Dreaming of volunteering abroad? You probably have two major questions - What will I do, and how will I afford it? We've got you covered on the first question with over 12,000 volunteer opportunities listed from Australia to Zambia.
By Millzero Photography via Flickr
If you're looking for a creative way of making your volunteer abroad experience more affordable, check out CouchSurfing, where you will find a network of free accommodations with fellow travelers the world over. More than just a free place to crash, the CouchSurfing experience is all about creating "deep and meaningful connections that cross oceans, continents and cultures." What's better than that?
If you live in New York and you want to learn more about how you can use Idealist and CouchSurfing to make your dreams come true while meeting fellow wanderlusters, globetrotters and do-gooders and enjoying free food, come to our Volunteer Abroad Happy Hour at Revival on Thursday, April 10th. Don't forget to RSVP here. See you there!
Given the dramatic revolution in aging and career transitions inspired by the current wave of professionals in their 40s and beyond, the traditional notion of retirement in the United States is exiting stage left. The group Civic Ventures wants to hear what you think the new era of the “Encore Career” will look like.
Civic Ventures, a nonprofit think tank and an incubator, aims to help society achieve the greatest possible return on experience. They recently launched a research project focused on issues and opportunities in the workplace facing adults in the second half of life. If you identify as one of those adults, you might want to share your thoughts in an online survey. The survey, which will be up through this Sunday, April 6th, only takes about 15 minutes to complete. Through this research, Civic Ventures hopes to deepen their understanding of baby boomers' and pre-boomers' interest in work at the intersection of continued income and contribution to the common good. Click here to share your thoughts.
Do you know someone whose Encore Career is particularly inspiring? How about organizations or groups that are connecting the Baby Boomer generation to resources and opportunities? Leave a comment below!
What we eat is so intertwined with justice and injustice in the world around us. That's why several activists, politicians, chefs, and foodies have created cookbooks and other resources dedicated to eating right, not just in terms of personal health, but also the health of the environment and community.
Photo by ex.libris
The Borough President of Manhattan recently released a book called Go Green East Harlem, which features recipes contributed by people who live and work in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York. The book is part of a broader health and environmental campaign in the neighborhood, including a tree-planting project, a green building conference, an asthma initiative, and a new farmers' market.
Grub, by Bryant Terry and Anna Lappé, is an organic recipe book that also offers readers some background on the food industry and advice on how we can all become more socially conscious cooks and eaters. Last year's interview with Bryant Terry on Culinate explains how food is related to everything from human rights to institutional racism to artists' egos.
Culinate is an online community featuring recipes and articles on the theme "Eat to Your Ideal"—in terms of where our food comes from, how it is produced, how it affects our health, and even whom we eat it with. Visitors to the site can, for example, read an article about the domestic fair-trade movement in the United States, learn about healthy and unhealthy fats, and get a recipe for carrot apricot muffins.
Search for "cookbook" in Idealist's database of Materials to find more recipes for supporting your favorite cause or nonprofit organization.
Idealist's databases are filled with opportunities, resources and people from all over the planet. Each week we bring you a roundup of what you can find on our site related to a specific country, region, or city. Today we spotlight Senegal.
Photo by Ricardo Falcão
So far, there are 99 organizations listed on Idealist in English and French that are based in Senegal and working on a variety of issues related to the environment, sustainable tourism, women's rights, and more. Meanwhile there are 14 opportunities to volunteer in a range of capacities.
So far, 69 Idealists in Senegal have created personal profiles, and 185 have created volunteer profiles.
Would you like to help make more connections among people, organizations, and resources in Senegal through the Idealist network? Start or join an Spread Idealist page to get connected.
Our Community Outreach Team has posted four internship opportunities for summer 2008. Are you planning to be in New York City or Washington, DC this June-August? Want to learn about the nonprofit sector and community outreach and technology in a fun, supportive environment? Click on these links to learn about each position:
Join the team!
New York City Outreach Intern
NYC Blog and Podcast Intern
Spanish Language Intern
Campus Outreach Intern
The deadline for applications is this coming Friday. We look forward to hearing from you!
Want to make a difference in a community outside the United States? Thinking about volunteering in another country? Considering a career in international development?
This Saturday, you can learn more about opportunities for international service at the first ever Idealist.org Global Volunteering Fair in Boston.
At this free event, hosted by the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Graduate School of Education, John F. Kennedy School of Government, and Harvard Divinity School, you can meet with over 20 nonprofit organizations that coordinate volunteer projects around the globe as well as attend workshops on topics including:
International Volunteerism 101
Linking Service to Learning
Volunteering as a Family
A Writer in Romania, a Lawyer in Lesotho: Using Your Skills to Volunteer
Know Before You Go
Overcoming Barriers to Service
Choosing a Program or Going Solo
Volunteering Towards Your Career Goals
So if you're in the Boston area (or up for a road trip), please join us from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at the Harvard University School of Public Health at Kresge Building 3 (677 Huntington Avenue). For a full list of participating organizations and more information about the workshops, as well as to learn more about the fair, locate directions, and/or register to attend this free event, go to www.idealist.org/globalvolunteering.
Hope to see you Saturday!
Note: In addition to our regular blog postings, we’ll occasionally be posting observations and updates about the nonprofit sector by Put Barber, Editor of the Nonprofit FAQ. In January, Put blogged about the Form 990. This time he responds to media scrutiny of nonprofits that aren't living up to their missions.
Put Barber
Lately, there’s been a lot of public discussion of nonprofits that stray from the straight and narrow. Congress, the media, nonprofit blogs, conference agendas and coffee-room conversations have brought new attention to the problem. The New York Times covered reports of major fraud at some charities. A survey by the Ethics Resource Center shows that "ethics of nonprofits are edging closer to the levels of business and government."
If you ask yourself whether the nonprofits you know and care about are having these sorts of troubles, the answer will probably be ‘no.’ The concerns are real though; sneaking something out of a nonprofit cookie jar really is particularly sleazy.
Much of the public discussion is focused on the idea that more public scrutiny, more official oversight and more regulation may be needed to mark off more clearly the boundaries dividing proper behaviors from mistakes and downright crookedness. Maybe. Smart and careful discussion about how to clearly draw those boundaries would help. But when you think about how many nonprofits are active in the U.S. (somewhere well above a million) and about the uncountable number of things they do (call it gazillions), it seems pretty clear that expecting the the cops to get around to checking every doorknob on the beat is going to mean long waits for most of the organizations we care about.
As Independent Sector, Association of Fundraising Professionals, statewide associations across the country, and many many groups and coalitions have said, a good deal of this job falls right in our own laps. But often the advice that’s given in the next breath is a little too complicated and technical for everyday life. So, after talking, reading and thinking about the kinds of standards we should apply to ourselves, I’ve come up with this short – if not exactly simple – list:
· Look to the mission as a source of guidance in every decision or practice.
· Exhibit commitment to the mission in every action, large and small.
· Lead by example. Clearly model choosing the right path all the time.
· Examine and learn from past mistakes.
· Focus on understanding and remedying any distracting disagreement or conflict involving volunteers, employees, other organizations, auditors, regulators – basically anyone.
· Share information responsibly; provide accurate and complete data to guide important decisions whether inside or outside the organization.
· Act promptly to prevent or correct any weakness of management or financial controls throughout the organization.
· File required reports accurately and completely before they are due.
If you see something else happening in an organization you care about, it may be a warning that there’s something there that needs to be changed. What you do next depends a lot on your position with the group, but figuring it out is important. Misbehavior at a nonprofit damages its ability to serve the community. And when it gets to the evening news or the headlines, it damages all nonprofits in ways none of us can afford.
For more detailed advice about how to address these challenges, check out Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practice: A Guide for Charities and Foundations by The Independent Sector, a national advocacy group for nonprofits, or The Accountable Nonprofit, a discussion by The Association of Fundraising Professionals. You can also read this Nonprofit FAQ item that talks about what you can do when things really go wrong; most of the time, though, it’s a matter of figuring out who is the right person to talk to and digging in to the question in a problem solving mode.
If you know of a good statement that will help us all understand how to live up to the best of our intentions, let me know about it. Send an email to pbarber@idealist.org or add your comment to this post.
In between catching waves and hanging loose, a new brand of surfers are emerging---those who are giving back to communities around the world.
Surfing the Nations is a Hawaii-based nonprofit that strives to combine surfing and social justice. Using the surfboard as a pulpit, the Christian nonprofit sends its followers on outreach missions to various countries from Egypt to China. Abroad, members engage in activities such as teaching English and visiting orphanages. Locally, the group participates in programs to feed the hungry and empower at-risk youth while training its own surfers to become community leaders.
Walking on Water is another nonprofit that is riding the tide of faith-based community work. Californians in this Christian group host camps for youth who think both surfing and God are gnarly, as well as produce a series of films that connect people to their message. One film follows the journey of two young spiritual surfers as they bounce from continent to continent; other stories include a surfer battling with cancer and a teen girl who lost her arm to a shark.
Think the beach is bodacious and want to make a difference at the same time? Check out these related organizations for more inspiration: Surf Life Saving Australia, Save the Waves Coalition and SurfAid International.
Last Sunday’s New York Times featured an article in the “Jobs” section on recareering into the nonprofit sector entitled “Your True Calling Could Suit a Nonprofit.” The article, written by columnist Eilene Zimmerman as part of the “Career Couch” series, offers professionals with for-profit experience some useful advice to consider before taking the plunge. The article highlights suggestions from career experts around the country (including Idealist.org's own Steve Pascal-Joiner) and their advice includes: figuring out exactly what kind of role you want to play in a given organization, realizing that nonprofit work is stressful (though often in different ways), understanding how best to raise your visibility in your nonprofit community through volunteer opportunities, focusing on your transferable skills, and highlighting your civic engagement experience.
If you are a professional considering a transition into meaningful nonprofit work, you might find our latest publication, The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers for Sector Switchers, useful. This brand new guide, available as free downloadable chapters, further explores the unique set of considerations—from the psychology of the job search to the nonprofit resume to debunking stereotypes that applicants may be subject to based on their background—that a sector-switching professional should take into account in order to find that “perfect nonprofit job.”
We recently posted an Idealist Community Podcast episode about how two tuxedo-clad travelers used online networking tools to plan a cross-continental do-gooder adventure. (You can click here to listen to Two Fools. One Adventure. No Idea: Tuxedo Travels and CouchSurfing.com.)
photo by Phineas H
Since then, we've come across a whole host of related podcasts. We can't wait to give 'em all a listen:
An Amateur Travel podcast called Volunteer Travel/Voluntourism features an interview with Linda Stuart, director of the Minnesota-based Global Citizen's Network, a nonprofit that sends short-term volunteers to communities around the globe.
Frommer's posted an episode called How to Leave Something Good Behind. Listen to learn about "voluntourism" and one woman's experience volunteering on a coffee farm in Costa Rica. Over at Travelography, you can download a podcast comprised of three stories relating to travel in the news. One of the stories in Oasis, Food + Volun-tourism, focuses on "volunteer tourism," particularly the act of traveling to Louisiana and Mississippi to volunteer.
The Indie Travel Podcast is produced by a couple who recount their travel experiences. Doing Things Local is an episode that encourages listeners to take part in "local life." Meanwhile, Rick Steves, intrepid globetrotting tour guide, produced one called Conscientious Travel; Oceania to Amsterdam, which discusses ways to really connect with people and communities when you travel.
If our episode piqued your curiosity about CouchSurfing, you may want to listen to GAP Travel and Couch Surfing in Ukraine, a podcast featuring two stories from CJSR Radio Outpost, one about Canada's GAP Adventures, an ecotour company, and another about surfing couches in Ukraine.
Happy listening!
Earth Day is coming up! Mark your calendars for April 22 and scope out the festivities in your area, as well as some environmental volunteer opportunities.
Photo by John LeGear
It's also a great time to get informed about all the amazing and challenging environmental work already going on around the country and the world. After all, most people working on environmental initiatives don't wait for Earth Day to take action.
For many Peace Corps Volunteers, for example, every day on the job is dedicated to environmental action—14 percent of its 8,079 Volunteers are working specifically on environment-related projects in 38 different countries. In Armenia, Peace Corps Volunteer Rud Hubbard helped to create a program to train local agricultural advisors in sustainable and organic farming practices. In Jamaica, Volunteer Brooke Anderson is working to develop a World Oceans Day event to raise awareness about the effects of climate change on the ocean.
Back in the U.S., the recent anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination was also a perfect time to focus on the environment: 1,000 people gathered in Memphis, Tennessee, for the Dream Reborn conference, hosted by Green For All and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. As Van Jones, the founder of Green For All, said in his opening remarks, "Dr. King linked the solutions of civil rights, peace, and economic opportunity. We must link the solutions of social justice, peace, and ecological sanity. Our new dream must uplift the people and the planet, too. This is the calling of our time." Read an early report from the conference on RaceWire.
Will you do something special for Earth Day this year? Leave a comment to spread the word.
We've extended the deadline to apply for summer internships in Idealist.org's New York City and Washington, DC offices. If you'd like to work with our Community Outreach Team this June through August, take a look at the links below and send us your application by April 15:
Empanada enthusiasts are encouraged to apply.
New York City Outreach Intern
NYC Blog and Podcast Intern
Spanish Language Intern
Campus Outreach Intern
Thanks, and we look forward to hearing from you!
There are a lot of resources on Idealist.org related to fundraising. You can always explore the Nonprofit FAQ or search our Materials database using "fundraising" as a keyword.
Photo by JasonRogers on Flickr
A more interactive recent addition is the Idealist Group called A Small Change. Run by Jason Dick, who maintains a blog by the same name, this Idealist Group is for people who want to share fundraising tips or who are looking for work in fundraising.
Care to join the discussion? Join Jason's Idealist Group by clicking here.
Each week we bring you a roundup of what you can find on Idealist.org related to a specific country, region, or city. Today we spotlight Puerto Rico.
Photo by nicholaslaughlin on Flickr
Currently, there are more than 100 organizations in Puerto Rico listed on Idealist (in Spanish, English and French), working on everything from community-based service-learning to public health to animal welfare. If you're looking to volunteer in Puerto Rico, there are 9 opportunities listed today.
So far, there are 104 people in Puerto Rico with Idealist profiles. If you're Puerto Rican or have a love for the place and its culture, you can create a personal profile and let the world know!
Would you like to help make more connections among people, organizations, and resources in Puerto Rico through the Idealist network? Visit our Spread Idealist page or start a local Idealist Group.
Photo by Daoist56
Many immigrants to the United States have advanced degrees and professional work experience from their home countries; yet they still face high rates of unemployment and underemployment. Meanwhile, many organizations in the U.S. are scrambling to increase staff diversity and gain valuable perspectives and experiences from different countries.
Meet an organization called Upwardly Global, which is working to fill those missed opportunities in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors. The job search program for immigrant professionals is now available to those in the New York, Chicago, and San Francisco metro areas. For those interested in working in the nonprofit sector, Upwardly Global provides specialized support and advice to supplement Idealist's Career Center.
On the other side, nonprofit organizations and companies can join Upwardly Global's Employer Network to get assistance with recruiting highly qualified new employees from all over the world. And at the same time, volunteers with professional experience in the U.S. offer advice, training, interview practice, and networking practice to immigrant job seekers.
Upwardly Global is one of hundreds of organizations participating in Immigrant Heritage Week, which is April 14-20 in New York City. Click here to browse the long list of cultural events and workshops going on this week in the five boroughs.
Note: In addition to our regular blog postings, we occasionally post observations and updates about the nonprofit sector by Put Barber, Editor of the Nonprofit FAQ. Last week, Put blogged about recent media coverage of declining ethical standards at some charities and organizations. This week he sheds light on everyone's favorite topic: tax forms.
US nonprofits have to file a report known as Form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service each year. The report is due five months and 15 days after the end of the organization’s fiscal year. Since lots of nonprofits have fiscal years that end on December 31, those organizations will need to file with the IRS this year by Thursday, May 15.
Remember, all 990s are public documents and can be reviewed by anyone. Preparing a complete, accurate and easy-to-read 990 is a simple step in the direction of assuring the community, donors and grant-makers that the organization takes its management responsibilities seriously. Increasingly, organizations are seeing their 990 as an element in their communications planning – it’s technical for sure, and hardly the raw material for a run-away best-seller or an SRO movie, but it’s something anyone can look for online to learn about the organization and its work. That alone makes it worth a second glance before filing, just to be sure it is telling the organization’s story in the most effective way.
There’s been much discussion of change in the Form 990 recently, so a recap of where things stand now may be useful.
- The Form 990 to use for reporting to the IRS during 2008 is available online at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f990.pdf. It is not much changed from last year.
- Organizations with more than $25,000 but less than $100,000 in gross receipts may use Form 990-EZ, which is somewhat simpler to prepare. Form 990-EZ is available online at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f990ez.pdf.
- NEW: Organizations with less than $25,000 in gross receipts now must file a simple annual report with the IRS each year. Called the 990-N, this form is available only in an electronic format for e-filing. Read more about the requirements and procedures for Form 990-N at http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=169250,00.html.
- CHANGE: Charitable nonprofits (also known as 501(c)(3) organizations) with more than $1,000 in business income that is not related to their exempt purposes must also file Form 990-T. In the past, the Form 990-T was not subject to public disclosure. Starting in August 2006, the Form 990-T is a public document and organizations must provide a copy to anyone who requests one. Copies can also be requested from the IRS; it recently published guidance for how to make such a request. See http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/a-08-21.pdf.
- BIG CHANGES COMING: The Form 990 and the Form 990-EZ are changing. They have both been redesigned for use in 2009 and future years. There are more questions, more data is required, and both forms use a new structure with many schedules that focus on specific data from organizations that do different kinds of work. The redesigned form was published in December 2007. The IRS published draft instructions for the new form on April 7, with a comment period that runs until the first of June. An introduction to the draft Instructions is at http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=181089,00.html.
You may want to look at the new instructions and send any comments you have to the IRS before June 1.
Here are some other things you should be aware of:
- Transition rules: Because the new forms are complicated and unfamiliar, the IRS is phasing in their use over several years. For the 2008 tax year (returns filed in 2009), organizations with gross receipts less than $1.0 million and total assets less than $2.5 million may file the Form 990-EZ. For the 2009 tax year (returns filed in 2010), organizations with gross receipts less than $500,000 and total assets less than $1.25 million may file the Form 990-EZ. The Form 990-EZ filing thresholds will be adjusted permanently to gross receipts less than $200,000 and total assets less than $500,000 beginning with 2010 tax years. There are also some further transition rules that apply to the use of particular schedules.
- Electronic filing: Filing your forms online with the IRS increases accuracy, reduces delays, and cuts costs. Congress is encouraging the IRS to bring more and more filing online – and nonprofits are no exception. The 990-N must be filed online; there is no equivalent form that can be printed out and mailed. Certain large organizations are already required to file their 990s online, and the threshold for this requirement is moved lower each year. Any organization is now invited to file online; many firms that prepare 990s use electronic filing programs already. Professionals that prepare 990s and individual organizations may also use the publicly available program at http://www.form990.org, a project of the National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute. (There is a sliding scale fee for use of this system with organizations up to $100,000 in gross revenue given access without charge.)
With just over a month before the deadline, I hope you will take the time to make sure your Form 990 tells the story of your organization accurately and well. Good luck!
To help address the financial challenges facing a number of skilled Americans interested in short-term international service, USAID's Office of Volunteers for Prosperity and the Global Giving Foundation, an Internet-based service for international philanthropy, have teamed to create the Volunteers for Prosperity Service Incentive Program or VFPServ.
Photo by peiqianlong on Flickr
As a public-private partnership, "VfPServ will provide matching grants ranging from $500 to $1000 to volunteers who demonstrate the need for support. The grant will be used to offset travel, insurance and local living expenses associated with donating their time and talent overseas," said Henrietta Fore, USAID administrator.
The program works by allowing Americans with at least 3 years of professional experience to select an NGO from a list of partners (which includes groups like United Planet, Cross-Cultural Solutions, and Globe Aware, and to which the VFPServe is regularly adding new organizations), submit their skills and interests, work out a project with their host NGO, fundraise on their own behalf, and then get up to $1000 matched.
It’s that simple and they’re trying to give grants away as fast as they can. (There's a sentence we wish we could write more often!)
Where would you go? How would you serve? Start the process today: http://www.globalgiving.com/cb/vfpserv.
Last weekend in Boston, several hundred people arrived at the Harvard School of Public Health to learn more about doing good around the globe, from the international service opportunities offered by over twenty volunteer-sending organizations to workshops on topics like the basics of global volunteering, linking service and study abroad, volunteering across borders independently, and translating international service experience into a dynamic career.
Participants at the first ever Idealist Global Volunteering Fair
This event, hosted by the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Graduate School of Education, John F. Kennedy School of Government, and Harvard Divinity School, was Idealist's first ever Global Volunteering Fair!
If you weren't able to make it to the Boston fair, click here for information about the national and international nonprofit organizations who participated. Also, watch for a new resource center on Idealist.org specifically focused on global volunteerism to launch later this year.
Want to attend a fair like this one? Stay tuned as we definitely plan to do this again!
The nonprofit Global Majority started as an idea presented to a group of students in 2003 in Monterey, California and today reaches out across the globe with a simple belief: the majority of the global population aspires to live in peace.
Photo by obeth1 on Flickr
Global Majority promotes non-violent conflict resolution education, mediation and advocacy, believing that principled dialogue is imperative and must replace violent conflict if humankind is to thrive. While the organization has its roots at the Monterey Institute for International Studies, Global Majority today is a truly global organization. Their 30 member International Advisory Board has members from 25 countries and they run their “Promoting Peace Through Dialogue” sessions in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Visit Global Majority to sign their global pledge promoting peaceful dialogue (available in 13 languages); read their journal “Dialogue” as well as explore other conflict resolution resources; get involved as a session participant or donor; and help spread the word to friends and family.
There are two upcoming sessions you may want to check out. To learn about the Latin American May 26-June 6 session of “Promoting Peace Through Dialogue,” held in Costa Rica and focusing on environmental conflict resolution, click here. And to learn about the Middle East July 20-August 3 session of ”Promoting Peace Through Dialogue,” held in Jordan and focusing on the Israel/Palestine conflict as well as other major conflicts around the globe, click here.
Do you know of other organizations taking a fresh approach to peace building? Leave a comment below and let other Idealists know how they can get involved.
Maybe rocking out and meeting the band don't usually correspond with your day job or volunteer activities. But check out the work of these nonprofit organizations that are shamelessly devoted to rock music!
photo by Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls
Black Rock Coalition works to support progressive black musicians "who defy convention." The national organization, founded in New York City in 1985, helps secure performance and recording opportunities and other resources for bands and artists, documents and promotes promising acts, and organizes educational events and discussion forums for the public. Among its list of featured bands and artists are Ben Harper, Bloc Party, Sevendust, Toshi Reagon, and TV on the Radio, to name just a few.
Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls is dedicated to youth empowerment through music. At its summer camp sessions in New York City, 8- to 18-year-old girls learn to play musical instruments, write songs, and perform with a band; all while making strides in self-confidence, self-expression, and teamwork. A slew of other rock camps for girls are cropping up throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe: for starters, check out the list of 13 camps that belong to the Girls Rock Camp Alliance.
There's no shortage of other nonprofits that combine important social and environmental causes with rock music. Rock the Earth works with the music industry and its fans to advocate for environmental sustainability. Rock the Classroom brings music and songwriting into public school classrooms to help students improve their literacy skills. Rock CAN Roll, Inc. collects canned food at rock concerts to distribute to families and seniors who need it.
Ready to rock? Look into these 16 related volunteer opportunities.
Each week we bring you a roundup of what you can find on Idealist.org related to a specific country, region, or city. Today we spotlight Lebanon.
Photo by hazy jenius on Flickr
There are 24 nonprofit organizations listed on Idealist so far in English and French; most of them work on protecting and advocating for human rights.
89 people in Lebanon have posted volunteer profiles to offer to contribute their skills to a good cause. And 35 people have posted their personal profiles. If you live in Lebanon or have roots there, you can create a personal or volunteer profile and let the world know!
Would you like to help make more connections among people, organizations, and resources in Lebanon through the Idealist network? Visit Spread Idealist or start a local Idealist Group.
Do you have faith in the power of film and media to make a difference? You're not the only one.
Giving minority and marginalized independent artists a voice, California's Muslim Film Festival showcases movies that reflect the diversity of Muslim culture around the world. The festival is slated for next year but be sure to act soon if you're a filmmaker—deadline for entries is May 15. Nearby in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, the Arab Film Festival will take place October 16-31, 2008. With the aim of combating stereotypes and fostering a better understanding of Arab culture, the festival will highlight a range of genres from animations to experimental works.
On the other side of the US, Arab Women Active in the Arts and Media (AWAAM) empowers young women and girls to become "producers rather than objects of the mass media." The NY-based nonprofit provides opportunities to hone community organizing skills, as well as hosts programs that pair its members with media professionals. You can choose from video, web or radio production—even DJing.
Interested in Muslim faith-based community work? Check out this related list of 134 organizations for more inspiration.
Idealist is proudly home to nonprofit and community organizations with stances all over the political map: both right and left, both pro-choice and pro-life, both anarchist and government-aligned. Of course, moderate stances are also well represented.
By paul likes pics on Flickr
Graffiti is one controversial aspect of urban life that many nonprofits include in their mission statements. But some are passionate about graffiti as an empowering form of public art and expression, while others view it as an obstacle to building clean, safe neighborhoods.
Elementz, a community organization in Cincinnati, Ohio, embraces graffiti art as one of the four elements of hip hop. It aims to provide a safe and empowering space for young people aged 14-24. And ihuman youth of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, encourages graffiti among other forms of art as a creative outlet for at-risk youth.
On the other hand, many local groups work to clean up graffiti. Graffiti Free Santa Cruz is a volunteer-based organization focused solely on graffiti removal and education about the negative consequences of graffiti. Sunnyside United Neighborhood Network in Queens, New York, and RFK Riverfront CDC in Philadelphia work to generally keep their neighborhoods clean, safe, and vibrant; they both consider graffiti removal an important aspect of their work.
All City, a New York City-based nonprofit, appreciates both sides of the debate. It works "to mobilize and re-channel the work of graffiti artists into positive and productive venues so as to generate an awareness of its social, cultural, and artistic value, as well as to showcase its history and its influence on creative art, commercial art, music and other cultural forms in today's society."
Whether you're for or against the practice, or have mixed feelings, check out all of the opportunities on Idealist with the keyword graffiti.
Bernard and his family of 17 became coffee farmers after their land was raided and their cattle stolen. For Godfrey, countless generations in his family have made a living off of caffeine so it seemed natural that he would, too. And for Meresi, a recent widow, taking over the farm has also meant sharing her knowledge of plant care with neighbors.
Coffee flower photo by TimWilson
These are just a few of the three hundred farmers in Uganda who contribute their coffee beans to Crop to Cup (C2C), a company based in the United States that not only makes a good cup of joe, but strives to connect farmers and coffee lovers. Their website displays videos and profiles of C2C farmers, so consumers can start the day with a little story along with their milk and sugar. And the company's nonprofit arm also reinvests 10% of their profits in the farmers' home communities and projects.
Crop to Cup isn't the only one that has begun to put a face beside their product. Dole's organic bananas can be traced to its independent growers in countries from the Dominican Republic to the Philippines. Simply type in the three-digit code on your banana sticker, and you can see how it has traveled from the farm to your fruit bowl.
Does this topic perk your interest? Check out our database of almost 3,000 business-related orgs and initiatives that are making the world a friendlier place.
Last week we profiled rock n' roll-related nonprofit organizations. Now, we bring you another wildly popular genre of music...hip hop! Hip hop—its basic elements being DJing, rapping, breakdancing, and graffiti—has long been associated with youth struggles for social justice in urban areas.
Photo by MIKELIKEBIKE on Flickr
Many current hip hop initiatives demonstrate creative approaches to youth development. The Boston-based organization Project HIP-HOP helps teens build leadership skills through jobs, community organizing, and becoming experts on hip hop culture. Hip Hop 4 Life in New York City uses hip hop culture to educate young people about important health issues, including nutrition, stress management, safe sex, and exercise. Words Beats & Life Inc., a Washington-D.C.-based nonprofit, hosts an annual hip hop chess tournament for anyone aged 5 and up.
Hip hop has made its way into the nonprofit sector in various other ways, too. One organization, African Hip Hop Research Project, researches and supports several initiatives throughout Africa that empower youth through hip hop. Another project, Hip Hop 4 Habitat, has created an innovative partnership with a well-known organization: "Members of the Detroit Hip Hop Community are putting down their mics and picking up hammers to fund and build a house for a family in need thanks to a partnership with Habitat for Humanity Detroit." And a start-up effort in New York City, the National Hip-Hop Museum and Hall of Fame, aims to open a museum to celebrate, honor, and educate the public about the history of hip hop.
Find volunteer opportunities from these organizations and others by searching for "hip hop" on Idealist.
Do you have an eye for composition and color, and a heart that cares about making the world a better place? If so, don't miss out on Sappi's Ideas That Matter grant program.
From Kate_A's Design Ethics set on Flickr
Sappi is a global producer of fine paper that believes designers' talents can be used for more than what simply looks good. The company has put out a call for graphic designers to create a printed communication campaign for an organization of their choice. Whether it's a humanitarian cause or an environmental issue, the topic doesn't matter—as long as it's something you're passionate about.
Last year, designers created snazzy new materials for a diverse palette of fifteen organizations. New York's Innocence Project, which provides legal assistance to those who could be proven innocent with DNA testing, and Chicago's Creative Pitch, which redistributes unwanted art materials, were just a couple that received a portion of the total $1 million in prize money.
Drawn to this contest and want see your name in print? Make sure to submit your entry by May 31st.
|
