N C State Sample Chapter Handbook
- 1. NC State University Saket Vora
- 2. Dear Students, As you read this letter I ask one thing; let your imagination guide you. I want to be able to show you how students around the world can work together to better thousands and thousands of lives around the world. Across the globe, 4 people die of hunger every fifteen seconds. Can you picture 16 people losing their lives to the hunger-poverty crisis in the minute it takes you to read this note? Malnutrition is a terrible burden on millions, especially those living in poverty. We commonly hear statistics on the number of deaths or horrid images of the sick and the dead but we do not hear enough about the solutions. We, as students and citizens of this world, have the ability to contribute our energy, creativity and leadership to become a part of the solution as we give hope, access, and the resources necessary for thousands in dire need. Nourish International (NI), a student based organization will do just this by investing in your ideas as students to run creative fundraising ventures so that we can continuously implement sustainable development projects around the world. Can you imagine working to help build an irrigation system for a community 16,000 ft above sea level in the Andes Mountains? Or how about gathering enough funding and resources to set up a supplemental drink program in India for 150 children for up to 4 years? Where do you see yourself traveling and making a life-altering difference for an entire community? As a sophomore, I founded Hunger Lunch (the organization from which NI was developed) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Hunger Lunch (HL) began by selling lunches and accumulated over $30,000 in its first three years. With this funding, students of HL carried out international relief work including the irrigation system in Andes Mountains and the supplemental drink program in India. Hunger Lunch naturally evolved into NI as students were full of ideas for new and creative fundraising ventures from cooking classes to entertainment services. We were no longer only serving “hunger lunches”. So the active leaders of HL have come together to form the vision for a multinational student-based organization that will allow us all to help alleviate the hunger-poverty crisis. If you can picture students running various fundraising ventures simultaneously over the academic school year across the globe and intermixing between universities over the summer to implement sustainable development projects, then this is the organization for you. We know that every student can make a world of difference, but many rarely realize their true potential until they see it for themselves. So come join our efforts and see what a difference you can make in this world. Sincerely, Sindhura Citineni Co-founder and former Director of Nourish International Saket Vora
- 3. Introductory Information guide What is Nourish International? Nourish International (NI) is a student movement which combines action with advocacy to alleviate poverty. NI empowers college students to think critically about the global poverty crisis, and make a tangible contribution to poverty reduction. Core Values: • We invest our earnings in sustainable development projects that help individuals get out of poverty • We earn money through business transactions such as selling goods and services to other students on campus. We do not ask students for donations. • NI is student driven and student-led The Basic NI Model: During the academic year, students (NI members) implement various fundraising activities, which we call “Ventures” to differentiate them from traditional fundraisers. Ventures cater to the student market, meaning they provide a good or service that other students are willing to purchase for the inherent value of the good or service. Examples of past ventures include swing dances, poker tournaments, and lunch sales. During the year, students find sustainable development projects by researching Poverty Eradication Partners (PEP’s). PEP’s consist of any organization that is carrying out grassroots development work around the world. They include NGO’s (nongovernmental organizations, nonprofits, and international relief organizations. Examples include Save the Children and FDNC Uganda. Saket Vora
- 4. NI members Impoverishe Venture d PEP’s s Community Saket Vora
- 5. NINO Resource Guide James Edward Dillard (james@nourishinternational.org) James Edward Dillard is the Executive Director of Nourish International. James joined Nourish in 2007 and was instrumental in expanding Nourish to campuses across the United States through the Chapter Founders campaign. Bryon Zandt (bryon.zandt@nourishinternational.org) Bryon is the marketing director. He can help out with matters that relate to the website, email, flier design and listservs. Jenna Farmer (jenna.farmer@nourishinternational.org) Jenna joined Nourish in July 2009 as Chapter Coordinator, serving as a mentor and connector for chapters Carlyn Cowen (carlyn@nourishinternational.org) Carlyn joined Nourish in 2008 as a summer intern and is currently serving as director of development. The national office also has a team of interns that assist staff members in their projects. The national office provides resources through: Fliers, Brochures, Graphics, Marketing Materials - Google Sites Summer Project Database The Website – http://www.nourishinternational.org/ Saket Vora
- 6. Brief History of NI Fall 2002 – Sindhura Citineni founds Hunger Lunch Summer 2003 – Sindhura conducts first development project in Hyderabad, India Summer 2004 – water irrigation project implemented with Save the Children in Jucumarini, and Andean village in Bolivia. April 8, 2005 – Hold’em for Hunger, the first venture since HL is held April 20, 2005 – The concept for Nourish International earns 2nd place in the Carolina Challenge Fall, 2005 – Hunger Lunch changes name to Nourish International (NI). Sindhura Citineni becomes first full time employee of NI. Spring 2006 – NI incorporates and recruits a distinguished board of directors May-June, 2006 – NI partners with Fundacion Los Robles to construct 4 educational food gardens at primary schools. June, 2006 – NI finances community orchard project in India organized by Bridgetrust. September 6, 2006 – NI submits 501c3 application to federal govt. Saket Vora
- 7. Fundamental Chapter Organizational Structure President/ Chairperson Membership Coordinator Ventures Projects “(Co)President/(Co)Chairperson” Primary responsibilities: • knowledge and supervision of the operations of the entire chapter • communication with NINO This includes: • supervision of chapter meetings and events, venture planning, summer project progress • assist in problem-solving and execution of events • brainstorm/develop new and unique ideas in all aspects of the chapter • appoint and train committee leaders • implementation of NI national policies • dissemination of information, news, and agendas from the NINO to the chapter • reporting chapter information to NINO, including budgets, summer project progress, chapter membership information, etc. The President/Chairperson is also initially responsible for dictating the agendas of meetings, the schedule and the organizational structure of the chapter. Ventures Committee Primary functions: • oversee and implement each Venture • Venture Committee Chair appoints and supervises Venture Leaders Lacking a Marketing/Publicity Committee, Ventures is responsible for: • publicizing Ventures Saket Vora
- 8. • creating literature on ventures, projects, and chapter/campus relations • marketing NI to expand membership, including poverty awareness Projects Committee Primary functions: • research and select sustainable development projects • plan projects, including researching language and cultural differences, coordinating travel logistics, contacting PEP’s ______________ • analyze impact and effectiveness of projects upon completion • present findings to chapters, NINO, and national symposia and seminars “Membership Coordinator” Primary Responsibilities: • Saket Vora
- 9. Outline for a General Interest Meeting I. Introduction/Welcome – 15 minutes 1. Who we are/our mission: explanation of NI history and our goals, as well as describing the student-driven aspect of our structure 2. How we do it: brief explanation of Venture-Project format, noting the difference between seeking charity and providing goods and services to fund our efforts 3. Summer Project presentation: slideshow/documentary to accompany description of our previous projects II. Committee Explanation and Interest Assessment – 15-30 minutes 1. Break into equal groups, each group being directed to a short presentation of the various committees and the tasks/opportunities involved in each 2. Rotate until all groups have seen all the committees 3. Pass out Interest Assessment cards to collect name, email address (very important), phone number, major, year in school, and in which committees each student would be interested in participating III. Reconvene and Close the Meeting – 3 minutes 1. Thank everyone for coming and let them know they will be contacted about upcoming committee meetings 2. Encourage them to attend/participate in/volunteer at upcoming Ventures (always be promoting!) 3. Let everyone know that the NI members will remain for 30-45 minutes to answer questions, explain more about the program, or to just hang out Important: At this point, students will engage in conversation with themselves and with us. It is important not to discourage this by ushering everyone out of the room at the “end” of the meeting. By showing them that we’re willing to answer questions if they like or just hang around and chat, we’re demonstrating what makes us different from all the other organizations that want their membership too. Remember, we stand out from every other organization because a) we are a completely student-led and -driven international movement and b) we form great relationships with everyone we work with. Saket Vora
- 10. Hunger Lunch Hunger Lunch Director The director is in charge of reserving the BC walkway for every Hunger Lunch. Her or she assists the other HL leaders and spends extra time creating ways to make Hunger Lunches even better. Volunteer Director The volunteer director is in charge of soliciting volunteers for each hour of the Hunger Lunch, including setup (10am-11am), cleanup (2pm-3pm), and every hour in between. The volunteer director also sends out an email to the listserv before each lunch reminding all volunteers and members about the lunch and what times they signed up for volunteering. Supplies Coordinator The supplies coordinator is in charge of ensuring that there are enough supplies for each lunch. They must also locate storage space for supplies. Food Coordinator The food coordinator is in charge of ordering food from the catering service each week. Saket Vora
- 11. Supplies List Sam’s Club is the best place we’ve found to get supplies. Necessary Plates Forks Napkins Frank’s Red Hot Sauce Cups Food stands Sternos Stemmed Lighter Icing on the cake Radio Saket Vora
- 12. Nourish International - Outline for Round 1 Publicity The beginning of every school year sees turnover on campus of students and professors, which includes our customer and membership base. As a result, it is vital that we engage in Round 1 and Round 2 publicity to broadcast our organization and Ventures every year. The purpose of Round 1 publicity is to raise awareness of and attendance to both the General Interest Meeting the second or third week of class and to our principal Venture, Hunger Lunch. To that end, this is a brief outline of some effective marketing techniques and our target audiences. Friends This is the fundamental, most effective, and easiest way to recruit volunteers, attendees, and supporters for our chapter and events. Simply put, it is the responsibility of all the leaders of NI to inform their friends, roommates, classmates, study groups, acquaintances, et c. about Hunger Lunch and NI and to invite them to our GIM and HLs. NI Listserv It would be hard to overstate the importance of developing a NI listserv from the very beginning. In essence, an effective listserv will be a tool to reach an enormous number of students and faculty with the highest interest in our organization. EVERY person that even expresses interest in hearing about NI, or a HL or even about poverty and hunger in general, along with anyone who attends a GIM, HL, or other Venture, needs to write down her/his email address. Other Student Organizations Utilizing the resources of other student orgs is an excellent way to reach students/ faculty who have already demonstrated an interest in social work/relief. The tactic for this method is to simply go through friends and acquaintances in other organizations. If you approach them with collaboration in mind and explain the mutual interest of our endeavor, it will not be difficult to solicit their cooperation. Once they have given their consent, there are two ways we would want to utilize this resource: acquiring access to their listserv and thereby a larger audience, and the opportunity to speak briefly at a General Body Meeting about our program and upcoming events. “Guerilla Marketing” This type of marketing is time-intensive, but highly effective and very fun. Examples of guerilla marketing include traditional campus mass-promotion methods like distributing handbills, posting fliers, and displaying banners or Saket Vora
- 13. signs, but should also utilize more creative strategies. Previous efforts have included the Hunger Lunch Bike (piloted by none other than your fearless leader, Jooooooel Thomas!), rapping in campus commons, Poker in the Pit, and others. This is your chance to be creative and have fun with unusual and eye-catching advertising. Class announcements There is a reason every organization makes announcements and distributes fliers to classes at the beginning of every semester: IT WORKS. If we are to make the most effective use of this method, it will require a considerable time investment. THE KEY TO THIS IS BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PROFESSORS. It is imperative to be respectful of the professors and not disrupt their classes. The impact made possible by this communication is absolutely worth the effort you will invest. Department Heads Another way to reach a large number of potential members/customers is through departmental listservs. By speaking with the heads of departments such as sociology, anthropology, health sciences, nursing, political sciences, biology, et c., you can gain potentially gain access to the department listserv to distribute information pertaining to a GIM or announce and explain a HL. The nature of this method might preclude busier students from engaging in it, since it requires you to visit a professor during office hours, make a short presentation on NI and our Ventures, and ask for their assistance. In the long run, these dept. heads can offer much more to our efforts than we had ever foreseen, so they should not be neglected. Initially, however, this method should be considered secondary to the others mentioned. Remember, the purpose of NI is to grow advocacy and action to alleviate poverty, and that starts with you. Every student deserves a chance to help our cause however they see fit, so don’t take anyone for granted: spread the word! The more creative you are and the more fun you have with this, the more effective it will be and the bigger and faster start your chapter will have. Good luck! Saket Vora