Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Please find an interactive table of contents below to help you find your question and its answer. Click on a topic to see questions about it, click on a question to see the answer. If you can't find the right answers here, just send us an email: info@theworldwewantfoundation.org

The World We Want Foundation

1. What is The World We Want Foundation?

We are a tax-exempt 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We provide a new "crowdfunding" platform devoted to Young Global Citizens conducting Social Action Projects, where the public can donate directly to a Project and 100% of all funds donated goes directly to the Project. That’s why our motto is “Philanthropy for Young Global Citizens.”

Also, we believe that young people can make a difference and we want the world to know! So we provide an online Showcase for sharing their successes—their Stories of Social Impact—to educate and inspire others to take action!

We seek and accept tax-deductible donations for micro-grants for Social Action Projects listed on our funding platform, and we accept donations for the Foundation itself to help sustain our programs and operations as well as co-fund many of the Social Action Projects submitted to us.

2. What are the goals of The World We Want Foundation?

Our goal is to promote and support young people making positive social change in their communities and around the world by providing the resources they need to change their communities and create the world they want – to inspire, inform, educate, and empower them to create positive social change, make measurable differences, and share their Stories of Social Impact with the world.

Our goal is to establish a worldwide community and network of Partner Organizations, Mentors, and Donors:

Supporting youth development and leadership
Devoted to creating a new generation of young people eager to make a difference
Equipping them with the 21st century skills and abilities needed to become social innovators, change-makers, and productive, engaged citizens.

3. How does the Foundation promote and support young people making social change?

The World We Want Foundation partners with nonprofit educational, charitable, community or faith-based organizations, including public and private schools, youth organizations and clubs, civil society organizations, and other foundations who are devoted to youth leadership and empowerment.

The Foundation provides "philanthropy for Young Global Citizens". We help fund the journey of these young agents of change, and we ask for the story – their Story of Social Impact – about what happened and the outcomes that resulted because they took action.

Teams of Young Global Citizens generate and conduct Social Action Projects and are guided by Mentors affiliated with the Partner Organizations. This is the community on the ground working with the Teams to help them conduct and implement their Social Action Projects. Many are teachers or counselors, service learning coordinators, program directors, and more.

We provide a project-based active learning format and a framework for young people to gain substantive knowledge from addressing a social problem they choose and, more importantly, to acquire 21st-century skills required to become effective leaders and engaged citizens, including active learning, leadership, teamwork, critical thinking, civic engagement, and digital media communication.

We provide a simple way for others to support these Teams of young people on our funding platform, where anyone can donate to any Social Action Project to help achieve the funding needs of the Project. We also co-fund as a Foundation, so the Foundation and the public can support the Projects together, and foster community building as well as social value creation by the Teams.

We feature a project-based active learning format and provide each team and its Project:

Additional mentoring and online resources to help create and conduct the Project
An online display of information about the Project while it's in progress
An online crowd funding platform allowing donations from the public and the Foundation to the Project
An online Showcase for sharing the completed Project and Story of Social Impact

See Foundation Support below and the What We Do page of our website for details.

4. What is the relationship between The World We Want Foundation, Partner Organizations, and Mentors?

Partner Organizations must be registered United States tax-exempt educational, charitable, or community nonprofit organizations, including public and private schools and youth organizations and clubs. Mentors need to be affiliated with the Partner Organization.

Partner Organizations go through our due diligence process and must be approved by the Foundation before a Social Action Project application will be accepted.

The Foundation partners with established, reputable nongovernmental organizations and civil society organizations by vetting these organizations to ensure they are high quality, highly impactful, satisfy IRS guidelines for international grant-making, and follow the voluntary guidelines for anti-terrorism set forth in the USA Patriot Act.

As part of the vetting process, The World We Want Foundation requires detailed information on each Partner Organization’s IRS status, its insurance for working with young people, and its ability to participate in our program by providing feedback on outcomes, facilitated by the Mentor.

Partner Organizations act as the conduit through which the Foundation supports Young Global Citizens conducting their Social Action Project. All micro-grants are distributed through the Partner Organization to the Team. 100% of the funding must go to the team’s Social Action Project. The Mentor guides the team and and is also responsible for monitoring and evaluating the use of the funds and support for the team.

More detailed information can be found on our Partner with Us page.

5. What do Young Global Citizens take away from the process?

By following this project-based active learning format and conducting a Social Action Project, Young Global Citizens acquire:

Substantive knowledge gained from identifying and researching a social problem they choose, developing and implementing a solution to that problem, and communicating the results
Practical, social, and technical 21st-century skills important to becoming effective leaders and engaged citizens, including active learning, leadership, teamwork, critical thinking, civic engagement, and digital media communication.

The Social Action Project

1. What is a Social Action Project?

A Social Action Project is an organized, comprehensive, step-by-step strategy for addressing a societal problem or challenge with an intent to create positive social change in a community. The components are: Problem, Solution, Impact, and Story. A Team of Young Global Citizens, guided by a Project Mentor, will:

Identify a problem, need, or challenge in the community
Research and develop a solution and an action plan
Measure and record the outcome or impact in the community and on their Team
Share their Story of Social Impact as a Digital Portfolio on our Showcase

2. What is an Action Plan?

An Action Plan is a list of the actions you will take to implement the solution you have defined in your Social Action Project – the steps you will take to solve the problem you are addressing. An Action Plan is often broken down into these standard topics:

Goals: the ultimate goals of the Project.
Milestones: intermediate goals that need to be met in order to achieve the ultimate goals.
Timetable: a schedule of events.
Budgets: an allocation of resources such as time and money.
Measurement: a plan to measure interim and final progress.
Documentation: a record of the creation, conduct, and results of the Project in a Digital Portfolio.

3. Do we need a budget for our Project?

We recommend creating a financial budget for every Project that involves funds and a work schedule for Projects that involve many people working many hours. If you are requesting a micro-grant from the Foundation, you need to provide an estimated budget with your Project Application. For additional information on budgeting see Creating a Budget.

See Two Examples of Social Action Projects for details.

4. Who are Young Global Citizens?

Young Global Citizens are those young people who have the passion, talent, determination, and power to create positive social change in their communities through Social Action Projects – young people who wish to learn and to be agents of change in their communities. They are the beneficiaries of our support and the support of our Partner Organizations, Mentors, and Donors.

5. Who are Project Mentors?

A Project Mentor is an adult who is willing and able to help Young Global Citizens learn valuable skills and achieve change in their communities through a Social Action Project, typically someone they know, such as a teacher or service learning coordinator, a counselor, or a parent. The Mentor is affiliated with the Project's Partner Organization. Mentors guide the team throughout the Project. Find out more about Mentors on our Partner with Us page.

6. What is a Partner Organization?

One kind of Partner Organization is a Partner that sponsors teams of Young Global Citizens with Social Action Projects and Mentors to guide them. These Partners are typically nonprofit educational, charitable, or community based organizations, including public and private schools, youth organizations and clubs, civil society organizations, and other foundations. They may manage and distribute any micro-grants we provide to a Project.

Another kind of Partner Organization is a Partner that is interested in and provides other kinds of support for youth development. These Partners are typically other nonprofit organizations, community foundations, family foundations, corporations, small businesses, government agencies, or other entities interested in joining us in supporting or funding youth development.

See our Partner with Us page for more details.

7. Can a Partner Organization have teams submit more than one Social Action Project?

When you become a Partner Organization, we hope that we are in a long-term relationship where you have many teams submitting Social Action Projects over time. We may not accept all of them depending on our funding budget, but if they are accepted we place them on the funding platform for the public to help fund.

Visit our Partner with Us page to find out more about Partners and becoming a Partner.

8. What is Social Impact or Social Value Creation and how do we measure success or impact?

Social Impact is the overall result of a Social Action Project – the social changes that it caused, the social differences that it made, the effect on the people and community involved, the quantitative and qualitative social outputs and outcomes achieved.

The Foundation is funding the journey but asking for an outcome of what happened because the team took action. Most donors look for quantitative results, such as the number of people served.

We focus our main attention on social value creation as a measure of success, qualitative and anecdotal outcomes as well as quantitative. On our Showcase, we share a Team’s Digital Portfolio or video to show the outcome and impact of their Social Action Project. As the saying goes, a picture or a video is worth a thousand words. A smile, a look of pride, a face filled with empathy and joy is all part of the social value creation.

Examples of success include collaboration, increased wellbeing of the stakeholders or those who benefited from the project in the community or around the world, as well as what happened to the team and the individual members on the team.

Qualitative measures: 21^st century skills of leadership, teamwork, digital literacy, and civic engagement.

9. What are questions to help you evaluate the impact of your Social Action Project?

At the end of a project, we ask the Team to create a Digital Portfolio or video of their Story of Social Impact. The following are some questions that can help the Team decide what outcomes and impact they might want to include in their story:

Did your Social Action Project mission statement reflect the outcome you achieved?
How did the stakeholders, the people benefiting from your Project, feel?
What made your Team choose this Project and were they happy with the outcome?
How many people benefited from your Project and will the benefits continue and increase?
Do those affected by the Project value the outcome? How and why?
What obstacles or challenges occurred and how did you overcome them?
In what ways did the Team learn more information about their Project and its effect on the community or the people they were trying to help?
What outcomes are the Team, the Team Members, and the Mentor most proud of?
What skills did your Team learn while conducting your Social Action Project?
How did the Team feel when they completed the Project?
What can you tell others who might want to conduct a Project like yours?
What is the most important thing you would like to tell others about your Project’s outcome?
How did your Social Action Project benefit your community or a community around the world?
Were community partners involved with your Project and how did they feel about the outcomes?
What were successful milestones and what could you have done differently?
What would you like to celebrate in your story?
Were there unintended consequences during your Project?
What did you learn as a team?
What did you learn as an individual team member?
Do you believe that young people can influence community decisions?

10. What is a Story of Social Impact?

When your Social Action Project is completed you are ready to create your Digital Portfolio of your Story of Social Impact.

A Story of Social Impact is a visual account or report that describes and demonstrates the Social Impact of a Project, presented as a video or Digital Portfolio for posting on the Foundation Showcase. In this story you will want to show the outcomes and impact from your Project.

Using the documentation you have collected over the course of conducting your Social Action Project, you can start to create your video or Digital Portfolio. Before you start editing your Story of Social Impact as a video or PowerPoint presentation, write it out. Collaborate with your team members and write a narrative that tells your story from start to finish. Include everything and every step along the way. Then edit your story down to the most important components.

See Creating Your Story of Social Impact on our Start Your Project page for more details.

11. What is a Digital Portfolio?

A digital portfolio is any combination of compelling videos, photos, slideshows, PowerPoint presentations, descriptive text, final reports, charts, graphs, drawings, or other visual media. It tells your Story of Social Impact and is posted on the Foundation Showcase.

Please see Creating Your Story of Social Impact and Two Examples of Social Action Projects on our Start Your Project page for details.

12. How do we "document" our Project?

Documenting your Project means keeping a record of the progress and the results of your Project. The purpose of this record – your documentation – is to show what you did and what changes resulted from what you did – what was the social impact of your Project.

It should feature visual media that captures and conveys the impact of your Project, and a short compelling video summary is the best way to do this.
Start at the very beginning of your Project and continue throughout the entire Project to its conclusion, and make a video record of things that happen along the way, and collect photos and artifacts that represent the journey.
At the end of the Project, edit those video clips into a short video summary that captures and illustrates the main thrust of what you have accomplished – the who, what, why of your story.
This video will be the main feature of your Digital Portfolio on the Foundation Showcase, which can and should also include any combination of other documentation you create regarding the Project – other videos, photos, slideshows, PowerPoint presentations, descriptive text, final reports, charts, graphs, drawings, or other visual media.
We don't require a video summary, we just think they are a very effective way of online storytelling, and we welcome and will accept just about anything that successfully tells your Story of Social Impact. It's the story that counts.

13. What are the Foundation’s criteria for Project selection?

The criteria include but are not limited to these important ones:

The potential for positive social impact in the community.
The potential for individual growth by the Team members.
The potential for the Project to be a model for similar Projects by other teams elsewhere.

Please see Some Criteria for Your Social Action Project for more information.

14. Can our Social Action Project be a for-profit business social venture?

Yes. The Foundation supports and may provide a micro-grant for a for-profit business social venture if it meets the Foundation's fundamental objectives and criteria. The best way to start is to submit a Project Application after reading the Application Guidelines.

The Project Application Process

1. How many people do we need on our Team to apply?

Teams can be any size but at least one Team member must be 13 years old or older and selected to serve as Team Coordinator – our contact person for our communications with the Team.

2. Do we need to have a Partner Organization to apply?

Yes, all Project Applications must include a Partner Organization that supports or sponsors your Team and will work with us on matters such as managing and distributing any funding we provide. It must be a U.S. 501(c)3 registered nonprofit educational, charitable, community or faith-based organization, such as a public or private school, youth organization or club, civil society organization, or other similar organization or foundation.

3. Do we need to have a Mentor to apply?

Yes, all Project Applications must include at least one adult Mentor, age 21 or older, provided by or associated with your Partner Organization, to guide and advise your Team during the Project, such as a teacher, counselor, or parent, provided by and affiliated with the Partner Organization.

4. Does our Team need to be part of a school, community organization, or faith-based group?

No, you just need a Partner Organization that is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

5. Do we need to have an email address or a website to apply?

Your Team Coordinator and your Team Mentor must have an email address, and you must also provide the email address of the Partner Organization and their contact information.

6. How will we know if our Project Application has been received by the Foundation?

We will send you an email confirming that we have received your application. If we need more information to evaluate your proposal we will contact you.

7. How long does it take until we know if our Project is approved?

We will notify you within 2 to 4 weeks after you submit your Project Application, sometimes sooner.

8. How will we know if our Project has been approved?

You will receive an email stating that your Application has been approved, and you will be provided with next steps. The first step includes providing 4 photos that represent your Social Action Project so that we can post your Project on our funding platform, Projects in Progress.

9. What if my Project raises more money than requested?

When your Project reaches the funding requested, we do not accept any more donations.

10. How long does the Social Action Project stay posted online?

The Social Action Project remains online until it is fully funded.

11. If our project is selected for a micro-grant, how does the Foundation get the money to us?

The funds are distributed to your Partner Organization, and they are responsible for disbursing the funds.

12. What happens if our Team members or Mentor change?

Send us an email and let us know the details so that we can change the information on the funding platform.

Foundation Support

1. What is "crowd funding" and how does it work here?

Crowd funding is defined on Wikipedia as "the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their resources, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people". In other words, lots of individuals each contribute a little to support something like a Social Action Project. Here, a Social Action Project that needs funds might be funded in one of these ways:

We provide none of the funding, we put the Project on our Projects in Progress page with a full description, and we allow anyone to make a donation, large or small, and the Project is funded fully that way, by crowd funding.
We provide some of the funding, we put the Project on our Projects in Progress page with a full description, and we let crowd funding complete the funding.
We provide all of the funding (and we put the Project on our Discover Great Projects page too, for the world to see, but without a request for any crowd funding).

Go to our Projects in Progress page for examples of all types of active Projects.

2. If our Project doesn't need funding, can we still apply for Foundation support including posting on the Foundation website?

Yes. We welcome worthy Projects that don't need funds. We can show the world your Project on our Projects in Progress page while it is in progress and then on our Showcase page when it is completed.

3. What size micro-grants do you normally fund?

Typically, micro-grants range from $250 to $5,000, depending on what the Social Action Project needs and the likely or hoped for impact to be created.

We evaluate the budget needs and may or may not fund the whole Project. We will consider co-funding with others and providing a micro-grant for part of the budgeted needs of the Project.

Example: a Project may need $15,000 to bring together a group of 60 participants for a 3- day event that culminates in a service-learning Project that has many potential impactful social outcomes. The budget might have large travel expenses, food, staffing, and more items to facilitate the mission of the Project. We might fund a third of the Project and put the Project on the funding platform for the community to support the remaining balance needed. This is only a hypothetical example, and all depends on the Social Action Project submitted.

A $250 micro-grant in one part of the world can be as impactful or more so than a $1500 grant somewhere else. We vet our Projects based on social value creation and available funding from the Foundation each year.

4. How will the Partner Organization and the Team’s Social Action Project get publicized on the funding platform?

We will post The Social Action Project on our funding platform with an abstract and a description of the Problem, Solution, and Impact the Team Hopes to See, along with the funding amount needed, for the public to view and potentially fund. We use social media tools to publicize on Facebook, Twitter, and on our Vimeo channel to create a viral community to help support the Project as well as inspire other young people to want to make a difference.

We shine the light on our Partner Organizations so that both public and private organizations and individual donors, "citizen philanthropists", can make any level of contribution to the Projects on the platform.

5. How much of the funds contributed to a Social Action Project go directly to the project?

100% of the funding goes directly to the Team’s Social Action Project through distribution by the Partner Organization.

6. Can we ask the Foundation questions if we need help with our Project?

Just send us an email: info@theworldwewantfoundation.org

7. How does the Foundation tell the world about our Project while it is in progress?

We post a detailed description of your Project, including text and pictures you supply, on the Projects in Progress page of our website. If your Project needs funding, we may provide it or we may allow "crowd funding" on that page. As your Project progresses, we may describe the changes on that page. The public is allowed to make comments and suggestions about your Project on that page.

We post to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Vimeo and other social media sites information regarding the Social Action Projects in progress and to other Partner Organizations’ sites.

8. How does the Foundation share our Story of Social Impact when our Project is complete?

The Foundation posts your Digital Portfolio containing your visual media telling your Story of Social Impact on the Foundation Showcase, to allow other Young Global Citizens to share and learn from your experience. The Showcase allows the entire world to share Social Action Projects, Stories of Social Impact, videos, photos, and other resources that can be effective methods and tools for creating positive social change.

Donations

1. How do I donate to the Foundation?

Go to the Donate page on the website (click here or on the Donate button near the top or at the bottom of a website page) and you will find easy ways to donate to the Foundation. Donations to the Foundation are used to make our micro-grants to Young Global Citizens conducting Social Action Projects and to support our program and operations. You can also donate to specific Social Action Projects that are actually in progress.

2. How do I donate to a specific Social Action Project?

Go to our Projects in Progress page, where you can browse through Projects in progress and easily make donations to as many as you wish.

3. How do I donate by credit card, debit card, or PayPal?

To pay by credit or debit card or PayPal, click the big red “Donate” button on any Project's detail page and enter your billing information through PayPal.

4. How do I donate by check?

Make checks payable to The World We Want Foundation. On the memo line, please write the name of the Social Action Project you wish to fund, if any, or the funds will go to The World We Want Foundation to fund our programs and operations. Also, include your contact information, including your email address, so that we can send you a receipt for your taxes and a very big thank you!

The World We Want Foundation accepts any check in U.S. or Canadian dollars. Please mail the check to:

The World We Want Foundation
20 Sunnyside Avenue #428
Mill Valley, CA 94941
USA

If you are not in the U.S. or Canada and would like to make a donation above $100 USD not in U.S. currency, send us an email at management@theworldwewantfoundation.organd we’ll get back to you quickly to tell you the process.

5. How do I donate by wire transfer?

To make a donation via wire transfer, please send us an email to management@theworldwewantfoundation.org and we’ll send you the bank account information for the electronic transfer. Be sure to list the name of the Social Action Project(s) you wish to support unless you are making a donation to The World We Want Foundation directly. Please include all of your contact information, including your email and telephone and contact person.

6. How much of my donation actually goes to a Project?

All of every donation made to a Project goes directly to the Project – 100%.

7. Doesn't PayPal take part of my donation to a Project?

PayPal takes a small amount from each donation to a Project to cover their costs, but the Foundation adds that same amount back to your donation, so that your entire donation goes to the Project.

8. Will I receive a receipt for my donation online?

Yes, you will receive an email after you make your donation that shows our receipt of the amount donated for your tax records.

9. How else can I help a Project?

You can go to the Project's detail page, click on the Comments tab at the top, and leave comments, suggestions, ideas – anything that you think might be of use to the Project team. Also, you can share the Project on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites to help promote the Project's success.

10. Can I donate to a group of Projects that I select?

This feature is coming soon. For now, you need to make a separate donation to each Project.

Your User Account and Password

1. How do I set up my User Account and Password for applying to the Foundation or staying connected to receive updates and news on the community?

There are two ways that lead to the same place:

- Click on the Login or Sign Up buttons in the upper right hand corner of our website and that will take you to the User Account page, where you can set up your account and password.

- Click on the Start Your Project tab near the top of the website, click on Step 2. Open a User Account, and that will take you to the User Account page, where you can set up your account and password.

2. If I forget my password, how do I reset my password and login?

Go to the Login button in the upper right hand corner of our site and it will take you to the User Account page. Click on Request New Password and we will send an email to your email address with instructions on how to reset your password.

3. Why do I need to set up a User Account and Password?

The main reason to set up an account is so you can start, edit, save, and submit your Social Action Project Application online. Also, this is the way the Foundation stays in touch with your Team Coordinator and/or Mentor, the person who submitted the Application online for the Team.

Security and Privacy

1. What is The World We Want Foundation’s own privacy policy?

When you make a contribution to a Social Action Project or to the Foundation directly, PayPal collects your name, billing address, email address, and credit card information. If you create a User Account to submit an Application or to stay connected to us, we collect your name and email address. We do not sell or share your contact information with anyone, ever!

For more information, please see The World We Want Foundation Privacy Policy in the footer of our website.

2. How do I know my donation financial information is secure?

All credit card donations are collected through PayPal, a highly secure third-party payment system. All transactions are through PayPal only, and The World We Want Foundation does not receive or retain credit card numbers.

Thank you for helping to make the world we want!

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