Last month I wrote about taking a leap... and I would like to share news of what my daughter is up to. I am very proud of her and the giant leap
SHE is taking!
I made a commitment to send this info around my networks... so here we are. If you are in my personal network you will probably already have read about the project, so I apologise in advance!
My daughter Amy has recently founded (together with her friend, and now business partner, Annika) a new Social Enterprise based in Vietnam. It is called (drum roll...) The intiMate Initiative. And if the project is something that resonates with you, perhaps you might want to join in the crowdfunding campaign and become an active supporter or follower (see later)!
Social enterprises fall somewhere between charities and companies- defined as "a cause-driven
business, whose primary reason for being is to improve social objectives and serve the common good".
The aim is to improve access to sexual health education in Vietnam by providing financial support and educational content for workshops and programmes in the field of sexual and reproductive health. The intiMate Initiative will sell uniquely designed Vietnamese textile products that are sustainably made and have a transparent supply chain- made by ethnic minorities and prioritising natural fibres, such as cotton and silk, and working with Vietnamese social enterprises that also pursue social missions.
To get their project off the ground they have started a "crowdfunding" campaign. This a financial model in which a group of people - the "crowd" - come together to jointly fund an idea or project. The project is introduced online in the form of videos, images, and text: there's a link to the page later. The campaign runs for a set period of time and aims to achieve a funding goal. The key to crowdfunding? It follows an all-or-nothing approach: if the funding goal is met, the idea or project receives the entire sum of money put forward by the crowd. If the goal isn't met, the money is returned to the individual crowd members.
There are different kinds of crowdfunding, but The intiMate Initiative has chosen what is called reward-based crowdfunding. This means that a crowd member can choose a reward they'd like to receive in exchange for funding the project, including the finished product that the project aims to make.
The intiMate Initiative has a funding goal of 8,000 Euro with a funding threshold of 4,000 Euro. In Amy's words : "This helps us dream big, but in a realistic way ... towards our mission to promote sexual health education in Vietnam. Every little helps - the more support we receive, the bigger our impact!"
Those of you over a certain age may not be familiar with this new "business start" model -I know I wasn't until it was explained to me! With just a few days to go (the funding campaign only runs until 15th May), if you are interested in following and/or supporting the project you can go read about it now...
All details of The intimate Initiative project can be found on their crowdfunding page. Go there to find out all you need to know (and watch the video, if you like):
www.startnext.com/tii If you want to support the project and, like me, appreciate step-by-step details on what you need to do online (including details of secure payment, how to choose your reward etc.), you can click the link here below and get extra help via the crowdfunding Q+A info:
http://theintimateinitiative.com/how-to-crowdfund-in-11-easy-steps/ They have already begun with pilot workshops for various groups of young people in and around Hanoi, and Amy managed to secure some free space to set up the Intimate Initiative drop-in area that is already being used on a daily basis!
Feel free pass this on - especially to any young people in your networks/family circle!In support of Amy and Annika at The intimate Initiativewww.theintimateinitiative.comfacebook.com/theintimateinitiative