Socially Positive

Bringing together youth and NGOs to create social good

Are you creatively inclined and interested in working for a social cause but do not know where to start? Samhita invites you to be a part of Socially Positive, a challenge that is stimulating, fun and meaningful.

• Use your creative skills to make interesting material for your favourite causes and help an NGO working in that area to gather support
• Use pictures, posters, videos, blogs and social networks to champion a cause and raise support for NGOs that you care about.
• Win cash prizes and opportunities to work with leading social entrepreneurs.

Awards and benefits
Awards for creativity – All videos, movies, proposals and other material will be reviewed by an eminent panel of judges from creative media

• Cash award for the team that gets the maximum number of supporters to join their team on samhita.org.
• Cash award for the team that gets the maximum number of donors to donate to an NGO’s project on their team page on samhita.org. Please note that team with the highest number of unique donations rather than the highest amount of total donations will win.
• All members of the top 3 teams that use interesting stories and articles (on Samhita) to promote the NGO they are supporting, will qualify for final interviews for the Managing Editor position(s) with our partner, Think Change India. Read more about Think Change India here.
• All members of the top team that uses creative photography to promote the project they are supporting will get short-listed for a week long interactive photography workshop conducted by Mr. Bhaskar, an award-winning cultural and natural history photographer based in the US. The workshop will be organized as part of an immersion trip that Mr. Bhaskar will organize with NGOs in Orissa, Rajasthan or Andaman Islands. 2 members from the winning team will accompany Mr. Bhaskar along with students from the U.S on the trip.

Cash awards are worth Rs. 40,000 and internships include those with MAM Movies, Video Volunteers and leading non-profits and social enterprises across India.

Note that certain awards, such as the interviews with Think Change India and the workshop with Mr. Bhaskar, will be awarded on the basis of performance within relevant categories, and need not go to the teams that win cash awards.

How does it work?

• You can participate as an individual or as part of a team.To participate as an individual, simply create a one person team. A team can have a maximum of 5 members.
• All team members must register on Samhita – www.samhita.org. Registrations begin on Sep 9, 2010.
• Create a team page and invite your team members to join it. As part of the team creation process, you need to choose an NGO and adopt a project of the NGO. If there is no NGO in your vicinity registered on the Samhita portal, just select any NGO which works in your interest area. Note that you do not necessarily need to work with the NGO. We encourage independent work.
• If possible, teams must work closely with the chosen NGO and use their creative skills to make videos, posters, short films, pictures or presentations that highlight the organization’s impact and in turn helps them raise funds and other forms of support.
• Upload all marketing collateral (photos, videos, stories) on your team page and the NGO’s project page on www.samhita.org by Oct 15, 2010. To upload documents, pictures and videos, click on Edit team button on your Manage Teams page and upload all material in the Upload supporting material section on the edit page. If you want to write an article or story, go to the News & Articles tab on the top menu, click on Create, and post it. Once your story is moderated and published (within 24 hrs.), it would be visible on your team page.
• Starting Oct 15, invite all your friends and family to support your cause and donate to the NGO you have adopted.

Useful Tips

• If the NGO you want to work with is not registered on Samhita, get them to complete their registration process by October 15. Please note that it might take about a week for an NGO to register, complete profile details, get references and create projects.
• It might be convenient for you to find an NGO close to your location. You will have to spend a substantial amount of time with the NGO to create relevant material.
• Starting Oct 16, please invite your friends and the NGO’s existing supporters to register on Samhita, join your team and support your projects.
• We have awards for the team that gets the maximum members and for one which is able to get the maximum number of individual donors to support the NGO.
• All donations need to be made online on www.samhita.org. We will NOT charge any extra fees for the donations. The NGOs will receive the full amount of donations (other than the nominal fees charged by the payment gateway provider)
• The Joy of Giving week is a national event to celebrate giving. The event brings together NGOs, support agencies and individual supporters to do whatever they can, for the causes they care about. Please use this event effectively to raise support for your projects using the collaterals that you have created.

Partners

Please note

Intellectual property in all material created by your team shall be held by the team. The NGO that the material is created for as well as Samhita will be permitted to use such material for campaigns, publicity and other initiatives in relation to their respective work. Wherever the material is used on Samhita, your team will be identified as the author/creator of the material.

FAQs

• What is Socially Positive?
  
  Socially Positive is an online campaign to connect NGOs with youth. We invite anyone and everyone, particularly students and young professionals, to use their skills to make creative material for their favorite causes and win cash prizes and opportunities to work with leading social entrepreneurs.


• Who can participate in Socially Positive?
  
  Anyone!


• What do I need to do?
  
  Just register on Samhita.org, complete your profile, and create an online team. For details, read the ‘How does it work’ section above.


• I do not have a team. Can I participate as an individual?
  
  Yes! Just create a one-person team on Samhita.org


• I am not a student. Can I participate?
  
  Why not! If you are passionate about a cause and love writing, photography, film making or designing, we encourage you to participate. In fact, you should! This is your chance to make a difference.


• There are no NGOs from my city or area on Samhita. How do I participate?
  
  As mentioned above, you do not need to work with an NGO to participate in Socially Positive. As part of the team creation process, you need to choose an NGO and adopt one of their projects. If there is no NGO in your vicinity registered on the Samhita.org, just select any NGO which works in one of your interest areas.


• What creative material do I make?
  
  Anything that can be put online – videos, pictures, brochures, presentations, stories or articles!


• September 24th is too early. Can I submit my entry after that?
  
  Though we encourage all teams to upload their material on the team page by Sep. 24th, uploading material within a day or two from the deadline should be fine. Since this is the Joy of Giving week and we are excited, we are a bit flexible!


• Are there any prizes? If yes, what is the judging criterion?
  
  Lots! Cash prizes, internships, and more! Check out ‘Awards and Benefits’ section above.


• What is the deadline to submit my entry?
  
  Sep 24th is the deadline to create a team and upload the material. After that, the teams need to drive traffic and raise donations for the project they have adopted. This runs till Oct. 10th.


• What is Joy of Giving Week?
  
  The Joy of Giving week is a national event to celebrate giving. The event brings together NGOs, support agencies and individual supporters to do whatever they can, for the causes they care about. Please use this event effectively to raise support for your projects using the collaterals that you have created.