Social projects. Social Project Ideas for Youth

We are accustomed to believe that social projects that are aimed at solving social problems, problems of the family and the individual, are organized on the principle of free provision of solutions to these problems. But with any sorting out of difficulties, we spend resources: material, temporary, human. How to compensate for these costs? Is it possible to make money on a social project without the help of investors, or at least bring it to self-sufficiency? The Mom Works project and its leader Olesya Kashayeva believe that it is possible. Today Olesya will tell you how it happens with them.

Olesya, what is this project? Who is it for? Who is your target audience?

The Mom Works project is about helping young mothers get an education, find a job at home or start their own business. And this is also their own sewing production, where mothers work. And, of course, these are free coworking spaces for moms.

Our target audience is mothers of toddlers and preschoolers.

When did the project start and why did you decide to do it? What was the starting point, how was the idea born?

The project appeared at a time when I myself had just become a mother. As soon as the oldest child was seven months old, I realized that I could not sit at home all the time and do only household chores.

Before the decree, I worked in consulting - I helped start a business, promote projects, and also started helping mothers who started their own business for free. When there were a lot of mothers, my volunteering grew into an organized project “Mom Works”. As my child grew, so did the project. When the second son appeared, our first co-working space opened. This happened because immediately after giving birth, I returned to work, came to the office with the children, and I needed a comfortable space for myself and for the kids. Since the project participants also often came with children, we organized a children's room.

What was the most difficult thing in implementing the idea?

Before the project, I had never been connected with the non-profit sector, I did not understand many details. And the people around did not believe in the viability of the idea, did not believe that the project would be in demand.

Later, a new difficulty arose - the fact that the whole project was "tied" to me. I could not go on vacation, my presence was constantly required. Now this problem is not so acute, but when you organize a business from scratch, you become its face. It's like another child who constantly needs attention.

How is the project monetized?

From the very beginning, I understood that we would not collect donations for our activities. I personally think that it is possible to collect donations when money is needed urgently and in large volumes. For example, for treatment. We simply do not have the moral right to do so. After all, we help mothers start a business, and if we cannot earn money ourselves, then what will we teach? This is how the idea of ​​our own sewing production was born, when mothers can work at home or in a workshop where they can come with a child. Labor is paid.

Products that mothers sew are sold in bulk, by order of companies, on forums, for promotions, and so on.

Production belongs to the fund, and as a fund we do not have the right to distribute profits between the founders, all profits go to the Mom Works project - training moms, salaries to employees, opening new coworking spaces. Yes, the fund's employees receive a salary, including me.

We also have paid courses. Their price is absolutely not market, but still it is a tangible income.

All profits from trainings and production go to the development of the project: to educate mothers, find employment, and operate free coworking spaces. And, of course, we are actively supported by the state. The Moscow Public Relations Committee subsidizes us, and resource centers for working with NGOs provide free space for co-working.

Is it difficult to get state support for start-up projects of this kind?

There is nothing difficult in this. But many do not even apply, because they think that everything is bought. This is wrong. Now there are very transparent state support programs. The main thing is to carefully read the “Regulations on the competition” (“Regulations on the competition for grants from the President of the Russian Federation for the development of civil society” - ed.) on the presidentialgrants.rf website, take into account all recommendations. It's usually detailed there.

The application for the competition must be written in “simple” language without water, so that even the “grandmother at the entrance” understands what you are talking about, use as much data as possible: quantitative and qualitative indicators, social impact assessment, and so on.

Cozy coworking area for moms

What do you teach in your courses?

We teach how to work in social networks, create and promote websites, sales. These are the specialties that are especially in demand among mothers on maternity leave. After graduating from such courses, you can work at home, combining work and caring for a child. After training, we employ mothers. These courses are inexpensive, there are options for free education followed by an internship.

Who helps you in the development of the project?

My children. :) The development of the project is directly related to them: they grow, and I understand from my own experience what mothers with children of different ages need.

Of course, a team works in the project, most of the employees are the same mothers.

And what gives the project to you personally?

The same as for other mothers - the opportunity to work with children, self-realization, constant growth and development.

An area in which the mother can work while looking after the children at play

How are you progressing? How will clients and investors find out about you?

What do you think, how promising are such social projects now? Due to what they can exist and how to achieve this?

I believe that the future of social projects lies with social entrepreneurship. When you solve social problems on terms of self-sufficiency and sustainability.

There are practically no projects in Runet that would not be built on the model of Western ones. As an investor, I receive a lot of letters in my mailbox with the headline “I came up with another social network, and this is an absolutely unique project.” After this phrase, I usually do not read the letter further.

The fact is that there are two types of risks that investors take when investing in startups. The first is technological, the risk of the idea itself. If you come up with something new, then the first question that arises for an investor is: “Why didn’t anyone come up with this idea before? Because she was bad or because you are brilliant? The second risk is implementation risk. I am a supporter of the fact that in emerging markets you cannot take both risks, an investor can buy only one of them.

In the West, unlike us, the market is large and there are teams of a very high level. Basically, investors invest in entrepreneurs who have already done something, the team can be assessed by previous experience. Unfortunately, there are no such opportunities in Russia. The market is small and there are few successful teams.

I don't like the phrase "cloned projects" or "Internet tracing papers" because successful "clones" don't exist. Yes, in most cases, specific startups are taken as a basis, the ideas of which have already been tested, after that the startups begin to develop, and in a year the project is no longer recognizable.

I am convinced that the uniqueness of each project lies not in the idea, but in its execution, "business development", the ability to debug the necessary business processes. The idea itself is worthless. Even in the West, there is no dominance of unique ideas now. Usually these are iterations of old ideas, improved ideas, reformatting of existing projects. Any site is just a showcase that can be made for $5,000-10,000, but then the implementation begins. And this is the most difficult task associated with building a team, organizing sales, logistics, payment systems, returning goods, establishing b2b partnerships, etc.

At the same time, I do not think that there are any fundamental differences in the mentality of consumers in Russia, which can ruin the project. All consumers, when buying something, want to get good quality goods at a low price with fast delivery. The issues of project adaptation are rather related to the underdevelopment of infrastructure in Russia, distrust of payment systems and other problems, the quality of the solution of which will determine your success.

Idea for business

It seems to me that more than half of the ideas that are being successfully implemented in America have not yet been used by anyone in Russia. For example, I really like the startup Getaround, which allows you to rent your car when you go on vacation, while still providing insurance to cover all risks. I understand that it is much more difficult to implement this project in Russia, but there is a perspective in this. Also, as an investor, I am interested in large-scale technological projects like Tesla Motors. I think that in almost every segment there are many ideas worthy of implementation.

Now, among aspiring entrepreneurs, there is a big fashion for applications for iPhone and Android. I get a lot of presentations in my inbox describing the uniqueness of a new product, but in most cases there is no answer to a very important question: how, in fact, will people find out about it? The authors of many projects stipulate that there must be some kind of virality, but there are very few viral projects and virality does not happen by chance. I would say that "business development" is the weakest part of the applications that I receive. After all, success is never absolute and quick. It's a lot of small steps forward, sometimes back and forward again. The detailed study of these steps is the most important part of the work.

For example, our TravelTipz project reached monetization a year after its launch, with sales of $1,000 per day in October 2012, that is, after 18 months of existence. For the first 12 months, we did a lot of preparatory work, but now we see a strong increase in sales. In September, sales increased 2.5 times compared to August, in October - 5 times compared to September.

Are you an entrepreneur?

Unfortunately, too many entrepreneurs want to start a business but don't want to risk their time or money. A lot of projects come from people who are planning to launch a startup but continue to work somewhere else. I understand that people need to feed themselves and their families, but for an investor, this is an indicator that an entrepreneur does not have confidence in his own idea. And if the creator does not have confidence, where will the investor get it from?

Basically, people want to find money and “jump” from one paid job to another, but this is not entrepreneurship, there is no risk. Many people see their future like this: “I just need a million dollars, I’m leaving my job right away, the project is flying at a breakneck speed, this will be the next Instagram, etc.” But I do not believe that the success of such a plan happens.

Even in the Western market, it is very rare for someone to succeed easily and the first time, you need to believe in yourself and in your idea, even if no one else believes in you. For example, the founders of the very famous Airbnb project in the travel industry, at a stage when they could not find an investor, were forced to sell cookies with stickers of Obama and McCain in order to hold out until they were believed in. And for Max Levchin, the founder of PayPal, which was later sold for $1.5 billion, this project was the fifth. The previous four failed. And how many entrepreneurs do we have who have created five startups? Perhaps I will remember one such person, and then I will have to think for a long time.

Don't look at successful entrepreneurs as if they've always done well. As one wise man said, success is just a gap between previous and future failure. The most difficult thing is to take a step from risk-free work to your own project, which can burn out, or can bring great satisfaction, not only material, but also moral.

I think that in order for a greater number of unique projects to appear on the Russian market, it is necessary that a certain critical mass of entrepreneurs be formed who are ready to take risks and believe in themselves. Then investors will be able to believe in them.

Social projects, the ideas of which were brought to life, can be distinguished primarily by the priority goal they pursue. Secondly, they differ in the degree and quality of influence on the life of society.

In fairness, it should be noted that the ideas of social projects cover many areas of human life. It is not always possible to maintain the “ideality” of priority goals.

Priorities and goals

Social projects, the ideas of which can be called truly social, have priority goals, as is commonly believed, a significant improvement in the life of society. For example, during the summer season in many cities, active and enterprising people organize and successfully carry out a project called “Ran” for several years now. Its essence is disclosed in more detail below, and now it is important to mention the results. In just one million-plus city, more than 100,000 people voluntarily took part in this kind of project. More than half of the people reached the finish line, while running more than 300 kilometers in total in 3 months! Social projects, the ideas of which meet with such a response, really change the life of society for the better.

One can only imagine how many people have become healthier, what a beneficial effect the running parents or relatives have on the younger generation. As a result of participation in the project, many people develop a useful habit of taking care of themselves and their health systematically. They will also make new like-minded friends, with whom it is easier and more fun to move forward.

"Anti-social" project

"Trolleybus of happiness" - this is the name of a "social" project implemented in practice, which even won prizes in a competition on this topic. Its stated goals are to modernize the higher education system by developing an ecosystem of innovations.

Based on the published information, the project managers set themselves rather prosaic tasks. By implementing the "Trolleybus of Happiness", they wanted to intensify the educational process, conduct training for masters and publicly defend themselves in the competition of similar projects.

What's in fact

In fact, the university turned to the city electric transport with a proposal: "Let's decorate your trolleybuses with the forces of our students, and together we will call it all a social project?" No sooner said than done. We allocated 4 trolleybuses, the students issued them free of charge in their free time, invited musicians, wrote to the press - it's ready! 4 colorful trolleybuses, really beautiful, drive around the city and are mobile mini-exhibitions of various themes - festive, romantic, patriotic ...

How has life in the city changed? Basically nothing. How did the spent energy and money of people, students, teachers modernize the higher education system? Basically nothing. How has the system of eco-innovation developed with the help of the trolleybus, which has been in existence for more than 100 years? It is not known for certain. Has it improved significantly as a result? It is hardly possible to say so.

General Alternative

“Run” is one of the real projects that could be called truly social. Its essence is that a person who wants to run in the morning registers in social networks. He makes a certain small cash contribution and then runs for 100 days in a row.

After each lesson, according to the rules of the project, you must upload your photos "in progress" and the chosen route. In the absence of such "evidence" data, the participant was excluded without a refund. Of course, the rules included such various small details as missing a run for a good reason and other such points, but the basic rules are as simple as two and two.

After the project, the available amount of money was divided among the remaining participants. Interestingly, they received back an amount that was 50% higher than the deposited. Many after the project did not leave their useful habit and continued to run in established groups and without a project, waiting for the next mass “run”. So, with the help of the project, people became healthier, and society united, and a good example was set for the younger generation.

More examples

Nochlezhka and Virtual Rynda are social projects whose ideas and examples could also be classified as truly social. They are implemented at the expense of charitable organizations and with the use of youth.

The first project is a network of shelters for the homeless. A map has been created with specific addresses of places where you can eat, stay overnight or get medical or legal assistance. For multimillion-dollar megacities, such a project significantly improves the social situation - there are fewer robberies, the overall level of crime is reduced, and there is less burden on law enforcement agencies. In addition, the project allows more or less tolerable control of the situation with the homeless in the city and even in some way influences the situation.

The second project allows you to place and see requests for help on an interactive map of the city. It would seem that nothing of the sort. Who is interested? But in fact, the application has proved to be very popular - because it solved the main communication problem by connecting those who need help and those who can provide it. Moreover, anyone can join the project. He will be aware of the requests around him and will have a convenient opportunity to get help in case of emergency.

Youth sphere

An important role in the popularization of social projects is played by the ideas of social projects aimed at students and pupils. They allow you to increase the employment of this active segment of the population, develop a sense of patriotism and show personal potential in many areas.

It should be noted that the ideas of social projects for young people are diverse. They concern, for example, the sphere of work. This is the organization of construction teams or activities for the prevention of neglect and juvenile delinquency. Projects can focus on youth recreation, intercultural interaction and practice.

Sphere of culture

Ideas that can be found in the field of culture are usually the most visible. They are supported by the state with the help of government grants.

It is not always possible to call creative social projects, the ideas of which relate to this topic. The activities relate to the support of the library, museum and club (entertainment) areas. For the idea of ​​social projects in the field of culture are critical.

This creates an additional platform for the development of both personal talents, for example, in the field of music or singing, and also develops communication skills. Sometimes there is an opportunity to travel and gain new knowledge. It is worth noting socially significant projects, the ideas of which inspire talented young people, allow them to reveal their potential and talent. Often this is a television show.

At the boundary of the contact between the concepts of "youth" and "culture" there are also social projects, the ideas of which are not distinguished by originality. These are educational excursions. Such projects provide an opportunity for young people to really expand their horizons and understanding of the surrounding reality.

This article is for people who need money for some business and who find it acceptable to ask for it from strangers on the Internet. She will talk about the options for the technical implementation of this process and the sites on which to place for the most effective fundraising.

And the conversation is not about startups and Kikstarter. People around the world successfully raise funds for anything: publishing books, releasing albums, family trips, photo shoots for bald mice.

Yandex money

An option for those who have their own website with a loyal Russian audience and IP / LLC. On the service, you can design a form for accepting donations, get its html code and paste it on your site next to the emotional text about your request.

Visitors will be able to support you financially in a variety of ways. You can accept no more than 300 thousand rubles per month. If you expect to collect more, you should create an account in Yandex.Checkout.

Receiving money: bank cards, QIWI, cash, Yandex.Money, WebMoney, Sberbank Online, Alfa-Click, mobile phone balance.
Withdrawal of money: to a bank account or Yandex.Wallet.
Commission: 3% (charged from the payer).

Donately

This service only accepts money from bank cards and withdraws it only to accounts connected to the Stripe system. But, firstly, one of the readers must have them, and secondly, Donately is a very interesting startup worth knowing about.

On it, you can not only create a form for accepting money, but also make up a full-fledged fundraising campaign page using templates. You can accept both one-time donations and monthly donations.

After paying with a card, the person automatically receives a letter of thanks written by you. On the statistics page, you can monitor the progress of your fundraising campaigns and analyze them.

Receiving money: bank cards.
Withdrawal of money: to a bank account via Stripe (the system does not work in Russia yet)
Commission: 3% up to $100K, 2% from $100K to $1,000,000, 1% on everything raised after the first million.

planeta.ru

Russian crowdfunding platform #1. For 4 years, the site has collected more than half a billion rubles. The average donation is one and a half thousand rubles. 30% of all published projects raised the desired amount. All placements are checked by strict moderators. Each project is supervised by a curator.

Planeta.ru has over half a million unique visitors per month. People are attracted by interesting and detailed descriptions of projects, links to which their creators post on social networks. Most willingly, people donate funds to help sick children and release new albums by famous musicians.

On the service, it is customary to notify sponsors about the progress of the project and give gifts for large donations. For example, a T-shirt with your own logo for those who contributed more than 2,000 rubles.

Receiving money: Alfa Bank, QIWI, Yandex.Money, Single Wallet, Best2Pay.
Withdrawal of money: Bank account.
Commission: 10%.

Other Russian crowdfunding platforms:

If on the Russian-language Internet crowdfunding donations are still measured in hundreds of millions of rubles, then on the English-speaking Internet the scale is completely different. The combined fees of only the three most popular sites exceed $5 billion.

You can only raise money on Kikstarter if you have an idea for a product and a firm intention to implement it. But on the sites that are in the first and third place, you can collect money for what your conscience allows. Let's dwell on them in a little more detail.

GoFundMe

#1 crowdfunding platform in the world that does not accept donations less than $5. Site visitors willingly help widows, orphans, families with many children and cancer patients, collect 16-year-old girls for travel and newlyweds for honeymoons. You can link your Facebook account to the service and see what projects your friends support.

Receiving money: bank cards.
Withdrawal of money: Bank account.
Commission: 6.4%.

IndieGoGo

In 2011, the world's first child was born, the funds for the conception of which were collected through crowdfunding. The campaign took place on this site. Reading IndieGoGo is much more interesting than GoFundMe, as original projects are shown first.

If you need money for something really important, then you should think about translating and posting a description of your idea on English-language sites. If similar projects have already raised money, then yours may be lucky. In addition to the two above, you can try other sites from the American TOP-10:

Steps

Part 1

Get started early. The task should always be started immediately after receiving it. After all, it is not without reason that your teacher spent so much time on it; that's how much you need for the successful implementation of the project. Immediately take up the preparation of a plan so that you can manage to catch all your plans. So you save yourself from sleepless nights before the delivery of the project.

Check out the assignment. It contains a detailed description of the task before you. Abstract from everything extraneous and carefully read the task. If the teacher hasn't already done this, break the project down into parts so you understand exactly what is required of you.

• For example, you might be given the following assignment: “Make a presentation about the American Civil War. You can choose one battle, idea, speech, turning point, or focus on the war as a whole. Don't forget important dates and characters."
• Such a project can be divided into several parts: 1) A visual representation of the Civil War. 2) The central theme of the project. 3) Important dates. 4) Key actors.

1. Working out ideas. Brainstorming allows you to get your ideas down on paper. As a rule, a person writes down thoughts that come to mind and establishes a connection between them in order to start the creative process. This practice helps you focus on the desired idea, as well as think about what has not yet occurred to you. There are a number of effective techniques that can be used in the brainstorming process.

   Choose a topic. Resist possible urge to take on a big topic (like covering the entire Civil War) and try to narrow down the issue. This way you won't drown in a sea of ​​facts and details.

   Choose a way to present the project. This article focuses on the presentation example, so it's important to decide how your ideas will be visualized. If you have selected several important events, then you can use the timing chart. If your work is based on geographical aspects (for example, battles), then you can develop a detailed map. The presentation should be built around a central idea.

   • How about a 3D view? You can try to make a three-dimensional map of battles with a demonstration of the movement of troops.
   • You can also try making papier-mâché sculptures. You can even make Abraham Lincoln and tell your story with his quotes.

2. Determine the required number of sources. When doing a comprehensive project in high school, you will need more sources than for a high school student. In the first case, at least eight to ten sources should be used, while in the second one or two books can be dispensed with.

   Check out the library. The librarian will be your guide among the available materials. For example, you can use the public catalog to search for books. To search for scientific articles, you will need a specialized database, which is located in another tab.

   We cut off the excess. Having collected a solid amount of materials, they should be sorted and only the really important ones should be left. Some articles or books may only tangentially relate to your topic, and without them, your work will lose nothing.

   Take notes and cite sources. Always take notes on the topic. Do not lose important details, while trying to express the idea in your own words. When taking notes, it is important to indicate the bibliographic data of the source used.

Part 4

Write text. Your project will include text that represents the ideas being covered. Specify where the text should be placed on your sketch. To write the text, use the collected materials, while formulating thoughts in your own words. Also, do not forget to cite sources so that it is clear where specific information is taken from.