this tactic extremely relevant to the mission of the EHF and would be of good use in the future.

Then there’s the beneficiary builder which is used most often by private education programs like universities, for the the vast majority of these nonprofits’ funding comes from fees that beneficiaries pay for the services the nonprofits provide.

Blog Post 10

This week I plan on writing out an extensive marketing plan proposal... Thus far I have really only focused on the research aspect of it. However, I have found many great resources  and figured that I could spend some time right now just brainstorming more ideas.
 

Although one may be tempted to equate a nonprofit marketing model to that of a consumer corporation, there is a large difference. Unlike a for-profit organization which creates revenue by exchanging a good or service for money, the customer paying the value, nonprofits must find a way distinguish between and satisfy both the beneficiary and the donors. For the sake of a nonprofit’s success it is critical that both groups of people are understood separately as individuals within a system (unlike the for-profit corporations which place the consumer and donor in the same category). 

Likewise, by giving their organization a “face” or a memory to which potential donors could remember, many nonprofits and NGO’s are able to appeal to the public, not due to incessant advertisement in the mainstream media, but by giving each person the sense that they are playing a part in the improvement of society, a feeling of moral duty. The personal element that nonprofit marketing is able to establish will always prove more effective in gaining public sentiment and support that that of any government agency.

Blog Post 8

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So now that I’ve had time this week to see just how much I’ve gotten done so far, I feel like I’m in a great position to move forward from here. Or, well, I feel like I’ve been so productive these past few weeks of SCORE, that there’s not much left to be done to set up the EHF. In all honesty, the foundation is basically up-and-running! I can’t even tell you how great it is to be able to say that. This foundation really has meant a lot to my dad and I, especially since the whole inspiration for this project’s launch came from the work that my stepmother did when she was alive.

Not only have I been able to write up a website and scholarship/grant application nearly all by myself, but I’ve also really learned how to work independently on a project and seek out my advisors and peers for constructive criticism, and not necessarily guidance on how to move forward. This has really been an independent project for me, and although I came into this whole experience with little to no knowledge on how to set up a network base and website for a non-profit foundation like the EHF, I feel much more confident now in my own abilities to work independently on something I don’t exactly understand yet.

In the next few days I plan to be getting in contact with the local newspapers to do a press release for the foundation, just so you all are aware of what my immediate future plans are for SCORE work.

Blog Post 7

Once more I feel very happy with where things are going… So far this week I have spent some time meeting with Ms. Lewis to go over the website, the grant application/scholarship application, as well as how to establish a relationship with each individual guidance department for the various high schools on the North Shore. She gave me some really great advice. For example, she sugguested that I make two separate applications for money: one for a grant for a project (summer project sort of deal) and another for a scholarship application- this way the applicant is very clear about what they are doing and what they are asking for from the EHF.

Likewise, the advice received from Mr. Magers and Mr. Wallimann as of last week I have taken into account and revised the website accordingly. The current state of the website is this: all of the recommended revisions that I received last week and earlier this week from teachers and EHF board members have been taken into account and the website has been updated.

I also spent some time this week and got a list of guidance contacts together so that I could send out a formal announcement of the EHF scholarship/grant for students. Not only was a letter written to be sent to Hamilton-Wenham, Beverly, Rockport, Gloucester, and Ipswich, but an informational sheet about applicant information was attached for each guidance department to print out or reference (rather than go to the EHF website to access this info).

Blog Post 6

In the next week I hope to have been able to iron out all of the various details of the website that need to be revised while also beginning to contact the various guidance departments around the North Shore concerning the EHF. Early next week I will meet with Ms. Lewis to ask about the best way to approach guidance departments and begin establishing a relationship between the EHF and each student community.

One thing Mr. Magers and I discussed, which I had given quite a bit of thought to before-hand as well, is the establishment of some sort of agreement between the EHF and its scholars which states that the recipients of the EHF grant will agree to create a 30-60 minute presentation concerning their project to show to their school community. By requiring this sort of follow-up presentation by the students, I believe that it will be more likely that the message that the EHF is trying to spread will be passed along to a greater audience. Likewise, I have found that a presentation made by students, for students concerning any global issue or event is always more widely accepted and appreciated than a presentation made by an adult or outside educator.

What the EHF is ultimately striving for is the establishment of a long-term and organically growing network/community of students and young adults who have a genuine interest in human rights activism, social justice, and global sustainability, and I believe that the best way to do that is by asking the grant recipients to give a brief presentation to their local communities (whether that be their school or otherwise) about the significance of the project they completed and how it contributed to the world.

Blog Post 5

As expected this week was primarily dedicated to the revision of my website. Along with meeting with Mr. Wallimann and Mr. Magers, I also sent a preliminary letter to Ms. Lewis announcing the opening of the foundation. Although I do not have anything concrete to present for work this week, except for an awesome website of course, I feel very happy with all that I have been able to accomplish. The ultimate goal this week was to obtain as many second-opinions as possible concerning the website, the EHF application, and how to go about establishing relationships with the various guidance departments around the North Shore.

The meeting I had with Mr. Wallimann was both encouraging and helpful; we discussed the website layout and content (more so than the student-EHF relationships that I hope to establish in the coming years), and I found this very helpful because in these early stages what I want to concern myself with most is the nit-picky details of the website so that everything is as clear and informative as possible before I go about contacting various people.
Likewise, my meeting with Mr. Magers was equally helpful, yet in a different way, for we discussed the actual theory behind the EHF and the scholarship process (rather than what is presented on the website). I found it extremely helpful to hear his thoughts and opinions concerning the EHF and our ultimate goals for promoting social justice and sustainable development on the North Shore with high school students. Not only did he help me understand what things I should consider revising, but he also gave me some great ideas on how to continue forward.

Blog Post 4

 

All last week my focus was on getting the website up and working, and now I am happy to say that there is a site available to view at www.elisehansenfoundation.org! At this point in the process I would still like to spend some time polishing off the website before I go around telling different schools and students to take a look… I just feel like it could be a bit clearer. I’ve asked for Mr. Wallimann and Mr. Jewett to take a look at what is currently online and offer me any feedback or criticisms they may have (constructive criticism would seriously be helpful!).

However, after I’ve made sure that I’m happy with the way the website looks and functions, I plan on contacting a list of high schools on the North Shore (Cape Ann area). I still have to look up the contact information for the guidance departments at these various schools, but that shouldn’t take more than a few hours to do. After I gather a list of contacts I plan to send out a formal email to the departments announcing the scholarship opportunity for high school seniors (this upcoming school year will be the first year in which the EHF will be accepting applicants). I’ve also given the unveiling of the foundation to the public a bit of thought, and think that it would be very helpful to have some sort of press release in the local newspapers too… at some point within the next week or so I plan on contacting the Gloucester Times and perhaps the Cricket as well to enquire about a short announcement in the papers.

Blog Post 3

Well, I must say that I’ve been much more productive this week than I thought I’d be! I managed to get quite a bit done for the foundation’s website, and it seems likely that there will be a site up and running within the next 2 weeks which is great news because once there’s a site up to reference I can begin reaching out to schools in the community to inform them about the Foundation and the scholarship we’re looking to provide… I hope to talk to Mr. Magers some time after break to ask if he has some contacts on the North Shore that I could get a hold of. I figured he’d be a good person to ask initially since he’s Mr. Green Team and this scholarship is for students interested in not just social justice, but also sustainable development and community outreach work. He seemed like a great starting point. Clearly, what I’m brainstorming right now is still a few weeks off from being implemented, but considering I know exactly what needs to be done now to get the website up I figured it would be a good idea to try and organize the steps that will come after in a few weeks (my guess is about three weeks till I can really get going). Either way, the stuff I still need to work on next week includes revision of the website text I’ve already gotten, making a short video clip of myself and a few international friends talking about “what social justice means to me” for the website home page, and compiling more photos to post on it. Overall, a good first week!

Blog 2

I know I’m writing two blogs at one time, but it’s hard to write a blog post about things I’m doing the same day because my to-do list is constantly changing, so my last post was a recap of what I did between Monday and Tuesday and this post will be a summary of yesterday’s agenda along with what I hope to accomplish by tomorrow. Firstly, after brainstorming about website designs and doing a good amount of research on what exactly the website needs to be, I began writing up some of the content. Specifically, I began by drafting a mission statement (about a paragraph long… just something that can be presented on the home page as inspirational, yet informative). From the mission statement I continued to write up an “About Us” page, giving context to the foundation’s name by explaining the relationship Elise had to the community and many different non-profit organizations. That page took a while to write, but I think it’s looking pretty good. At the end of the day I was able to write up a “Donations” page as well. Today I’m going to continue writing up website content to include the “Get Involved” tab, the “Apply” tab, and perhaps others too…. There’s still some work to be done, but I figure if I can continue writing the text for the website for two hours a day and then spend a third hour doing design and research I’ll be in good shape going in to next week.

Blog 1

So Tuesday was a good continuation of what I began working on Monday, which is a rough outline of the website context and talking with the guy who's going to write the website code for me. For the next few weeks I’m hoping to make good progress on the website layout for the foundation. On Monday I spent a good couple of hours researching all of the possible web designs. I know that the website has to be simple, clear, and easily accessible in order to be of any value. The content of the site also needs to be inspiring, yet simple especially since high school students will be coming to the website looking for guidance and opportunities to involve themselves in social justice. The mission statement needs to be something that will be comprehensible but also inspiring (with enough detail to strike an emotional cord)…The brainstorming about the website led me to begin researching different programs in which students could get involved so that there is a list of options for students interested social justice programs to choose from. For instance, I know that in MERHS there aren’t a whole lot of international options for community service, yet I’m sure there are a lot of students who would be interested in that sort of opportunity- it would be really great if the foundation could be a nice mediator between students interested in such programs and the program itself. I'm hoping that the foundation can be not only a scholarship grant, but also a starting point for high school kids and young adults to reference in order to find appropriate programs focusing in social work.

Day One

Yesterday, the first day of SCORE, was a bit overwhelming, yet I managed to get myself organized and get a few good hours of work in. I figure if I budget 3hrs. of work a day then I'll get my 15hrs. a week done perfectly. Anyways, my to-do list yesterday included researching non-profit web designs for the EHF foundation, making a list of what the website should include, writing a mission statement, and contacting the person who's going to help design the website. All of these tasks were completed, and I feel that I have a good sense of direction as to where I'm heading with all of this in the next few weeks.

Southard SCORE Outline

Introduction

A. Modern culture and markets
a. Mixed economy of welfare and capitalism
b. Policy choice allowing nonprofits to develop influence

B. Nonprofits and civil society
a. Function as a link between social capital and economic development
b. Hold societies facing cross-cutting cleavages together
c. Network of nonprofits allows for more trust and bond between people
than the government can emit
d. Example NP

C. Social Accountability
a. Transparency and higher accountability between citizens and
organization than that of government
b. Proves nonprofits are more effective in consumer relationships and
allows them to be the advocates for target group
c. Example NP

D. Effective social innovators
a. Smaller scale is more effective than government (proximity to civil
society)
b. Are able to focus resources on targeted efforts while politicians may
find the issue too costly to tackle
c. Example NP

Conclusion


Thesis: Nonprofit organizations have proven more effective in addressing current social
issues than the government in the modern era, for such groups are able to realize their
goals in a more direct and thorough manner than federal agencies.


I.
Topic Sentence: In recent years, the organization of many developed nations has
called for capitalism and the welfare state, allowing the goals of nonprofits to
integrate their aims into the public management goals of the government.

A. Pluralist interest group systems (esp. in USA)
a. In past years P.I. systems have allowed for more collaboration between
govt. and nonprofits
b. Chaos of decentralized private nonprofits
c. Possible competition between groups with similar goals for funding

B. Associational group aggregation
a. Acts as a private agency seeking to benefit society w/ specific goals
b. Larger nonprofits may act as a political voice and interest aggregator
c. No direct ties to government but nationally accredited

C. Overall, nonprofit collaboration with government allows for more efficiency
and business-like regulation while allowing for independent, detailed
attention.


II.

Topic Sentence: The personal relationships and the sense of community that
many nonprofits foster help ameliorate the disunity that exists within a society
between different cultural sectors as well as the central government.

A. Only by remaining separate from government control are nonprofits
able to facilitate in creating inter-cultural relationships.
a. Network creators
b. Allow for more productivity and incentive to improve society

B. As independent organizations, nonprofits may have a harder time
making themselves known to potential donors and recipients of aid
(countering main point).
a. Yet the avenues which NP choose to use to raise funds tent
to strengthen the sense of community between people and
organizataion.


III.

Topic Sentence: One of the key reasons that nonprofits are so effective in
creating a sense of community is that they are independent of the government, and
therefore free of the mistrusting public sentiments towards certain realms of government
practice.

A. Often nonprofits may model their structure like the government: with
informational flow and feedback through the hierarchy of personnel,
yet they are free to alter policies with ease as the social conditions in
which they exist evolve.

B. The tensions that may exist internationally between two nations could
hinder inter-governmental aid from passing to the level it is necessary,
yet nonprofits are able to work to their capacity without politics.

C. Quote


IV.
Topic Sentence: Although one may argue that big corporations are
more
effective in reaching their goals because they have greater access to resources, yet that is
not the case for many effective nonprofits, for the simplicity of a small nonprofit’s
structure allows for quick and efficient response to demands.

A. Not only easy for nonprofits to evolve with societal demands, but the small
size allows for more personal relationships with donors and clientele.

B. With fewer employees, nonprofits are quite effective in ensuring that the
highest possible percentage of funding goes to the aims of the mission
statement.

C. Nonprofits are able to be very specific about their work while larger
organizations may overlook details as too costly.

D. Compare and contrast two example organizations


V. Conclusion

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