by Jayne Cravens
via coyotecommunications.com & coyoteboard.com (same web site)

My Project & Program Ideas

Start a nonprofit myself? Or create a community project myself? I love helping other people realize their dreams for creating a nonprofit or program or event they have dreamed up, and I've directed oh-so-many projects created by others, and loved it all. But creating and leading such myself? While I know how to write a business plan, how to recruit volunteers for tasks, how to publicize a project and how to fundraise, the idea of getting a core group of people to marry an idea with me, for at least a couple of years, and to make it their part-time unpaid job to make it happen - that I've never done. And I've no interest in leading one of those nonprofits that's really created just so a person, the founder, can have a job.

I think a key for the legitimacy of a nonprofit is getting a diversity of people working together to pursue a nonprofit's mission, and being a leader that's so dynamic, supportive, welcoming and inspiring you attract others that want to participate in pursuing that nonprofit's mission. I'm not sure I really have it in me for that.

But I do toy now and again with the idea of starting a nonprofit or leading a project I dreamed up - my dream usually requires that I win the lottery. Otherwise, I just wish someone would do one of these projects and let me help.

The ideas I have toyed with that I would love to lead, co-organize, or just help someone else with are below. And I'm posting these here in case someone out there has a similar idea, or wants to steal any of these:

Online knowledge base, with an online community, focused solely on the communications needs of nonprofits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In a way, it would be the nonprofit version of my own web site, particularly this section, but with resources from others, not just mine.
Edit-a-thon to improve the volunteerism-related information on Wikipedia.
Nonprofit traveler's Hostel in Louisville, Kentucky.
Wilderness Hostel in Tillamook Forest, Oregon.
National movement to create hostels across the USA - wilderness hostels like in Canada and regular hostels like in England and Germany.
Community radio station wherever I'm living. As local newspapers continue to die, and as more and more people get their information from podcasts and social media, in their cars, the need for community radio has never been greater.
Once a month living room play readings.
45-minute readings, mostly from Shakespeare, but maybe from Moliere, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson as well.
My dream campground in Kentucky.
Emphasizes quiet. Plenty of space for tent camping. Shelter for cooking by tent campers. Limited time for generators to run. 3 - 6 insulated, small, one-room cabins, no facilities to cook inside, just bunk beds, a table, a few power outlets, heating unit. Area completely surrounded by forests. Safe foot path to a gas station convenience store or town with at least a small grocery. Maybe a simple shelter, in the style of a small country church or small grange hall, with very limited kitchen facilities, for weddings and other social gatherings.
Women's Retreat in Kentucky, Oregon and/or Idaho.
A female-only space. For-profit or nonprofit, I don't care. Beautiful, somewhat isolated place, with beautiful, natural vistas and lots of opportunities to just sit alone and read (or think), or to talk in small or large groups. A one-room library full of a variety of books. Smart phones checked upon check-in - residents can go to a special room and spend up to one hour - no more - with their smart phone. Single room and dorm rooms available. Laundry facilities (but not laundry services) provided. Horse-back riding, hiking, tai chi, yoga, secular meditation, massage, drumming/percussion, delicious healthy food options (including MEAT), workshops on astronomy, history, cooking, keeping a journal, safety and protecting mental health online, how to relax (especially to fall asleep), how to recognize depression, and how to get involved in your community (how to find and test out volunteering options, how to find arts-related activities). Featured after lunch and evening movie showing or podcast-presentation followed by a guided discussion. No essential oils, no anti-science information, no lectures to carnivores regarding the evils of eating meat, no makeovers, no beauty tips. Alcohol-free. Facilities available for group rentals.
A working farm retreat in Kentucky, Oregon and/or Idaho.
For-profit or nonprofit, I don't care. Beautiful, somewhat isolated place. Comfortable rooms that sleep two-four people each, and plenty of free ear plugs. Same-sex dorm rooms available. No electronics in the dorm rooms (no smart phones, tablets, iPods, etc.). Three meals provided (could be entirely vegetarian or with a vegetarian option). Residents guided by knowledgeable staff in working in gardens, in preparing CSA boxes, in preparing meals for residents, in attending farm animals: cows, pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, horses, donkeys, etc. Residents will gain knowledge and skills for after their farm-work experience. Maybe classes in wood working and using power tools. Opportunities for people who know how to use power tools or with plumbing skills to help with repairs. Residents expected to work at least three full hours a day. Laundry facilities provided. Plenty of free time each day for residents to read, sit by themselves and think, etc. Residents are invited to, on their own time, lead other residents in tai chi, yoga, secular meditation, drumming/percussion or singing. No essential oils, no anti-science information, no lectures to carnivores regarding the evils of eating meat. Available for groups to attend together.

I also would love to see many, many more footpaths between communities like what they have in England or in Germany, that wind their way in between different farms and ranches. I believe that footpaths between towns and villages, as well as between wineries - doesn't have to be a full hike and bike trail, could just be a simple, dirt footpath - would be absolutely transformative: wineries, restaurants and B & Bs would all see an uptick in sustainable business, and people would get to know their communities on a level they never, ever will from a car. Three I would love to help with:

Hike and bike trail from Atkinson Park in Henderson, Kentucky to Spottsville (Kentucky). It would require a pedestrian bridge over Highway 41 to Barrett Blvd., and then the trail would be on the South side of Highway 60.
Hike and bike trail from Forest Grove to Gaston (in fact, if a road and bridge were added from the Southern most tip of SW Dilley Road, across Dilly Creek, to the start of SW Old Highway 47, there would be at least a bike route that avoids Highway 47 completely from Forest Grove to Gaston).
Walking trails/foot paths between most of the wineries in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Why share these if I don't have any concrete plans to pursue any of them? Because maybe I will win the lottery. Or maybe someone else will find this page and have similar ideas and I can help that person realize the dream.

Also see

Advice for hackathons / one-day tech events looking for projects to hack "for good"
How can hackathon or edit-a-thon organizers identify projects or causes for a hack-for-good event? This 2014 offers ideas (all of which have been incorporated into the page you are reading now, but you can contribute more ideas by commenting on this blog).

Where are the evaluations of hacksforgood/appsforgood?
Just as with app launches and hackathons / hacks4good in the USA, there seems to be no followup. Are any of these apps4good projects sustainable? Are there more users of the apps now? How many cases of corruption have been reported to date with this particular app that was launched earlier this year? Has the app – or any apps six months later – been improved in any way? Has any hackathon products or apps4good had any evaluation yet and, if so, what are the results?

Hackathons for good? That’s volunteering!
My attempt in September 2011 to to write a detailed blog about all these different hackathons for good, and maybe even develop a web page on how to organize these kinds of episodic volunteering events (group volunteering events that don’t require a long-term commitment, that require just one day, or just a few days, of participation) related to technology.

How Volunteers Can QUICKLY Help Your Program To Be More Accessible Online
Most nonprofits, NGOs, charities, schools and other mission-based organizations will never be able to afford a professional web designer, let alone one that can build a fully accessible web site. Yet, these organizations most certainly want people with disabilities to access their online information, just like any other donor, client, volunteer, participant, activist or other potential supporter. This resource talks about how volunteers can help any mission-based organization have a more accessible, more welcoming web site.

Tech Volunteer Groups / ICT4D Volunteers
A list of tech volunteering initiatives, some defunct, some still going strong, that recruit tech experts to volunteer their time support either local nonprofit organizations or NGOs in developing countries regarding computer hardware, software and Internet tech-related tasks.

Short-term Assignments for Tech Volunteers
There are a variety of ways for mission-based organizations to involve volunteers to help with short-term projects relating to computers and the Internet, and short-term assignments are what are sought after most by potential "tech" volunteers. But there is a disconnect: most organizations have trouble identifying such short-term projects. This is a list of short-term projects for "tech" volunteers -- assignments that might takes days, weeks or just a couple of months to complete.
Finding a Computer/Network Consultant
Staff at mission-based organizations (nonprofits, civil society organizations, and public sector agencies) often have to rely on consultants, either paid or volunteer, for expertise in computer hardware, software and networks. Staff may feel unable to understand, question nor challenge whatever that consultant recommends. What can mission-based organizations do to recruit the "right" consultant for "tech" related issues, one that will not make them feel out-of-the-loop or out-of-control when it comes to tech-related discussions?
Myths About Online Volunteering (Virtual Volunteering)
Online volunteering means unpaid service that is given by volunteers via the Internet. It's also known as virtual volunteering, online mentoring, ementoring, evolunteering, cyber volunteering, cyber service, telementoring, online engagement, and on and on. Here is a list of common myths about online volunteering, and my attempt to counter them.
Studies and Research Regarding Online Volunteering / Virtual Volunteering
While there is a plethora of articles and information about online volunteering, there has been very little research published regarding the subject. This is a compilation of publicly-available research regarding online volunteering, and a list of suggested possible angles for researching online volunteering. New contributions to this page are welcomed, including regarding online mentoring programs.
Dealing with customers with diminished mental capacities
No matter what business you are in, you encounter people with diminished mental capacities. They may be job applicants, they may be applicants to volunteer, they may be attendees to a public event, they may have paid to be a part of a service you have offered, such as a class or a hackathon. In thinking about customers and clients and public spaces, including online spaces, nonprofits, NGOs, charities, libraries and others need to consider how to balance the priorities of the program and the needs of other clients and customers with the rights of a person with diminished mental capacities who, just like any member of the public, has a right to attend any public events, speak with you in public, come into your lobby to make inquiries, apply to volunteer, apply for a job, comment on your blog, blog about your organization, etc. But what do you do when the behavior becomes disruptive?

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