April Update

• received high-quality Streetwise images from Rachel
• received quotes from children about StreetWise
• installed google analytics for jayniistreetwise.org
• researched Accra Sempe Primary School, the school which the older children in the Streetwise program attend; found an article written about the school in 2005/6 and contacted the reporter, hoping to receive more information about the school or possibly someone's contact information from the school
• contacted Hannah Davis, NYU student in Gallatin, who co-founded an educational organization in Ghana called Ghana Literacy, to get information about her program and experiences
  

User Testing

The main user testing for my thesis will focus on the website. As soon as it's complete (hopefully within the next week). Luckily there is no shortage of people to critic a website in terms of design, usability, and functionality at ITP. Paypal provides a dummy credit card number to allow testing of the donation process, so I'll be asking people to go through the process and give me feedback about the ease of making a donation.

In addition, I have access to several people who have started non-profits and/or currently work for non-profits who are going to review the content of the site and make suggestions.

Regarding the legal aspect of the project, my law student is basically my test user – every time I send her material, she evaluates it and gives me feedback about what exactly I need to change/add to make the filing process go as smoothly as possible. I rely on her to provide me with advice and suggestions based on her experience in the area.

Midterm Progress Update

Good news, sports fans. Things are rolling here. First, on the legal front -- I'm lucky enough to be an alumna of the Woodhull Association, and two other alumnae responded to my request for legal assistance in starting a non-profit. One was able to give helpful advice, and the other is willing to work with me over the next few months to help me navigate the legal waters. Thanks, Woodhull!

Second, and just as importantly, I was able to meet with the Rachel Ishofsky, co-founder of Streetwise to discuss future plans and continue to develop my familiarity with the history and organization of Streetwise. Rachel introduced me (via email) to Nii, another co-founder and current administrator of Streetwise who works directly with the children. I'm looking forward to working with him in the near future to continue to promote and advance the goals of Streetwise.

Prototype Design & Development Elements

List of Resources

Consultant/Founder: Rachel Ishofsky
provide history, feedback, direction regarding Streetwise
facilitate dialogue between Jaynii in Ghana and me
assist with fundraisers

Administrator/Founder: Jaynii
runs the operation in Ghana
will be coordinating regarding needs, ideas, fundraisers, etc.

Graphic Designer: Emily Waggenspack
create a logo for Streetwise
design the website
design a business card and possible flyer

Technical Consultant: Michael Futreal
willing to provide assistance (if needed) with setting up the donations via paypal

Fundraiser/Consultant: Meredith Silverman
create small online fundraisers via her craft website, Etsy
provide user interface feedback regarding the website

Legal Assistance: TBD
currently searching for assistance via multiple list-serves, friends, family, etc.

Content Samples

Website Organization
Mission Statement / History
Budget
Ways to Help / Donations
Contact information / about us
Photos/video (just photos to start, hopefully videos and other materials in the future)

*Some content (at http://www.jayniistreetwise.org) is already written but out of date and needs revision

**Much of the content developed for the website can also be used for some of the legal paperwork (such as mission statement, history, budge, contacts)

Tech Specs

Hosting by Godaddy
Domain: http://www.jayniistreetwise.org
Database: MySQL 4.1
Email: jaynii.streetwise@google.com

Progress Update

In the past two weeks, I've made the following progress:

• resigned and cleaned up this blog to better facilitate process documentation
• bought the domain jayniistreetwise.org and started posting some plain text content
• opened a paypal account for Streetwise
• created a revised, more realistic production schedule
• confirmed that my friend Emily will do the graphic design for the website
• contacted the NYU law school about legal advice for students & found out that they can't help me
• starting asking people & searching for other venues to get free/cheap legal help
• read some articles about the basics of starting a non-profit
• researched education in Ghana
• sent Rachel all the work that I've done so far for her to review and give me feedback when we meet this week
• posted an email to the listserve of the Woodhull Institute, a feminist organization I'm a member of, to ask if anyone could do a legal consultation with me
  

Thesis Concept/Project Description

Overview/Thesis Statement

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My thesis project is to assume responsibility for developing and sustaining Streetwise, a non-profit organization in Ghana that provides the financial resources for under-served children to attend school. More specifically, I will be tackling four key aspects of the project – expanding fundraising efforts, starting legal paperwork to apply for official non-profit status, creating a dynamic website in order to gain publicity and allow online donations, and hopefully attain photo and video documentation of the children Streetwise is currently supporting.


Rationale

Ghana is not considered one of the most needy countries in West Africa, and thus is not a priority for many relief organizations, such as the PeaceCorps. However, education remains a problem for poorer areas of Ghana, including Accra, the country's capital, and should not be overlooked because the country is less desperate than some of its neighbors.

The project is relatively unique in that it was developed around the Jaynii Cultural Troupe, a music and dance performance art group that already existed in the James Town beach area. The children involved in the program not only benefit from the financial aid for school; they also develop their artistic skills and use them to generate income for the project. As an ardent supporter of music, art, and dance as integral parts of primary education, I appreciate that Streetwise includes the fine arts in an after-school program for all of the children in the program.

Finally, I have a particular attachment to Streetwise because it was founded by my dear friend Rachel Ishofsky, an NYU graduate. I have long admired her passionate activism and have wanted to become involved in similar efforts but have had trouble finding a particular cause to support. I am honored that she trusted me enough to turn her end of Streetwise to me, and I want to succeed in its development and sustainability.


Goals

The broad goal of my thesis is to ensure that Streetwise is able to accomplish its mission of enabling children in impoverished areas of Accra to attend grade school. However, since much of the structure it already in place, my focus for semester is to develop the four aspects I previously mentioned. Though these aspects differ in scope and realm, together they combine to accomplish the seminal goal: to boost fundraising efforts that will enable Streetwise to continue its mission. Although Streetwise has been successful over the last two years in financing the education of twenty-one grade school children, the project has no current source of reliable income. Since her return from Ghana, Rachel has organized two large fundraisers in New York, and the Jaynii Cultural Troupe is planning to hold a festival in August of 2009. The large events have raised several thousands of dollars in the last year, but they require a significant time commitment and are not feasible to hold more than twice a year. Ideally, the project will generate some continuous, if possibly small, income that is based in Ghana instead of relying solely on efforts in New York.

Audience

The primary audience of Streetwise in general is, of course, the children enrolled in the program. My particular audience includes, but is not limited to the children. To accomplish the goal of generating more income, my principal audience is the pool of potential donors Streetwise would like to reach. One of my tasks over the next few weeks is to identify specific groups of people or organizations that would be likely to support the project. The NYU community will definitely be included, as the project was started by an NYU student while she studied in Ghana though a program sponsored by the NYU Office of Study Abroad. NYU already has a history of supporting the project in the form of two small grants Rachel received during her final year of undergraduate study. Further developing a firmer sense of audience is a priority at this point, as it will greatly influence the content, design and functionality of the website I am in the process of building.

Location

Streetwise operates in Accra, Ghana, and is administered jointly in Accra and New York. The location is already firmly established. However, the project will also make use of a virtual space at www.jayniistreetwise.org for publicity and to obtain online donations. At a later date, I will need to determine a location for a fundraiser to be held in the late spring or summer here in New York.

Description of Core Features and Functionality

The main thing I'll be building for the project is the Streetwise website. The intended effect is to publicize the organization and facilitate easy online donations. The website will provide information and statistics about the program, including the mission statement, contact information, documentation of the work Streetwise is currently doing, a budget, and fundraising goals. Another important aspect will be the online donation system, most likely powered by Paypal. I will be building all of the functionality of the site, but as I have absolutely no graphic design skills, I have enlisted the help of a friend from college, Emily Waggenspack, to design the site for me.

Ideally, the website will eventually feature the children in a variety of media – video interviews with them, videos of their performances, photos, report cards, graduation diplomas, etc. I'll be working with Streetwise's contacts in Ghana and possibly the NYU students currently studying abroad there to obtain some material in the near future; however, as a long term goal I'd like to raise the funds to travel to Ghana myself and extensively document the Streetwise's operations in Ghana and as many of the participants as possible.

Success Measures

Streetwise will never be “complete” in that there will always be children who need financial help to attend school. As I just became involved with Streetwise within the last month, I’m unsure how I will know when my part of the bigger project will be complete – perhaps when/if the organization could generate enough sustainable income from sources within Ghana to not require outside help? Perhaps when I pass the project along to someone else? At this point I am trying to make plans and set goals, but I think some of the direction of the project will be determined by how things unfold over the next few months. By March or early April I may have a more concrete idea of what a “complete” project would look like for Streetwise.

In many ways, Streetwise is already successful, and the goal of my thesis is to enable its success to continue and hopefully exceed its current level. Probably the most concrete assessment of success will be measured in terms of statistics – how many children attended school in a particular year and if they were promoted to the next grade, how much money was raised, how many new donors were recruited, etc. More subjective measures will include student interviews, documentation of their musical performances, and family evaluations.

My future plan, which may be in the very extended future, is to travel to Ghana to meet and work with the children and administrations that comprise the heart of Streetwise. The Jaynii Cultural Troupe is currently planning a festival for fundraising purposes in August of 2009, and I would love to be able to attend and record as much of it as possible. As an impoverished graduate student, I can’t finance a trip to Ghana in the near future, but I will be investigating grants that might make that a possibility. If not, I will make every effort to attend the 2009 festival.

Concept Diagram

Background Research

With a literacy rate of 64.2%, Ghana has the 161st (out of 192) lowest literacy rate in the world, even though it has enjoyed relative political and economical stability compared to many countries in West Africa (List of countries by literacy rate). Although public elementary education is readily available to many Ghanian children, there are still under-served areas, such as the James Town Beach area near Accra, Ghana's capital. Many children in James Town roam around the beach, sometimes peddling goods, sometimes just wandering because their families cannot afford school fees, school supplies, or uniforms. In some cases, the family may need whatever small income the child is making selling goods; even if they could afford to send the child to school, they may not be able to absorb the loss of income. It is within this context that Streetwise strives to provide the opportunity of education to the children of James Town.

Africa is no stranger to relief and non-profit organizations, frequently receiving aid to address issues such as the HIV epidemic, human rights violations, poverty, sanitation, and education. Most organizations, such as Save the Children, choose to focus on a particular cause or demographic. Save the Children's main objective is to recruit donors who will give $28 a month to support a particular child. Donors are able to “choose” a child from a selection of needy children advertised on the website and thereafter receive correspondence from the child in the form of pictures, letters, and drawings. Perhaps the hallmark of the Save the Children campaign is the TV commercials that featured an actress—frequently Sally Field—and a desolate looking child or children huddled against a wall with only scraps for clothes.

Save the Children boasted an operating budget of $361 billion in 2007 – a clear indicator of success (Annual Report). Part of my plan for Streetwise is to create a website similar to that of Save the Children, containing stories and pictures of individual children benefitting from the donations. Unlike Save the Children, however, Streetwise will not allow donors to select a particular child to sponsor. Donations will be used to purchase school supplies, uniforms, and school fees for all 21 children currently enrolled in the program. While the money will be clearly accounted for, it will be distributed as seen fit by the administrators in Ghana. Donors will still receive correspondence from the children in the Streetwise program, but this method eliminates the potential problem of donors choosing a particular child because he or she is adorable or looks the most impoverished or based on some other characteristic.

Other differences between Streetwise and Save the Children involve the population served and the tone of advertising for the program. Save the Children operates in eleven countries in Africa, but Ghana is not among them. In addition, Save the Children spends the donor money on many aspects of a child's life, including, but not limited to, education. As a small, young, non-profit, Streetwise has a more modest goal of only providing the opportunity for education at this time. Finally, Streetwise will employ a more hopeful and positive tone than the ads produced by Save the Children. I have frequently watched a friend or family member change the channel when a Save the Children ad comes on because he or she finds the commercial “too sad.” It seems to be too awful to think about, so he or she opts to make the commercial go away instead of watching and feeling depressed and/or guilty. Although I have no concrete evidence, I hypothesize that less heart-wrenching advertisements might retain potential donors who are scared off by those produced by Save the Children. Streetwise publications and pictures will not attempt to convey a falsely positive illustration of the children's situation, but instead will feature photos of children in their school uniforms purchased by Streetwise or statistics regarding the number of children Streetwise has supported and how their lives have changed.

On a broader level regarding non-profits and their fundraising methods, eBay and other online markets have started a movement to donate a percentage of one's purchase to a qualified non-profit organization. I find this idea particularly clever because it requires so much less effort and motivation on the part of the donor than traditional online donations that require a donor to seek out an organization on his or her own and figure out how to make a donation.

eBay, coupled with MissionFish, provides a simple, user-friendly way to donate to a charity, even if a potential donor is unaware of a specific charity to which he or she would like to contribute. This system also eliminates the potential embarrassment a supporter may feel about making a very small donation. Many sites, such as the American Red Cross, Save the Children, and Habitat for Humanity International, actually require a minimum donation of $10, which may deter people who would like to make a donation of a smaller amount. To encourage Ebay users to support their charities of choice, Ebay also refunds a portion of the item listing fee when the seller contributes some of his or her profit to that charity.

Since Streetwise does not need to raise a gigantic sum of money—around $5,000 annually—a constant stream of small donations can have a significant impact on the fundraising efforts. Because Streetwise does not yet legally qualify as a non-profit, it can't be listed on eBay's list of charities; however, Streetwise can use the same model to accumulate small donations. For example, my friend Meredith Silverman (ITP '08) has a store on Etsy—an online market for handmade goods—and is willing to donate a small amount of every sale to Streetwise. Finding ways to generate donations—even small ones—without the massive amount of effort required to host a fundraiser—will be a key factor in providing Streetwise with a stable source of income. In addition, as part of my thesis, I will be beginning the process of filing legal paperwork to attain official non-profit status for Streetwise. When that is eventually accomplished, Streetwise can be added to various lists of charities needing support on sites such as Ebay.

On a much smaller and local level, Streetwise is also related to and inspired by the NYU Graduate Student Childcare Subsidy program. The program provides full-time graduate students who have children under the age of six with a bursar credit of $200 a semester (Childcare Subsidy). While the connection is not immediately obvious, Streetwise and the NYU Childcare Subsidy actually serve almost identical purposes. In the case of Streetwise, children receive an education, and the children's parents receive a stipend to recover any loss of income due to the child attending school instead of working. At NYU, the roles are reversed; the program helps adults attend school by contributing to any expenses they incur for childcare. This program also reflects the scale at which Streetwise operates; it can't provide a tremendous amount of financial aid, but it strives to increase the feasibility that a family member can attend school.