GiveIndia IndiBlogger of the Month (Social Causes) Contest

With the March 31st tax deadline coming soon, we are collaborating with the NGO GiveIndia to help you save taxes for yourself and help others do the same too!

Announcing the IndiBlogger of the Month Social Causes contest, sponsored by GiveIndia!

How can you participate?

(a) In your blog, write a blog entry related to:

• Philanthropy/Giving in India
• Donating and Taxes (eg: Do you believe that tax-savings help donations in India? If no, what tax reforms do we need to encourage more donations? If yes, what efforts could NGOs make to increase donations)
• Giving and Saving/Getting

It could be a story or an anecdote or a personal reflection or a policy recommendation or a public call to action. The intent is to make an impact on the reader. Once you have written your blog posts, you can nominate your blog for the IndiBlogger of the Month contest at the link below:

http://www.indiblogger.in/indiblogger_of_the_month/

As usual, the IndiBlogger community will vote for your posts, and the winner gets to pick a prize from the ones listed here.

(b) Set up an online fundraising page on GiveIndia - raise funds for your favorite charity while your supporters get 80G (50% tax benefit) receipts.

What's in it for you? GiveIndia will be giving a gift coupon worth Rs.1,000 from Shopper's Stop to each of the following winners:

• The best blog post on the topic
• The blogger to drive the most traffic to the GiveIndia site
• The blogger who raises the most funds through an online fundraising page on GiveIndia by reaching out to his/her network

In addition, the winning blogs will be featured :

• On the GiveIndia website (http://www.GiveIndia.org)
• In the GiveIndia newsletter
• On the GiveIndia Cause on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/giveindia)
• On GiveIndia's Twitter page (http://www.twitter.com/giveindia)

This blog contest is being held as part of GiveIndia's event - India Tax Saving Challenge. The India Tax Saving Challenge is an online fundraising event in which NGOs and their supporters will compete to raise the most funds for their chosen cause. GiveIndia is giving away prizes to the tune of Rs. 25 lacs to the top NGOs to raise the most funds and to top NGOs that raise funds from the most number of donors. So, if ever there has been a good time to support your favorite charity, this is it. As people donate, they will receive an e-receipt for their donations, which they can use for tax purposes. Excited? Then, get started.

Excited? Then, get started.

Click here to setup an online fundraising page on GiveIndia.

Good luck!

The IndiBlogger Team

Call for YouthActionNet Global Fellows

Call for Applications Deadline: April 9th, 2010. Open to all young people, ages 18-29.

A program of the International Youth Foundation, YouthActionNet® seeks to develop a new generation of socially conscious global citizens who create positive change in
their communities, their countries, and the world. Each year, 20 young
social entrepreneurs are selected as YouthActionNet® Global Fellows
following a competitive application process. Supported by Nokia, the
yearlong Global Fellowship includes:
 
Skill-building:
• A seven-day leadership retreat for twenty selected Fellows which offers
dynamic peer-to-peer learning, collaboration, and sharing among young
visionaries
• Focus on the personal growth and leadership abilities of Fellows, in addition to providing instruction in specific skills
required to manage innovative, world-changing organizations
• Year-round learning opportunities based on Fellows' individual needs and
the six dimensions of the YouthActionNet® Leadership Model: Personal,
Visionary, Political, Collaborative, Organizational, and Societal.

Networking and Resources:
• Networking with international and national aid agencies, NGOs, and corporate partners
• Access to potential resources to support Fellows and their projects, including
volunteers, mentors, and grant opportunities
• Peer-to-peer networking throughout the year

Advocacy:
• Training in areas such as communications planning, media outreach, message
development, presentation skills, and innovative uses of new media
technologies
• Access to global advocacy platforms and media coverage

Eligibility

• Open to all young people, ages 18-29 (as of October 1, 2010)
• Applicants must be the founder/co-founder of an existing organization, or a project within an
organization, with a demonstrated one year track record of leading
societal change
• Proficiency in English is required; applications must be submitted in English
• Applicants must attend the full retreat, October 1-8, 2010 (all expenses paid)

To Apply

Completed applications are due by April 9th, 2010.  Applicants may
visit www.youthactionnet.org to apply online or to download the
application.  Online submissions are preferred, however if necessary
applicants can email, fax, or mail completed application forms to:
YouthActionNet®
c/o International Youth Foundation
32 South Street, Suite 500
Baltimore, MD 21202 USA
yan(at)iyfnet.org
Tel: +1 410 951 1500; Fax: +1 410 347 1188

Yale University’s Global Social Entrepreneurship Course seeking Indian social enterprises

Yale University is holding its Global Social Entrepreneurship course during
Fall 2010, and is looking for Indian social enterprises to participate.

A core goal of the program is to link teams of Yale students with
mission-driven social entrepreneurs in India over a four-month long course
designed to bring the students and social entrepreneurs together to address
a specific management challenge the social enterprise is facing.  Key
attributes of the course are:

·    Five teams of 4 to 6 students (advised by India-based Morgan Stanley
staff) will work with each social enterprise on a project vital to its
continued organizational development;

·    The selected social entrepreneurs will visit the Yale campus for an
intensive week of faculty and student interaction in September/October 2010;

·    Student team members will visit India to get a more practical view of
the challenge and to meet each social enterprise's management, staff and
trustees;

·    A two-day conference will be held in India in January 2011 at which
social enterprise representatives, students, faculty, Morgan Stanley staff,
and invited guests will hear and discuss the plans and explore issues of
broader import to social entrepreneurs.

Yale is actively seeking applications from *social enterprises* in India
interested in collaborating during next fall's course.  A one-page
description<http://www.thinkchangeindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Fall-2010-GSE-Applicant-Letter-Feb-22-10.pdf>of
the program and an
application<http://www.thinkchangeindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/2010-Yale-Global-Social-Entrepreneurship-Program-Application.pdf>form
*(due no later than March 10, 2010)*.

Professional Development Program on Maternal Health

Call for Applications

"Healthy Mothers, Strong World: The Next Generation of Ideas for Maternal Health"

September 2010 – May 2011

Ashoka and the Maternal Health Task Force (MHTF) present the first annual Young Champions of Maternal Health Program. The nine month professional development opportunity will be launched at a global Maternal Health Change Summit, to be held from August 30 – September 1, 2010 in India.

 

About The Young Champions Program

Strong mothers enable children, families, communities and economies to grow and thrive. Yet there are over 500,000 maternal deaths every year, and millions more suffer from preventable disabilities. The causes of these tragedies are many, but most causes are rooted in the unequal social and economic status of women.

Ashoka and the Maternal Health Task Force are partnering to create an innovative new program that transforms the field of maternal health globally. The Young Champions of Maternal Health Program will use the Changemakers online platform to identify 16 young leaders – called Young Champions – from around the world that will spend nine months working abroad on a maternal health project while being mentored by a seasoned Ashoka Fellow in the field of maternal health. 

 

2010 Young Champions of Maternal Health Program Structure

Sixteen Young Champions will be chosen to spend a nine (9) months abroad working on a maternal health project, each mentored by an established Ashoka Fellow and his or her organization working in the field of maternal health.  The Ashoka Fellows and their staff will design projects for the Young Champions that complement and build upon the proposed project of their application. Young Champions will assist and work under the tutelage of the Ashoka Fellow as they apply their new skills to developing their own project.

The nine month mentorship will take place in a different country from the Young Champion's country of residence.  All living accommodations, transport, visas, insurance and other incidentals will be covered by the program.  A monthly stipend will also be provided in accordance to the prevailing wage rates of the country in which the Young Champion will reside.

 

Eligibility

1. Successful completion of at least a B.A. (or equivalent degree)
2. A track record of involvement in public health, as indicated by professional and/or academic experiences.
3. A clear commitment to and professional interest in the improvement of maternal health, especially in developing countries.
4. Demonstrated leadership qualities and potential as evidenced by community and organizational activities reflected within the application.
5. Preparedness and enthusiasm to participate in a nine month mentorship experience with an Ashoka Fellow who may live in a country that is of a different cultural context.

Please read through the Young Champions Guidelines and Criteria at www.changemakers.com/maternalhealth located under "Competition Information".  All young professionals are welcome to apply, whether they have an existing maternal health project or a new project proposal that is still in the idea stage.

For more information, please visit www.changemakers.com/maternalhealth. Should you have further questions, please contact us at connect@changemakers.com with "maternal health" included in your subject line.

To apply, please visit http://www.changemakers.com/en-us/node/add/competition-entry/65090  - you will be prompted to register for Changemakers to obtain access to the entry form.

 

Application Deadline;

March 17, 2010

 

About Ashoka's Changemakers

Changemakers is an initiative of Ashoka, an organization with over three decades of finding, funding, and expanding the work of social entrepreneurs across the globe. It is a global online community of action that connects people to share ideas, inspire and mentor each other, and find and support the best ideas in social innovation. The Changemakers online community builds on this history and expands the Ashoka vision by creating an "Everyone a Changemaker" world through networking, relationship-building, and the sourcing of funding opportunities.

Through its collaborative competitions and open-source process, Changemakers has created one of the world's most robust laboratories for launching, refining, and scaling ideas for solving the world's most pressing social problems.

 

About The Maternal Health Task Force

The Maternal Health Task Force at EngenderHealth brings together existing maternal health networks and engages new organizations to facilitate global coordination of maternal health programs. Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Maternal Health Task Force convenes stakeholders and creates an inclusive setting to engage in dialogue, build consensus, foster innovation, and share information.  

 

2010 Dell Social Innovation Competition

Tackle a pressing social issue – win $50,000 to put your plan into action! Everyone has an idea with the power to change the world. What's yours? The University of Texas and Dell are looking for college students from around the world who want to improve areas of critical human need through innovation. The Dell Social Innovation Competition is a real-world exercise to refine your idea, build a concise plan of action and practice your pitch to investors. Build your resource networks and gain valuable contacts while doing good! Do you have groundbreaking idea? With your fortitude and personality, can you mobilize people and resources to affect social change? If so, get started! Click here to sumbit your idea. Entering only takes a few minutes, but don't delay--The deadline is March 1!

Top Ten Eco-Lifestyle Changes

Got this in a forwarded email .. interesting facts.

No Impact Man's Top Ten Eco-Lifestyle Changes

1. Stop eating beef. Worldwide, beef production contributes more substantially to climate change than the entire transportation sector. Plus, a diet with no or less beef is better for you anyway.

2. Give up bottled water. The production of plastic water bottles together with the privatization of our drinking water is an environmental and social catastrophe. Bottled water costs more per gallon than gasoline. Plus, the health consequences of drinking water from plastic are not clear.

3. Observe an eco-sabbath. For one day or afternoon or even hour a week, don't buy anything, don't use any machines, don't switch on anything electric, don't cook, don't answer your phone, and, in general, don't use any resources. In other words, for this regular period, give yourself and the planet a break. Keep your regular eco-sabbath for a month. You'll find that the enforced downtime represents an improvement to your life.

4. Tithe a fixed percentage of your income. Currently, many of our societal health and welfare services, at home and abroad, are tied to consumer spending which, in turn, depends upon planetary resource use. But the idea of buying stuff to help people is crazy, especially when you consider that our consumption is harming the habitat that we depend upon for our health, happiness and security. If you want to help, don't go shopping. Just help. Commit to tithing part of your income to the non-profits of your choice.

5. Get there under your own steam. Commit to getting around by bike or by foot a certain number of days a month. Not only does this mean using fewer fossil fuels and creating less greenhouse gasses, it means you'll get good, healthy exercise and we'll all breathe fewer fumes. A city with pedestrian and bike traffic is a lot more pleasant to live in than a city filled with vehicles.

6. Commit to not wasting. Wasting resources costs the planet and your wallet. Don't overheat or overcool your home--a few degrees make a huge difference. Let your clothes hang dry instead of using the dryer. Take half the trips but stay twice as long. If your old cell phone works, consider not getting another. Repair instead of rebuy. The list goes on and on.

7. Build a community. Play charades. Have dinners with friends. Sing together. Enjoying each other costs the planet much less than enjoying its resources. Let's relearn to joke around and play in ways that cost nothing to our pocketbooks or our planet.

8. Take your principles to work. The old adage "the cost of doing business" can no longer hold true. We must act as though we care about the world at work as much as we do at home. A company CEO or a product designer has the power to make a gigantic difference through their business, and so do the rest of us.

9. Dedicate a day's worth of TV viewing to eco-service each week. The average American watches four and a half hours of TV a day. Take one day off from the tube each week and joining with others to improve our planet. Voluntary eco-service is a great way to find community who support your values and also a great way to learn about environmental issues and the quality of life issues that go along with them.

10. Believe with all your heart that how you live your life makes a difference to all of us. We are all interconnected. We make a difference to each other on many different levels. Every step towards living a conscious life where we consider the consequences of our actions provides support to everyone else--whether you know it or not--who is trying to do the same thing. We are the masters of our destinies. Let's act as though it is so.

Call for Rotary Peace Fellow Applications

The Rotary Foundation invites all districts to submit applications for the 2011-12 Rotary Peace Fellowships.  complete applications must be sent to the rotary foundation by 1 July 2010.     Dear Peace Fellow,   In these uncertain times, there is a growing demand for well trained international leaders to promote national and international cooperation and peace throughout their lives, in their careers and through service activities.  The challenges of the 21st century require people skilled in the art of diplomacy, mediation and conflict resolution. The Rotary Peace Fellowship program was developed to meet this very need.   As a participant in this program, you understand as well as anyone the important role the fellowship plays in developing the next generation of peacemakers.  We ask for your help in identifying ideal candidates for the next class of Rotary Peace Fellows.   Rotary is seeking non-Rotarian professionals interested in expanding their knowledge in international relations, public administration, sustainable development, peace studies and conflict resolution or a related field.  Each year, up to 100 Rotary Peace Fellowships (50 master's degree fellowships and 50 professional development certificate fellowships) are offered on a competitive basis at six prestigious Rotary Centers around the world.   Please share this information with colleagues, local universities, service organizations, religious institutions, and community groups that may know of individuals interested in conflict resolution and diplomacy.  For eligibility and application information, please direct candidates to: How to apply    Candidates for the 2011-2012 academic term should send their applications to Rotary clubs now.   Contact rotarypeacecenters@rotary.org for further information or click below: www.rotary.org/rotarycenters    Thank you.   Rotary Peace Centers Department The Rotary Foundation                                                                                    rotarypeacecenters@rotary.org

9 Great Articles on Non-Profit Management

Happy Reading .. do let me know your comments..

1) The Nonprofit Sector's Leadership Deficit
(Tierney / The Bridgespan Group)
http://www.bridgespangroup.org/kno_articles_leadershipdeficit.html

2) Philanthropy's New agenda: Creating Value
(Kramer and Porter / Harvard Business Review)

3) The Looking Glass World of Non-Profit Money
(Miller / Nonprofit Quarterly)

4) Scaling Social Impact
(Dees and Anderson / Stanford Social Innovation Review)
http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/scaling_social_impact/

5) Good to Great and the Social Sectors
(Collins)

6) Forces for Good: Six Practices of High Impact Nonprofits
(Crutchfield and Grant)
http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/creating_high_impact_nonprofits/

7) Zeroing in on Impact
(Colby, Stone, and Carttar / Stanford Social Innovation Review)
http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/zeroing_in_on_impact/

8) Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards
(Chait and Ryan)

9) How Nonprofits Get Really Big
(Foster and Fine / Stanford Social Innovation Review)
http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/how_nonprofits_get_really_big/

A Decade of Bringing About Smiles to Children

Check out a really nice film on Dream-a-Dream

Founded in 1999, Dream A Dream is a registered charitable trust which seeks to empower children from vulnerable backgrounds by developing life skills and at the same time sensitizing the community through active volunteering leading to a non-discriminatory society where unique differences are appreciated.

Currently, they enhance the lives of 1500 children from vulnerable backgrounds and engage over 1000 active Volunteers who represent an increasingly sensitive community.

YOUTH PRODUCING CHANGE - Call for Youth-Produced Films

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

*Deadline: December 10, 2009

The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival in partnership with Adobe Youth Voices seeks youth-produced film, video and animated works on human rights issues made by youth ages 19 and under for its third annual YOUTH PRODUCING CHANGE program.

Armed with digital cameras, computers and their own boundless creativity, young people across the globe are bravely exposing human rights issues faced by themselves and their communities. YOUTH PRODUCING CHANGE provides a platform for youth to share their perspectives with audiences worldwide.

Click here for more information and to submit your film: http://www.hrw.org/en/iff/youth-producing-change/call-for-submissions

Selected films will travel to:

• Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, New York : June 10-24, 2010
• Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, London : March 2011 (dates tba)
• Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, San Francisco: March 2011 (dates tba)
• Selected films will be included in the 2010 Traveling Film Festival
• Films will be added to the Adobe Youth Voices and Human Rights Watch websites
• And distributed to teachers throughout the United States

To watch the films from our first year of YOUTH PRODUCING CHANGE please click here: http://www.adobe.ca/cfusion/ayv/index.cfm?event=detail&ayvid=223