Quick guidelines for beginners

How to plan a project? Part I.



Investigate:

• Identify a local, national, or global community need that you would like to address.

• Map your community’s needs and assets, follow it in the news, interview community members and
key stakeholders, and find out how others may already be responding.

• Think about how your skills, knowledge, and the activities that you already enjoy doing could help.
Decide what change you would like to see, and how you will measure how you have strengthened
your community. Establish a baseline that you can measure again after your project, to see what
changed.

Prepare and Plan:

• Develop a common vision for success meeting a real need. Invite other youth, teachers or adult program leaders, etc…

(Experts on the issue, business people, community and faith-based organizations, and government representatives or officials to join you.)

• Develop a detailed project plan – list every task that needs to be completed, decide who will work on it, and assign due dates.

• Develop a project budget and fundraising plan. Include supplies, food, transportation, event space, volunteer recognition materials, etc. Plan to meet each cost with in-kind support, fundraising, grants, or sponsorships. (See below at the „grants” title)

• Build partnerships to help you identify project sites, recruit volunteers, provide project supplies, or secure additional resources and partners.

• Secure a location for your project and plan out the who, what, when, where, and how logistics of your project. Think about transportation, food, and alternate plans in case of weather, low turnout, etc.

• Recruit volunteers. How many will you need, and what will they need to do? Try to engage and accommodate youth not traditionally asked to serve in your community

• Register your project as soon as possible! First send me an e-mail about your plans and ideas to the regional coordinator: szucs.anna@i-dia.org. From January of 2012 you will be able to register your projects on gysd.org.