Help us meet our goal of raising $50,000

Saturday, July 21, 2007

More summarizing of meeting

We're also rewording a variety of things, including our mission. We had a long discussion about how some of our text was contradictory regarding the idea that GEI does not want to impart Western values on others as we do our work.

We also feel like we need to define our target groups more clearly. I think we've settled on mountainous regions of the world, and we want to serve both girls and women, with the idea that educating women is often necessary in order to educate the children.

GEI's First Major Meeting, July 5, 2007

GEI just had its first major meeting last week at The Spot Gym. Volunteers Meca Delgado, Elizabeth O'Neill, Danielle Hoffman, Justin Vorhees, and Sierra Postle (phone conferenced in) met to discuss the tasks that need to be done and to discuss the future of GEI. This is a summary of our meeting as written up by Elizabeth O'Neill.

As promised (albeit awfully late), below is the list of 'action items' and responsibilities resulting from our meeting. Please feel free to review and provide comments if there are omissions or changes. We didn't define specific deadlines for these tasks, but my general sense was that we wanted to make significant progress on all of the items below by our next meeting in mid-September.

Build a donor database:
--Meca to send Justin example database
--Justin to create template and circulate to group (Elizabeth is looking also for examples, but no luck yet)
--Danielle to research foundations
--Elizabeth to research bilateral/multilateral agencies
--Heidi to research commercial/for profit/industry
--Everyone with info to plug it into donor database template

Get GEI signed up with Global Giving: Sierra(?)

Develop an online space (e.g., a "portal") where we can store info, work on draft documents, etc.: Lizzy

Consolidate research information and post syntheses, original articles, book titles, cool powerpoint on education in Pakistan, etc. to portal: Danielle
--Assist Heidi with research on: 1) key ingredients of successful education projects; 2) government issues of importance to Khane project; Greg Mortensen's work: NEED VOLUNTEERS???

Prepare for OR in August (for general meetings with potential donors) and February (for "launch" of GEI and to make serious pitches to potential donors?):
--Heidi to take lead of 'working group'
--Roxanna hopefully to assist with business cards (for August) and brochure (for February)
--Sierra (?) and Danielle to support at OR

Continue to refine strategy document and business plan: Meca, Lizzy, Elizabeth to consult
--draft to group two weeks from meeting date, so toward end of this week or early next week
--including making edits to mission, vision, and goals suggested by group; defining targets of work more clearly (e.g., girls vs. women? which countries? which geographies?)

Review Khane project plan and send comments to Heidi: Elizabeth, WHO ELSE??

Next meeting to be scheduled between September 4th and September 12th: Elizabeth to assist Lizzy/Heidi with agenda development and facilitation

Read "Three Cups of Tea" (if you haven't already): Everyone :)