start a non-profit

We’re in the process of starting Brick In The Wall, a resource for alternative education in Malaysia. It’s on a bit of hibernation at the moment since I’m away, but hopefully it’ll work out!

The “Brick In The Wall” project is getting off to a good start. I have a few more friends that are helping me out, and I’ve managed to get in touch with people with experience who are EXTREMELY helpful.

Hopefully we’ll get somewhere!

There are two project sites set up for Brick In The Wall, for discussion:

http://projects.takingitglobal.org/brickinthewall
http://www.livejournal.com/community/bitw_malaysia

Feel free to visit and communicate :)

Brick In The Wall, and it is a project to raise awareness and encourage exploration in all forms of alternative education – from study abroad to internships, mentorships to homeschooling, all sorts of things. Among the acitivities provided by Brick In The Wall include a Resource Centre, the “Support Me” Program, a scholarship fund, and various awareness programs.

Right now Brick In The Wall is in the Ideas and Feedback stage. I’d like you to read the proposal and give your ideas and feedback. Also, please pass this on, as I’d like to get feedback from all sorts of people.

Download the .PDF file below:

Project Proposal – Brick In The Wall (Preliminary Draft)

Read it, send me your feedback, and pass this on!

thanks! :)

I’m starting a team for those who are beginners at starting non-profits. Anyone is welcome to join.

If you want to join, respond with your email address and I’ll send you an invite. :)

I’ve got ideas for an organization, including what causes will it support, the target community, the activities, etc etc. However, I have no idea how to actually START.

How exactly do you start?

I’d imagine my first step is to write a proposal outlining my idea and what I hope to achieve from it. This then can be passed around so that interested people can comment or show their support.

The guidelines I found were mainly for asking for grants; are there some that are somewhat more general?

Any tips and tricks would really be appreciated. Thank you! :)

I met Daniel, the founder of the Youth Empowerment Association in Malaysia. He’s 18, but already he has so much drive. (He started an NGO for goodness sake) And then there’s Emir, who’s also 18 but is leading in a trillion projects to empower and enlighten people.

I’m 20 soon, and while I have done my part in volunteering and activism, I feel like a useless tool next to people like Daniel and Emir. I have plenty of ideas, but I’m just not sure how to implement them.

Among the ideas I have:

1. A youth mentorship program, whereby youths of various talents and interests can put up profiles of their projects and search for support – be it mentoring, funding, ideas, or just cheering.

2. A resource centre for alternative and out-of-the-box education, ranging from study abroad and student exchanges, to unschooling and homeschooling, as well as networking for scholarships, internships and apprenticeships.

3. A general college portal where students from Malaysian colleges can get together, find resources about college life in Malaysia, hunt for their perfect college, look for college survival, find scholarships, etc. (there are plenty of resources for Americans and other places but nothing specifically for Malaysia)

4. A general Malaysian education organisation calling for education reform (because it could certainly use a shakeup) and promoting student involvement and activism.

Anyone have any ideas or resources? Anyone wanna help?