Rotary Ideas - Are You Connected?
Posted by Sean Paddy on Sep 22, 2016
Rotary Ideas helps clubs seeking volunteers,partnerships, and in-kind donations, as well as funding, connect with one another. More than 1,220 projects have been posted on the platform since it was launched in August 2013. And unlike other crowdfunding sites, Rotary Ideas emphasizes partnerships over dollars. Rotary Ideas allows Rotary clubs to post projects, seek resources, or contribute to an existing project. Here's how one club in the Caribbean used Rotary Ideas to make a difference...
Suzette Ramdanie-Linton was almost ready to give up on a clean water project that her Rotary club had initiated in St. James, Jamaica, last year, because the funding simply wasn’t there.
She and fellow members of the Rotary Club of Montego Bay Sunrise in Jamaica did a community assessment in 2015 and found that 11 schools and one children’s home in rural St. James were in desperate need of new bathroom facilities. The club contributed nearly $4,000 to get a project off the ground.
But that sum was far from enough to address the need, says Ramdanie-Linton, who served as club president in 2014-15. “We needed to find partners to complete the project. Unfortunately, we weren’t finding the funding fast enough. I was a little frustrated at the lack of progress we were making,” she says.
The district governor at the time, Paul Brown, encouraged her to promote the project on Rotary Ideas. Two weeks after she put a project outline and photos on the Rotary crowdsourcing platform, she received an email from Naude Dreyer, a member of the Rotary Club of Central Cayman Islands.
Dreyer was looking specifically for water projects in Jamaica. “It was a perfect find for us,” he says. “Rotary Ideas is a really cool site and a great way to fundraise.”
The Central Cayman Islands club ended up being the biggest donor, contributing $8,000 toward the $40,000 global grant from The Rotary Foundation, Ramdanie-Linton says. “Their generosity and partnership pushed the project forward.” The project was expected to have been completed in July.
The two clubs already are collaborating on another project, to provide dictionaries to third graders in St. James.
“A lot has come out of a simple post, and the platform was really easy to use,” Ramdanie- Linton says. “I think any club faced with insufficient funding should give Rotary Ideas a chance.”
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HERE ARE FOUR KEY WAYS YOU CAN USE THE TOOL:
Partners
If you’re looking for a partner for your project, you can specify the type needed, for example, local or international, global grant or district grant. The Sampaguita-Grace Park club found a funding partner through Rotary Ideas, which helped the club provide eyeglasses for children who had already been given eye exams. Rotarians for Family Health and AIDS Prevention, a Rotarian Action Group, is using the tool to line up partners for their annual Family Health Days in Africa in May.
Volunteers
If your project needs volunteers, ideas.rotary.org can help you find them. Choose a day, list how many volunteers are needed, how long they will be needed, and what they will be doing.
If your project needs volunteers, ideas.rotary.org can help you find them. Choose a day, list how many volunteers are needed, how long they will be needed, and what they will be doing.
Funding
To request contributions, list your total funding goal and suggested contribution amounts. Listing small suggested amounts and explaining how each level will support the effort will encourage contributors and give them a better understanding of how their money is being used. Use PayPal if your club can accept online payments, and watch even small contributions add up.
To request contributions, list your total funding goal and suggested contribution amounts. Listing small suggested amounts and explaining how each level will support the effort will encourage contributors and give them a better understanding of how their money is being used. Use PayPal if your club can accept online payments, and watch even small contributions add up.
Resources & Materials
Use the platform to request project materials or in-kind donations. List the items, a description, and the quantity needed. Rotarians in Jacobabad, Pakistan, have found 100 maintenance kits for hand pumps and are seeking other materials for their efforts to provide sanitation and clean water for households still recovering from heavy monsoon rains in 2012. You must be signed in to your My Rotary account and be a club officer to post a project on Rotary Ideas. But anyone can sign in using Google or Facebook, browse projects, and contribute or volunteer.
Use the platform to request project materials or in-kind donations. List the items, a description, and the quantity needed. Rotarians in Jacobabad, Pakistan, have found 100 maintenance kits for hand pumps and are seeking other materials for their efforts to provide sanitation and clean water for households still recovering from heavy monsoon rains in 2012. You must be signed in to your My Rotary account and be a club officer to post a project on Rotary Ideas. But anyone can sign in using Google or Facebook, browse projects, and contribute or volunteer.
Rotary Ideas Tutorials
Part 1 - An Introduction to Rotary’s crowdsourcing platform - defines crowdsourcing and explains how Rotary’s crowdsourcing platform can help you achieve your club service goals
Part 2 - Posting a project seeking support - features a step-by-step demonstration of how to add your club’s project to Rotary’s crowdsourcing platform
Part 3 - Promoting posted projects - shares tips and best practices for promoting projects listed on Rotary’s crowdsourcing platform and following up with project contributors
Part 4 - Supporting a project - features a step-by-step demonstration of how to search Rotary’s crowdsourcing platform for projects seeking support and explains how to contribute needed resources
For support with Rotary Ideas, please email: social@rotary.org