Project Giving - A Preliminary Proposal

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It is my pleasure to introduce you to Project Giving, a proposal for Steemit's first NGO, created in collaboration with @SndBox and the 2018 #sndboxquest.

~ Mission Statement ~

Project Giving intends to create an organization which, through the power of the Steemit blockchain and platform, brings exposure and resources to local initiatives around the world which are trying to make a positive change in their communities and surrounding environment.

~ A basic outline: What are Project Giving's goals? ~

Project Giving's primary motive as Steemit's first NGO (Non-Government Organization) is to use the power of the Steemit platform as a tool to provide meaningful assistance to people and projects in need around the world.
Project Giving hopes to also use the platform to share the stories of people around the world which the project is helping, in order to create exposure on global issues such as poverty, environmental threats, financial & social inequality and lack of access to basic resources.

~ Action Plan: How will Project Giving work? ~

Project Giving will create a Steemit page which posts content showcasing different local initiatives around the world which seek to empower and improve their communities but require financial assistance to do so.
- These initiatives would be selected by recommendation from the global Steemit community.
- Initiatives would share their stories and tell us why their projects improve their local environment or communities.
- They will also outline what resources their initiative requires, but they cannot afford in their budget.
If an initiative passes a basic screening process, it will provide visual content and interviews about their initiative. Then, Project Giving will then use this content to create a detailed informational Steemit post about this initiative and how it is improving the world around them.
In this way, Project Giving will help to share enlightening information to the global Steemit community about issues facing others around the world and how they hope to overcome them with the help of Steemit.
Concurrently, the financial resources created by Steemit engagement on these posts will be extracted from the platform and transferred to these initiatives in order to help them achieve their goals and dreams as outlined in their applications.
Therefore, Project Giving is both helping people and enlightening people, all living in different corners of the earth.

~Why Steemit is the perfect platform for this Project~

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There are a multitude of reasons why I believe this project is perfectly suited to the Steemit platform. Not only is it a unique idea, but I believe it also highlights the power of blockchain technology for creating societal change. Here are my four most important reasons why I believe Steemit needs Project Giving.

Due to the unique engagement based system of monetary creation on Steemit, Project Giving, through the creation of Steemit articles, would allow all Steemers to use the platform to create meaningful change around the world, genuinely improving the lives of those who could use our help.
Unlike many other platforms where people usually have to enter in credit card information or PayPal to donate funds to organizations who need it, Project Giving will only require a like on their posts for Steemit users to donate to a good cause. Thus the process is much easier than usual, and will likely lead to more funds made available for donation.
The project also enlightens people and improves their understanding of global issues through the sharing of stories.
Project Giving is a perfect example of how this blockchain can be used for good, and thus serves as an advertiser for the power of the Steemit platform as the future of social media.

~Why I have been thinking about this project for months~

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Sunset over Takaungu Creek in Kenya where I worked for four months compiling research on community conservation in the area.

Believe it or not, this project has been in the back of my mind since I began on Steemit, and I am so happy to be sharing it with you all today. Part of the reason why I am so excited is because I believe this project encapsulates so much of what I have learned through my life. As a person who has spent their whole life studying, working and living around Africa and North America, I believe I have inherited a global state of mind where I want to create positive connections which allow people around the world to help each other. I believe Project Giving can be exactly that.

When I was 19, I spent 4 months working in Kenya to create a 200 page proposal for the creation of a Community based marine conservation initiative which you can see more about here.

Creating this project was an arduous but enlightening process where a friend and I spent months interviewing local initiatives and local community members who hoped to create positive change. It was incredible to see how many amazing ideas so many people had on how to improve their local difficulties such as poverty, lack of access to sustainable foods and over fishing. However, many of these ideas simply lacked funds to be given the chance to succeed.

It is these kinds of initiatives which I believe Project Giving will be able to empower, and through them, facilitating meaningful worldwide social improvement.

~@SndBox, and how to proceed with this project~

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This project is still in its infancy stage, and thus will definitely require a period of development before being operationalized. However, the framework has already been created, and there has been no better time to create such a project on Steemit.

I believe that through collaboration with @SndBox and the #sndboxquest, SndBox's unique experience as a developer of successful Steemit based programs, Project Giving would be able to swiftly transition from proposal to reality. Below are some of the next steps which Project Giving will need to overcome in assistance with @sndbox over the coming months:

Posting Template
- Coming up with the a basic format on how many posts will be created for each initiative we highlight.
- Create a template for how initiative posts will look and what they will include.
Generating income
- A detailed report on how a large audience would be created to engage with the post and how to increase the amount of funds gathered for donations.
The Accountability problem
- Any project which collects funds needs to be able to show that they are not misusing these funds.
- Thus, Project Giving would need a rigid system of transparency to show that all Steem dollars generated are given to the appropriate global initiatives.
The content creators
- The long term goal of this project is to be able to also fund content creators to go around the world to visit these initiatives in person.
- This way, the content creators will be able to conduct anthropological primary observation, thus giving more accountability to the reporting of the stories and global initiatives.
- Thus, a framework towards achieving this goal should be outlined.

~ Conclusion ~

If you have made it this far, I want to thank you for reading more into #ProjectGiving. I want to personally thank @anomadsoul & @guyfawkes4-20 for creating the incredible #SndBoxSummerCamp and Quest! I also want to thank @SndBox for potentially helping to bring this project to fruition. I have a lot of faith in its ability and longevity on the platform. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Until next time,
Tristan

https://steemitimages.com/DQmUquix5meKgWbp8mwpBLuHdWnnK72BS1EbAzeiYeMxPGD/DSCF5301.jpg

Me in Kenya working with Kenyan Community Based initiative Kesho who provide a scholarship program to academically talented youths who cannot afford school. They are an example of an organization which Project Giving could help! Read more about Kesho, Kenya here:
http://www.keshokenya.org/