Helene in Toronto writes:
I created The Global Community Project, which connects 200+ million individuals, non-profits, governments and corporations worldwide to create solutions for the Environment, Health, Poverty and Economic Development. I’ve applied for some grants and I’ve been making many attempts to connect with top leaders in the world to participate in the project at the leadership level. Will I be successful in launching it? Will I get any grants? Will the people I want involved in the project join me in this initiative? Will this make the difference in the world I believe it can make? Do you see any major roadblocks?
Dear Helene,
Kudos to you for taking on such a huge endeavor!
You are facing two very significant obstacles: Time and Money. It is going to take a bit longer for you to really get this project off the ground than what you are anticipating, so please be prepared. Many of the people that you are trying to reach in order to help boost this endeavor and lend to its credibility are people who are very hard to reach. Keep trying, even though you may start to feel like you’re beating your head against the wall. It is because of your repeated efforts that you will start to draw attention and interest. This isn’t going to be easy… but few worthwhile things are.
I do see you will get funding, but it looks more like individual investments rather than grants. There is something technical that seems to be holding back the grant money that is available for projects such as yours. This doesn’t mean that you won’t get a grant, it just means about another year of dealing with red tape before you qualify.
You are trying to create major changes, which means you will be met with a lot of rejection and resistance. It is unfortunate, but to do good things, to really get GCP off the ground and productive, you will have to sacrifice some of your original vision. That is probably the largest challenge you will face. Your vision will make a difference, and you will have positive impact. I see many small successes rather than snowballing large ones, but that may change in time.
Everybody wants change, as long as there is no personal or bottom-line sacrifice involved – even when it is blatantly called for. Politics and humanity don’t typically go hand-in-hand, except for matters of campaigning.
Keep doing what you are doing, and reach far and wide. Be a pain in the butt. You’ve got to get your name, and your mission, out there. Use any and every avenue you can think of. You are just at the beginning stages, and things are going to seem thankless for awhile… until you start attracting attention. Attention leads to recognition, and recognition is what starts building your foundation of support.
While you may not be able to fully appreciate the level of success you will achieve, do it anyways. It is quite a legacy you will leave behind.
Good luck!
Red
Ext. 9226
One thought on “Red Responds: Will Her Project Be Successful?”
I wanted to give Red an update on this initiative. Red’s response has helped me get past the many challenges an inspired me to keep at it no matter what. A huge thank you for that!
The Project has changed a lot over time and will be launched to just Canada later in 2012. It is now just for environmental participation. I have been working on it part-time only so it has taken longer. The name has changed too. It is a good thing I have a web programming / design background because I have had to build it myself. Believe me when say the technological challenges have been enormous!
What I’ve build is a site with 3 dashboards – one for individual participation, one for environmental non-profit content and the third is for business participation. Everything meshes and flows between the 3 and you can see the results as action and change builds.
I built the site to be a non-profit but have changed my mind about that in recent months. I have decided to launch it as a business with 2 earning streams – one is a marketplace that allows environmental charities to have a store. They can use it for donations and sell items too. Business can approach them to list their products and it’s up to the charity to decide it it is environment-friendly based on criteria set out. This will help the struggling charities build new a revenue stream for themself. The second earning stream I have is to have ads on the site – only they are designed to promote what the business/org is doing for the environment and social responsibility. No products ads – focused on the business itself only.
There is a pure non-profit component on the site so I’ve decided to launch it as a separate non-profit. This component is called ‘Community Raising’ and it’s like the ‘old days’ barn raisings in terms of groups getting together to help other community members or build something for their community. By leaving it on the main site, I can leverage business, individuals and non-profit participation.
I still have hopes to copy the site and launch it in other countries. One step at a time.
Thank you Red for the encouragement. I don’t know that I would have what it takes to continue for all these years without it. I am hoping my work will make the difference you say it will!!!
When I launch I will come back and post the link to the site.