Reply To: Exercise 8: Details, Sustainability, and Financials
Method Initiative Exercise 8: Spreadsheet
Project ASSUMPTIONS
I don’t really have a 2 year plan. My goal is to find a community with which I can launch one clean up event from which I can learn in order to replicate with the same community or grow it to other communities. In order to do that, I only need a few supplies that I believe I already have. We will need water and trash free snacks which I am hoping to generate as donations either from the community itself or a business partner. I think the longer range plan will be directed from the initial experience.
In this plan, I assumed I could get a number of business partners. I think I could work out a plan to generate $100 per month from one of them each month in order to supply what is needed for the clean up. In order to do this I will need more specific numbers as to the actual costs.
I spent at least 4 or 5 hours looking up costs but what I know at this point isn’t sufficient to really know what be needed down the road. Part of my vision is that getting people from the church or school to form a “steering committee” and that the vision of the event will come from that group. Thus, the monetary needs will be driven by that plan.
I can’t really say this felt motivating to talk to others about my plan beyond what I am already involved in doing. It made me aware that I don’t want to be the sole driver of it. I want this to belong to the people who are doing it and so I want the plan to be driven by that. Thus, those are the people I want to talk to first.
REFLECTIONS
This exercise made me consider what the costs would be and how I imagine covering them. I don’t see this as a “profit generating” project. It is a community building project that will need some supplies and refreshments for participants (at least at the beginning. It may evolve to include other items requiring money but I don’t know what those will be yet) I don’t think much will be needed at the beginning and I think with the contacts I have already made and with donations those things can be covered.
I need more time and some assistance to figure out how to develop a web presence that could be used to advertise beforehand and to celebrate after. I need to find someone who could help me think that through. Again, I can have the idea about how to do that and do it with the people who will be participating in the project.