Toluu

Planning For Good

Account planners and their friends using their brains to help solve problems for causes and non-profits.

Calling All EntrepreneursOctober 2

The Idea Village, a non-profit created for innovators in New Orleans, is launching 504ward’s $100,000 Business Competition for entrepreneurs with ideas to retain young talent in New Orleans.

As some of you may remember, The Idea Village was Planning for Good’s first client. One of the ideas coming out of that experience was engaging national corporations and organizations in driving innovation to New Orleans. The Idea Village is now proud to report that Worldwide Partners and two teams Google employees have joined them to help launch this competition.

Check out this YouTube video for more info and please help spread the word:


Don’t forget The Idea Village mantra: “Trust Your Crazy Ideas.”

Winners of the Planning for Good Challenge-AAAA Account Planning Conference 2008July 24

More on PFG at the AAAA's Planning ConferenceJuly 21

Nice report from WARC on Sunday's efforts in Miami.


http://www.warc.com/ConferenceBlogs/AAAA-072008.asp

PFG at the planning conferenceJuly 20

Several of us from PFG are down at the AAAA Planning Conference in Miami this week.  And PFG is leading a session for junior and intermediate planners today. 32 people signed up, and in teams they have 6 hours to crack a brief on one of two projects for microlender Kiva.org or human rights advocacy group Witness.

The teams are working away right now.  It's exciting, after a lot of virtual working over the past year, to have everybody in a room working away. We'll announce a bit about the winning teams and their ideas here over the next few days.

Volunteering is bad.June 16

After speaking with a friend and hearing her definition of volunteering, I thought about writing this post: to know your opinions. Chatting we realized that our associations with the word "volunteering", were quite different.

In the past I volunteered in Italy and in Ireland, to help and assist children. What really surprised me, in both cases, was the atmosphere. People living with other people, and sharing everything. Children were helping us (me and other volunteers) to think differently about life, adopting a different perspective. We were there to give them back their hopes.

Sharing (as well as helping) aspect of this attitude is completely eclipsed behind what seems to be just an economic issue. "Volunteers are people who are not paid for working", said my friend - expressing a common thought. If that is the normal assumption (in Italy I'm quite sure it is), social volunteering has a high obstacle to overcome, starting from its name.

What about your countries? Is there a name to indicate who helps other people just for the sake of it? Can you translate it in english? If not, may we find one?

Updated:
They are "activists", but activism is probably a to