Funding your Projects
Here is a simple and straightforward method to fund your project(s).
First – I will consider you have already subscribed on the main Zeitgeist Website (the US one), or on your local Zeitgeist Website (your local Chapter).
Second – I will consider you have a project (whether it is fully developed or not).
To put things very simple, follow this example:
Let’s say you have a project, that is, to create a leaflet about the Zeitgeist Movement. This project aims to inform unemployed people about a feasible solution for their “current” (permanent) problem. Your goal is to produce 1,000 A5 Leaflets – this will cost you $30,00.
Here you will need, basically, two things:
1. People to help you to develop this project and;
2. Funds.
1 – You can start by setting a post on the forum and talking about your project. It is important to mention that you already made a research on how much this project will cost and that you are looking for people to share the costs, as you (I believe) can’t afford it. Write down the website’s shop where you want to have your prints done and mention that you accept suggestions concern a place that can give you a better price than the one you have posted. It’s very important to keep total transparency and show people that there is no personal gain involved in your project. You may even count with the aid of friends or family to create this leaflet and this will cost you nothing, just good will.
Once the Project is accomplished, you go for the second part: Funds.
2- Funds - Here you may already have all funds you needed to print your leaflets, as the people involved in your project may have contributed. It is important to mention that, as you may have realized, this is not “one person” Movement. The Zeitgeist Movement counts with over 390,000 members (Abril, 2010) and it is growing fast. If you still didn’t raise all the funds you need to have your prints done, so I strongly suggest you to contact your local Zeitgeist Chapter. Present your idea and get some help from them (what won’t be hard as we all are on the same side fighting for the same cause).
Another two important points to consider:
1 – If you just raised $15,00 instead of $30,00, so, consider to print 500 leaflets instead of 1000.
2- If your project requires more funds, you can appeal not just to your local Chapter but for all Chapters. Always keeping in mind the total transparency of your project. In this case, you may even use gadgets as The ChipIn Widget, PayPal Donation Gauge, etc. So all people know how much your project will cost and know how much you still need to fund it.
The ChipIn widget is a simple Flash application that allows you to keep people up-to-date on ChipIn events you organize to collect money.
The widget works with any Web page and many popular social media Web sites such as: MySpace, Facebook, WordPress, Blogger,TagWorld, etc.
Know more about it by visiting www.chipin.com
What's the Donation Gauge?
It is a gadget that will measure and show how many donations have been received.
Example #1: this is Wiki’s Donation Gauge
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Example #2: this is Facebook Donation System – In this example (Future by Design: The Venus Project) you can see how much was raised, who were the donators and how much each one donated. On the Tab “Impact”, you can even see a graphic showing more details about the donations made (like, the day that the donation has been made, etc).
Last but now least, ask you local chapter to create a link called “Projects to Spread Awareness” or “Projects to be funded” (or anything regarded this subject). The idea of this link is to host all projects that have already been funded and promoted (what can be done over and over again) and projects that have been developed but still need funds to be started.
If you don’t have a project, why would you ask for funds? (we all know the answer)
NEVER ask for random donations. We don’t want to be confused with those “honest” Humanitarian Organizations and have our name printed on books like “The Lords of Poverty: The Power, Prestige, and Corruption of the International Aid Business” or even be compared with “The Fraudulent UNICEF” (according William F. Jasper)
We believe that this simple and straightforward method to fund your project(s) will help you to spread awareness without over struggles.
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Any ideas or suggestions
Email: factualsolutions@gmail.com
