Thanks Ceris for comping up with this Thread

Do not know what to put up here...as yet. Kudos though to Ceris and Kayiwa for the vision.

Amen R.O

Thanks Kayiwa,

I guess you need to make that proposal more discrete, precise, and appealing to the prospective donor. I shared some wee thoughts with Ceris probably she may share them with you. Please do not be tempted to create a "White Elephant" kind of a thing! I am becoming better and better.

Cheers!

This sentence needs to tally with the budget, I've used italics to indicate the items that I think should be removed and bold to indicate the items that should stay (since this sentence refers specifically to the items this particular grant is to cover)-

"With this proposal The KJT Computer Club requests 1,000,000 Ugx to fund 3 months rent, computer accessories like printer, UPS, speakers,Power Extentions,generator and basic furnishing of a secure premises from which the KJT can develop and expand the services and resources they wish to offer."

I agree with Richard, overall it needs to be more precise, it's a little 'flowery'.

Kayiwa, I think we should mention the computers which Zeb has ready to send, they make the whole project a lot more viable, as does the support and guidance you will continue to get from Ben.

Thanks Ceris Yes we have got 15 computers from Zeb's efforts in USA but they need money to be brought here. However, we believe they will make our Project boosted.

Hi All,

Reading the proposal prompted me to go back over a similar concept that I talked over with Gabriel Nwanze when he was here last.

Though these are somewhat different circumstances the revenue generating possibilities that Gabriel identifies may be worth evaluating for the purposes of a longer term vision.

http://www.bidnetwork.org/page/2 3948/en

Jeff

Just looking at the user statistics here. it seems that in the last few days, until now, there have been just 3 posts on Ned.

The value of Ned is in the community expertise it has accumulated, which I believe exceeds that of most networks for social good.

Why are we fading away?

Jeff

Thanks Jeff, there are a couple of interesting ideas in your link that might well be worth considering, it's appreciated :)I like :

Fees for conducting private internet based research

Membership registration for online business and e-commerce programme

forms of agreements with various trade unions,youth organisations,NGOs,corporate bodies and community based associations to enlist their members /wards at some form of discount in terms of accessing the service/products

Thank you Jeff

i respect your efforts and i love the ideas too in the Link

Jeff what could be the best suggestion of having many posts from people here

Fred, Getting people to post here would be a question of promoting it, perhaps by links from other forums.

In my perception the world of social networking has saturated us with new platforms and diluted the membership of all. Hence the critical mass, which is needed to keep conversation going, soon disappears.

Thanks jeff for sharing the above link and contributing here.

Thanks Fred for bringing this concren to light .I sure feel kind of frustrated. Right now I feel we dont even have enough people to vote for these projects. I have been talking to the champions and they tell me they have tried to invite people to look at their proposals but no one seems to be interested , because they see no one participating, shall we have to move this somewhere else or do we have a better idea of how best we can handle it? I wanted to start setting up the voting page now but who will be the voters?

lets try to set up the voting Page Grace besides is there any option if people don't show up on the page. will the voting not take place?

I have some questions:

• How many computers will you have?
• Will 2 UPS units be adequate for the number of computers you have?
• You mention need for a lot of peripheral equipment/cables. Has the peripheral equipment been gotten some other way?
• The grant is for 1,000,000. The budget is for 1,200,000. Where does the other 200,000 come from?
• There is nothing in the budget for internet and yet some of the revenues and stated goals depend on it. How will this be handled?
• Do you have any estimates on the numbers of people who will be interested to enroll so that you can estimate your anticipated income?
• What is the source of power? There was mention of a generator - all ready existing? Where will it come from? Local power company? There is no budget for power.

You talk a lot about sustainability but haven't shown how this can be sustainable or given any indication as to when you are targeting being sustainable.

• Is 3 months sufficient to to be sustainable?
• What happens at the end of 3 months?

http://www.bidnetwork.org/page/2 3948/en

Wow. That looks like a great business planning, so long as those numbers hold. I know nothing about the ability of people in that area to pay $10/day/computer for internet surfing. If you've done the demand/price research and the market is there, than this could very well take off as you describe, which is pretty exciting for all those people. I hope it works out.

Andrew

Linda, thanks for the input, I think the plan needs an overhaul. We'll be conferencing this evening and will hopefully be able to assist KJT in redrafting the proposal within a couple of days. For now I would just like to emphasise the central (and essential) goal, which is to establish a base for the KJT to operate from, hold meetings, and develop projects and fundraising activities to include a computer club. I can answer one of your questions, which is that the KJT have 2 computers currently, although several more are waiting to be delivered once funds have been raised States-side to enable that.

shs200,000 in furniture can maybe be enough for the 2 computers, but not enough for 15!

It kind of seems to me, though I could be misunderstanding, that the mini-plan takes the future number of computers into account, which will require a larger space and much more furniture. I am not sure I see how you can count on earning enough to pay rent with 2 computers though.

Following discussion with Kayiwa last night I can now attempt to answer your questions Linda ..

Linda Nowakowski said:

I have some questions:

• How many computers will you have?

2, with 15 donated and waiting to be transported, funds are being raised separately to achieve this and it is hoped they will be in place and ready for business by the end of June

• Will 2 UPS units be adequate for the number of computers you have?

Yes, for the time being.

• You mention need for a lot of peripheral equipment/cables. Has the peripheral equipment been gotten some other way?

Some peripheral equipment exists - cabling etc. will be considered when the room layout has been finalised. Existing equipment will cover the basics, but we may have to raise additional money and are prepared to do so.

• The grant is for 1,000,000. The budget is for 1,200,000. Where does the other 200,000 come from?

We anticipate raising this, if necessary, privately, if it is not possible to stretch the grant

• There is nothing in the budget for internet and yet some of the revenues and stated goals depend on it. How will this be handled?

Ideally we would like internet access early, but this is not critical to the training program.If an opportunity arises to bring it in alongside the training program, we will take it. Internet usage will at that point be included as a topic in the training

• Do you have any estimates on the numbers of people who will be interested to enroll so that you can estimate your anticipated income?

We anticipate that the rented premises will comfortably accommodate 8 computers, which will allow for 16 people to be enrolled at any one time with each paying 30,000 for a 3 week course. We anticipate a continuous turnover of clients for the foreseeable future. In addition, a less intensive course is likely to be run alongside the full training program, which would allow many more to become involved

• What is the source of power? There was mention of a generator - all ready existing? Where will it come from? Local power company? There is no budget for power.

Power costs (from the grid) are included in the rent, but a generator is highly desirable to ensure 100% coverage when power goes off. Clearly 100% power availability is preferable. If we are unable to source a generator cheaply, then we will ensure that the course is designed to accommodate the occasional power outage, with other types of practical work.

You talk a lot about sustainability but haven't shown how this can be sustainable or given any indication as to when you are targeting being sustainable.

• Is 3 months sufficient to to be sustainable?
• What happens at the end of 3 months?

During the initial three month period KJT will further develop the business plan, of which the computer training element will be one element. Basically, the money requested here is for office rental, which would provide a platform for other activities in addition to computer training, such as fundraising, the full specification of a centre, and the upgrade of the profile of the organisation through having a place people can visit to register and a place to hold meetings for networking and partnership development. We anticipate also occasional income from the hiring out of the room. The project will be launched during a school/college holiday period, so as to attract maximum numbers and thus it is hoped that there will be initial surplus.We are still working on the post holiday period, with regard to marketing the computer room for a wider range of courses to older youths and adults

Thanks, Ceris! You are complete!

things seem to start working now,and i hope they work out better when we have the computers connected and ready from the kampala edge of the board! cool cool! kudos all! :)

Amen

lols, kayiwa.

Ceris,

I am the Liaison to the UN for an international low cost, high quality online school that is dedicated to providing equal education opportunities to all students. The school is the Personal Learning Center Internation. We offer elementary through high school courses for an American Diploma degree, English as a second language, career courses, and many other courses. Please review our Web site to see if we could develop a partnership that will benefit your students: http://www.plc.edu. Dr. Barbara Fedock