Case Study: Epic Change

By thinksocial on May 1, 2009 | 326No Commentshttp://think-social.org/case-study-epic-change.htmCase+Study%3A++Epic+Change2009-05-01+18%3A57%3A53thinksocial

Project name:

Epic Change

Project URL:

http://www.epicchange.org

Describe the Project in Brief:

Epic Change believes that people’s stories are assets that can be used as resources to improve their lives. We help people in need share their “epic” true stories in innovative, creative and profitable ways to help them acquire the financial resources they need to create positive “change” in their communities.

Projects Primary Goal:

Epic Change uses donations to provide interest-free loans to local partners to finance their community improvement efforts. They then facilitate loan repayment by collaborating with their partners to share their stories through projects that generate income. Finally, they employ a “pay it forward” system by recycling repaid loans to help fund Epic Change in other communities. They encourage local leadership, self-sufficiency, incremental success, sustainability, focus and repeatability.

Who is the Target Audience:

Consumers, Schools, Corporations, Sponsors, Foundations, Students

What were the Main Achievements of the Project?

Most recently Epic Change sought to rebuild and expand Shepherds Junior, a small primary school in Arusha, Tanzania at which Monk and Patel volunteered in during their 2007 trip to Africa.

Mama Lucy Kamptoni, a local woman founded the school in 2003 on land she rented land next door to her home using the income from her poultry business. The school nearly closed in 2007 when a developer bought the rented land, and Kamptoni had no access to the capital required to relocate.

The primary goal of the school is to ensure that all children in the Kimandolu area are provided access to a high quality education at an affordable price. The school charges tuition to most students, and uses its income to subsidize the costs of orphans and lower income children who attend the school.

Expansion plans for the school include a computer lab, library, cafeteria, playground, classrooms to accommodate grades 1 through 7, restrooms with flushable toilets and the installation of solar panels for power. It’s estimated that the new school will cost $175,000 to build, and will take 3-5 years for construction and loan payback.

Progress to Date:

• Epic Change made its initial loan of $35,000 in December 2007. Using these funds, the school was able to purchase new land and complete construction of 4 new classrooms within 100 days. Students started classes at the new site on March 3, 2008.
• In late 2008, Epic Change made additional loans of over $30,000. These funds were used toward the construction of an additional classroom and the purchase of a refurbished school bus that provides safe, reliable transportation.
• In November 2008, Epic Change launched a line of cards and gifts including candles by West Hollywood designer Timothy Jay as well as stationery and holiday greeting cards by GreenerPrinter that feature artwork by the children at the school and photos by award-winning photographer Tim Llewellyn. Each product shares the story of the child(ren) that inspired or assisted in the creation of the design. Through the sales of these products, the school has been able to repay over 15% of their initial $35,000 loan in just over a year.
• Since our initial investment, the student body has more than doubled in size, from ~115 students to over 300. There are currently 154 boys and 156 girls attending Shepherds Junior.
• In November 2008, Shepherds Junior participated in national exams for the first time. The school ranked #1 out of 117 participating schools in the Arusha district.

In What Ways Did the Project Use, or Leverage Social Media to Achieve Its Goals?

• Epic Change created a TweetsGiving 2008, a 48 hour online fundraiser that would raise $10,000, which was based on the idea that everyone would tweet one thing that were thankful for to their twitter followers and then include the #TweetsGiving tag and a link to donate to Epic Change: http://tinyurl.com/4thanks. They were successful in their mission and highlighted top donors by providing a widget showing top turkey donors and their twitter handles.
• They used YouTube videos to record student Q&A between children in the States and their Tanzanian counterparts in the Arusha school to create a dialogue between schools and to provide a dynamic story of the recipients from the Epic Change donations. In addition, videos were created by young children that had created their own fundraisers to inspire and promote grassroots techniques in raising money for the school.
• Using an interactive blog on their site, they’ve posted up sound clips, videos, business submissions and contest entries to track progress of their efforts in Tanzania. This has created a multimedia effort to illustrate the ongoing efforts and work going towards the school and creates a narrative for the epic stories that they wish to tell and raise sustainable financing for.
• Galvanizing on the Thanksgiving idea, Epic Change used microblogging, facebook and websites to get people to donate to Epic Change for America’s National Teacher Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in lieu of gifts.