The surge in founding virtual youth-run organizations is sooo March 2020, but don't worry, it isn't too late for you to jump aboard!
The pandemic and the resulting regulations/adjustments made to survive it offer a dizzying amount of niche research theses.
Things like analyzing how many baby boomers learned how to navigate Twitter or polling what has been the most baked bread in quarantine. There are bleaker topics as well- seeing firsthand how extreme social isolation and the use of social media as a coping mechanism has affected elementary-school children. But this webinar tackles one niche in particular. It could be a resource used in understanding how certain youth dealt with their pandemic life-styles, and created elaborate and impactful projects as a result.
Cateyann Bernhard, our webinar host of the week, is a part of this innovative youth demographic. She is one of the founders of EarthBurned, a youth-nonprofit that IntegraYouth has had the pleasure to work with before (see Zane's webinars on research and internships). Cateyann came to discuss the ins and outs of building up non profits, specifically social justice-geared ones.
She covered anything you could think of, from how to come up with a central idea, to suggestions on how to run virtual fundraisers. As she mentioned in her presentation, it's better to be over prepared than under prepared! Feel free to take notes, and access her original slides presentation for live links to her many examples and templates.
About EarthBurned:
A youth-led non-profit organization dedicated to intersectional environmentalism ( a form of activism that connects social and environmental issues).
First Steps
First is coming up with an idea and goal! Figuring out which cause/issue you want your non-profit to support. This idea shouldn't be too broad OR too specific, overwhelming your org or putting it in a very rigid box right from the beginning, may prove to be complicated for it's future.
A possible goal: Creating a resource platform for teens looking into creative post-secondary options
2. Think, how will your org now reach your goal? It could be through a podcast, webinars, virtual tutoring, fundraisers...
Cateyann recommends that you keep all your ideas written down somewhere, even the ones you scraped in the beginning stages. You never know when they'll come in handy!
3. Organize your org into layers, strata, a chain of command! Will you have project heads, an executive team, or just a pool of general volunteers? Once you've decided on the ways you will reach your goal, you should decide on who you will have working on every step of the process. Tutors for tutoring, graphic designers for Instagram posts, web developers for your professional website, etc.
Here's an example from EarthBurned on how to organize volunteers into different positions:
How to deal with volunteers
You'll want to surround yourself with an awesome, passionate and talented group of people who will help further your original cause. If you structure your applications the right way, you'll get just the people you were looking for!
And while it's important to bond, be respectful and considerate of everyone's different circumstances, you also have to ensure that work gets done, and upkeep some ground rules.
First, craft your applications, depending on the skills and attributes you'll need your volunteers to have for different positions. These can be easily drawn up and shared through google forms. Advertise your applications season on social media and/or in collaboration with internship programs. Write up a contract, like a code of conduct, and clear, organized acceptance letters.
To bond with your team, you can organize events like game nights and movie nights, or programs/rituals like questions of the day and volunteers of the month. You can hold open mic nights for brainstorming webinars, and study dates. Anything you feel your group will appreciate! The camaraderie and low-stress vibe of a youth-run organization is one of its most notable perks.
Organization, Resources, Housekeeping
Contact Information Application:
Once you've got your team, your shared virtual workspace and an established organization, you need a simple and effective way for people to contact you and specific members of your team. What Cateyann has done, is give each of her executive members EarthBurned emails for EB related tasks and correspondence. She also has a general email for general inquiries, and a volunteer email for volunteer recruitment coresspondence.
On top of having a consistent presence on multiple social media, have a professional website as your ultimate destination with all the information any visitor could possibly need. Here are the EarthBurned Wix homepage and Instagram profile. Wix.com is a great free online website builder!
Non-Profit Ambitions!
Once you've scaled up your organization, you'll need ideas for events, and ways to maintain organization.
- Webinars
Like this one :) are a great way to demonstrate what your org is knowledgeable about.
- Podcasts & YouTube Videos
To be a successful organization, you should have plenty of content for people to consume and learn from/connect with. Podcasts and videos are two favorite vessels!
- Fundraisers
You will most likely need a source of money for your many projects. You can try these alongside grants.
Social Justice Non-Profit Specifics
When a non-profit is inherently socially responsible, it has many criteria to abide to, to keep it a respectful and safe space for volunteers and consumers.
Cateyann went over some social justice musts, like being mindful with language, how to have civil disagreements and how to stimulate important conversations.
Additional Projects: Virtual Events, Fundraisers, Blogs
Here are some more EarthBurned-specific events, like their UNICEF GoFundMe, their redbubble shop and their chapter clean ups. Feel free to take inspiration from the ideas and templates.
There's the material! Take it and run. It can be overwhelming, time consuming and competitive to start up a non-profit from scratch at any age, let alone one's teens. But for a fortunate group of youth, the beginning possibility is right there, a brainstorm, google doc and Instagram account away! Remember to always have good intentions in founding projects (not just to fluff up resumes, because the lack of passion will show) and to enjoy the experience.
For Cateyann's help on consulting any of your organization ideas, look to her contact info below.
Resources
General EarthBurned email:
Cateyann's personal email: berhnardcateyann5@gmail.com
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