World Connect supports innovative ideas and solutions for the challenges facing women and youth in under-served communities worldwide. We are currently working in Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda and Senegal.
We recognize that the real expertise and ingenuity to solve local challenges lies in the knowledge and talents of the locals, both individuals and groups. Our role is to collaborate to bring their ideas to life. We pride ourselves on being quick to both recognize innovation and to respond to it.
Our on-the-ground work begins with YOU, Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs), our on the ground experts to identify Project Leaders and Community Organizations capable of executing the creative tactics they themselves propose. We support Project Leaders that have BIG ideas, but lack support to bring those ideas to life. World Connect provides micro grants ranging from a minimum grant of $250 to a maximum grant of $5,000, with the average grant size being $2,500. In addition to providing micro grants, we provide planning, logistical and programmatic support for each project to ensure that goals are met.
It is our intention to build relationships with Community Organizations and Leaders that will evolve and grow, establishing longer-term connections with our grantees. World Connect provides multi-year funding for those projects that have met and surpassed their goals and have a clear vision for how they would like to scale or grow their impact. Furthermore, every year in December, World Connect awards a $5,000 prize for what we consider to be the most outstanding, sustainable project, through our Charlotte Daniel Fund.
World Connect funds projects through the Peace Corps Partnership Program (PCPP) to ensure that funds arrive in a timely and secure manner. We highly recommend following the process below:
We accept applications on a rolling basis throughout the year and review on a quarterly schedule. We will begin accepting online rolling applications on January 15th, 2012 and will close the initial application review period on February 15, 2012. Applicants will be notified of their approval or their need to make revisions by the first week of March 2012.
Below we have included information to help you in the process of developing a strong Project Plan with clear goals, activities and indicators for measuring success throughout the life of your project. Please use the information below to complete your detailed Project Plan.
Goals: Goals are intended to help you define the success of your project. Think about what you want to accomplish and how to express it in a measureable and attainable fashion. Make sure that your goals are SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound and be clear about your target population (numbers, location, characteristics). Here is an example of a SMART goal, “To provide high quality HIV/AIDS prevention education to 5,000 at-risk women in the project area through a network of 200 community health workers during the first 6 months of the project.”
Activities: This is where you will need to describe everything that needs to happen in order to achieve your project’s goals. Using the example above, an activity to achieve that goal could be to “Host training for at-risk women about HIV/AIDS prevention.” Please be as specific as possible.
Time Frame: This is where you will include a deadline for each activity indicating when you aim to have that activity completed by. With the example above, the training for at-risk women could have a time frame of “within six months of project start.” Again, be as specific as possible, including dates if available.
Total Expected Beneficiaries: Here you will describe the specifics of your target population for each activity. We are looking for a description of who and a quantity of how many. With the example above, the training for at-risk women could be expected to reach “200 women 24 and older and 50 girls 23 and younger.”
Indicators: Indicators are intended to help you measure whether or not you are meeting your project’s goals. You will need to select an indicator for each goal. **When selecting your indicators, please be sure to include AT LEAST ONE from the list of World Connect Common Indicators (described in detail further below). This is CRITICAL so that we can summarize the success of the projects that we support. It is key to measure your progress at different points throughout your project, such as:
Data Collection Method & Person Responsible: This is where you should specify who is responsible for measuring the indicator and how it will be done. Using our example, you could measure the changes in knowledge among at-risk women using a survey and it could be the responsibility of the project leader to make sure all the data are collected.
World Connect Common Indicators: In selecting the indicators for your project, you must include AT LEAST ONE indicator from the list below. We have provided a general format that you can use to plug in the specifics related to your project.
KNOWLEDGE
Use a KNOWLEDGE indicator if your goal is to improve education related to HIV/AIDS prevention, family planning methods, nutrition, cultural history, local flaura and fauna, recycling, musical performance, etc.
General Format: Increase in knowledge related to (type of information) among (how many)(describe population)
Example: Increase in knowledge related to HIV/AIDS prevention among 5,000 at-risk women
ACCESS
Use an ACCESS indicator if your goal is to improve access to local nutritious food sources, clean water, sanitation, family planning methods, HIV/AIDS screening, recycling bins, sports equipment, music classes, educational resources, etc.
General Format: Increase in access to (specify what) among (how many) (describe population)
Example: Increase in access to locally produced eggs among 150 families
BEHAVIOR/SKILL
Use a BEHAVIOR/SKILL indicator if your goal is to improve an activity among your target population such as ability to read, ability to write, ability to generate income, etc. or changes in behavior such as exclusive breastfeeding, incorporating local nutritious foods into diet, increased school attendance, decreased delinquency, etc.
General Format: Increase in (behavior/skill) among (how many) (describe population)
Example: Increase in exclusive breastfeeding immediately after birth among 25 new mothers
INCOME
Use an INCOME indicator if your goal is to increase the amount of funds available to your target population by supporting them to learn a marketable skill, start a small enterprise, etc.
General Format: Increase in income from (what) to (what) among (how many) (describe population
Example: Increase in income from $0/week to $10/week among 20 women trained in sewing techniques
Nothing speaks to readers/viewers more powerfully and immediately than good photographs. We rely on you to document your project using story-telling photos so that we can share your good work, and ours, with others.
Your grant agreement with World Connect outlines how to send us your work, photos should be sent with your initial application as well as with subsequent progress and final reports. Below please find some tips to help you to capture what we have found to work best.
What should we take photos of?
We are looking for photos that showcase your project, the activities and the people involved (photos that show progress are great). We like for photos to be at the level of the subject. Make sure that your photos capture the work in action and are not all posed portraits. Group shots of smiling unidentified people don’t capture the essence of your work. Instead, please fill the lens with close-ups of folks, playing, working, and thinking. If you want, try a few creative shots: close-ups of hands at work, feet on the football, backs of heads watching an activity, etc. Show us emotion and energy: excitement, abandon, joy, frustration, laughter, and concentration. Make the viewer feel as if s/he is there. Also, we’d like before and after shots that show what your project accomplished as well as photos of the project leaders and the beneficiaries. Identify as many people as possible.
Are there minimum size requirements for photos?
Yes. Photos should be a minimum of 300 dots per inch (dpi) or 400 x 300 pixels. The larger, the better.
How should we send photos to World Connect?
Photos should be sent to World Connect via email as JPG or PNG files. Each photo should be named following the convention, “Country-Subject-Photographer”, including first and last names where possible. Please feel free to zip or compress the photos in order to share photos with World Connect when uploading.=
How will World Connect use my photos?
By sharing photos with World Connect, you are consenting to allow us to use your photos on our website and in print materials and that the subjects have passively consented to their image/likeness being used in this way. Once photos are sent to World Connect, they become the property of the organization; however, we are happy to give credit where credit is due, so let us know if you’d like to be listed in a photo credit.
We will look forward to seeing your project in action. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask us at: patrick@worldconnect-us.org
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