“We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone”
-Ronald Reagan
Ever since I joined the Management Course, my life has been clogged with complicated words (referred as jargons which on its own is complicated!). It was the same frustrated feeling when I came across this word called "crowdfunding" in a newspaper. Not having much to do in a Sunday afternoon, I decided to read the article.
Shubhashish, a business journalist by profession and working as a teacher had applied for a Master's degree in U.K. He got the desired seat six years back. But he was unable to pay the required fees then.
Later, some of his friends guided him to ask for a bank loan since Hon. Fin Minister had said that banks cannot refuse an education loan to any eligible student. But, it is mandatory in all banks that for loans above 7.5 lacs, we need to submit collateral.
Only then he came across this concept called "Crowdfunding". He posted a blogpost titled "Hope" asking for people to donate Rs.800 through his blog to enable him pursue his dream. Titled, "Project Hope", he promises that this project is not charity or a donation. Instead he would pay the investors with 8% simple interest in 7 years. And having more than 2500 twitter followers along with 600 friends on his Facebook, even if half of them funded "ProjectHope" it would help him to attain the target.
For transparency, he has also updated an excel sheet in his blog so that the investor can follow their money.
You can help him at http://shubhashish.com/
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When was the last time you went to a restaurant only to see a young boy doing your 3 digit billing without a calculator effortlessly?
How would you react when a poor little young girl comes to you and sells a product that you really do not want?
In our daily life,we come across many poor children who are academically good but could not pursue their education due to financial constraints. We feel pity just for a moment or two and then carry on with our regular lives.
In this era of digital connectivity where if Facebook were a country it could be the third most populated place, Twitter being the most sought after place for celebrities and Blogs serving as online word-of-mouths, this is where a concept like "crowdfunding" can really have an impact. There are lot others like Shubhashish out there who need financial help but do not really know how to do it. It might be your cousin applying for a foreign course or a poor boy residing by the nearby slum area.
Educate them about this opportunity. Help those children start a facebook page or a blogsite. It ain't going to cost us anything. We can help them create a platform where the interested public may or may not invest in their talents. In Shubhashish case, many of those who have invested money do not wish for the money to be returned. Month and a half and he has managed to collect about half of his target amount.
Let us carry forward this great initiative titled "#PROJECTHOPE" just not only to help Shubhashish but to enlighten others who could not afford their desired education. Let this jargon (crowdfunding) kindle a light upon their future.
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Jai Hind!
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P.S. :: Some wikipedia stuff, "crowdfunding" started with the book called Sleeping in Homes of Strangers: A month-long Journey of Trust by Mark Dickinson.