Creating, Managing and Leading Social Enterprises

Final Report

NGO: PRAYASAM

N. Yogeswaran 0216/51

Naina Sharma 0218/51

Sherin V S 0338/51

Vinod Kumar N. 0396/51

Dishant Nagwanshi 0128/51

Dripto Ganguly 0131/51

PROJECT REPORT

About PRAYASAM:

Prayasam is a nonprofit organization that focuses on empowering children so that they can get and are

in a position to best utilize the opportunities that come up their way in future. It was started 8 years

back by five friends in the city of Kolkata. Its motto is to act as an aid to help children achieve their goals

and thereby help them become good citizen of the country. It believes to do that, the prerequisite is to

help children develop dignity and self-respect. Once these aspects are taken care of the children are in a

better position to aspire and achieve their goals. These effort by PRAYASAM are directed towards

making children (especially underprivileged children) caring, productive and responsible citizens of

future society.

Over the years of its existence PRAYASAM has helped children from slum areas become successful peer

leaders and educators thereby transforming lifestyle in these slums.

PRAYASAM core activities include activities in the field of preventive health, sanitation and hygiene etc.

The beauty of its approach is that it encourages children in an area to bring change, to improve the

physical and social environment of the society/community they live in. PRAYASAM encourages children

to be agents of change by spreading awareness in their community while acting in groups. These

children are supported by PRAYASAM in terms of information, trainings, materials and mentorship. Over

the years it has come up with many such models for empowering children and improving communities.

The above one is just one example. It has an advisory board constituted by senior citizens and

representatives from young generation which guides PRAYASAM and its members in their endeavour to

bring change in underprivileged communities by guiding and developing children as agent of change. In

fact children have been the engine of its successful ride. PRAYASAM has membership from different

socioeconomic background, this helps it to consider all perspectives and opinions while planning and

executing a plan. It has provisions of internship and volunteerism that provides opportunities to

students to actively participate and contribute to the cause by being a part of PRAYASAM.

PRAYASAM focuses on education for employability, human personality and overall development,

infrastructure development for communities. It also makes effort to address social problems like early

marriage, girl education, social exclusion of females, accessible education for children etc.

PRAYASAM WORK STRATEGY:

To achieve the goals PRAYASAM tries to:

1. Develop new leaders within the community and society by nurturing the children of that

community

2. Develop the right mindset in children of the communities at an early age

3. Encourages children to develop as leaders and bring about change in communities and society

4. Shape the perspective of the children

PROJECT WORK FLOW:

We had contacted the organization while its visit to IIMC for the guest lecture on 5th July.

Our point of contact i.e. Ms. Piyali had no bandwidth to spare anytime for us till 15th July as she was travelling to

Ahmedabad for a convention, hence we had to delay our project by a few weeks.

Although due to some unforeseeable circumstance she had to cancel that day as well, but we were finally able to meet

her at Salt Lake on the following Sunday.

We had a 3 hour long conversation with her where we tried to figure out various problems that PRAYASAM is facing and

how we as management students help them resolve these issues.

At the end of our discussion we had clarity on the 4 initiatives through which we could help PRAYSAM:

Although the two weeks after that we weren’t able to get in touch with Piyali Ma’am due to our busy

schedules and also due to her being preoccupied with her mother’s surgery, hence we decide on cutting

down to just one initiative for the scope of the course’s project and continuing with the others after the

time boundation on us was lifted.

We decided to meet Piyali ma’am again with our ideas on all 4 initiatives and discussing about the

feasibility of each, we also let her know about our situation with the course deadlines and ask her to

prioritize one of the four initiatives suggested by us.

Hence, 4 members from our group went down to the Salt Lake office of Praysam on 21st August to meet

with our POC and also the Director of PRAYASAM – Mr. Amlan Ganguly, who was very keen on meeting

Dripto after hearing his thoughts and ideas from Piyali Ma’am.

During the meeting we discussed the scope of all the initiatives and mutually decided on focusing on the

training module for the Capability enhancement program for Prayasam associates in creating Business

Reports and Pitches.

We decided on conducting two workshops for the associates at Prayasam for the same and also refining

some of their documents as a part of teaching. Following our prior discussion we communicated the

workshop dates and timings to Prayasam.

Final Scope of Project:

These dates were decided on the basis of availability of all group members as we had end terms in the

following week and many group members were flying home in the next week.

We requested ma’am to forward us the organization profile and other related documents that’ll be

required for our project. These were handed over to us on the 31st of August.

Since then we have been working on the reports, refining them, noting down the hacks to be

communicated to the associates over the workshop. We have made a full-fledged presentation entailing

the various tricks and hacks of pitch/report writing, we have also arranged for some good and bad

examples of reports that’ll help them differentiate good and bad reports better.

Unfortunately it was communicated to us by Piyali Ma’am that due to some seminars in this week she

would have to cancel the workshops, but she promised on having them next week, hence we have

confirmed the workshop timings as follows:

Workshop Plan:

Case based workshop

The best way to teach pitch writing is by covering real life cases, we will hence cover the

business pitches of two other companies that will give the associated an idea of professional

pitches.

We will help them solve the first case by showing them how to make a business pitch, for the

second case we will ask them to make a pitch at the end of the session.

Interactive sessions

We will try to make the associates feel as comfortable as possible by making the session

interactive, also we will ask them questions, give personal attention to each one of them

Content

Our presentation for the workshop will cover the following:

1. Report/pitch writing hacks

2. Comparison of reports

3. How to incentivize the corporates?

4. Behavioral aspects to display

5. Technical aspects of reports

6. Case solving

7. Interactive Q&A session

Project Status:

We are ready with the refined reports and have clarity on what we will be covering in the sessions.

We are attaching the various refined and unrefined PRAYASAM documents that we have worked on

uptill now, we are also researching as much as we can on report and pitch writing so that we can help

the associates as much as we can.

As of now, we are prepared with our bit of the deal and are really looking forward to the workshops in

the next week, hopefully we will be able to add some value through our initiative to the associates and

hence to PRAYSAM.

We would like to thank Prof. Devi Vijay for providing us with this wonderful opportunity of getting in

touch with PRAYSAM, Piyali Ma’am, Amlan Ganguly Sir and various other people from the organization.

It was a once in a lifetime experience and as we have promised Piyali Ma’am, we will stay in contact with

Prayasam and keep helping in any small or big way that we can till the time we are in Kolkata.

Thanks & Regards,

Business Pitch

Developing a business without the support of investors will be a tough thing. Meanwhile, it is also hard

for us to make them listen. They often hear the story. They need assurance and exact measurement on

the stories. Meanwhile, we cannot promise that. So, here are ways to develop your pitch and to make

them listen. Real-world fundraising should take place in 30 minutes.

Tell a real customer story

When possible, open your pitch by telling a real customer story that addresses the problem your product

or service solves in the marketplace. Avoid using buzzwords and tech talk when you tell your story.

Instead, use real names and real customer challenges. Keep it simple and realistic. In the end, what people

will remember after they walk away from you are the stories you tell, so it’s important to have a few

compelling customer stories ready to share.

Less is always more

An elevator pitch is vital. Verbose presentations and lengthy explanations will not impress investors, and

most likely will turn them off. Present your business in a manner that's short, sweet and to the point.

Investors need to be confident that your business will attract and retain customers. If they don't grasp

your concept in a short time span, they may presume that customers won't understand it either.

Prioritize the most important things you want to share and stick to those pieces—and take a nice big

breath before you speak. Believe me, it will help you deliver a more compelling and thoughtful pitch.

Outline your business model

Your business model tells an investor how your idea will (or does) convert into being economically viable.

The best way to show you how to communicate your business model is to show you an example of a good

one. Let’s take, ZoomCars, for instance. Their business model can best be described as:

o A rental based self-driven car solution o Reservations are easily and quickly made online or through telephone o Customers pay by the hour or by the day o Serves Bangalore, New Delhi and Pune markets o Also targeting Kolkata

In just a few short bullets, you can see how they make money and from whom. Your business model

should answer the questions: What do you sell? To whom? How much do they pay? and How do they pay

you?

Never hypothesize. Execute, execute, execute

Inspire confidence with facts, not fiction. Most investors seek out low-risk businesses with proven

managers that are as close to guarantees as possible. A company with cash flow, a track record and real-

world experience has a better chance of getting investors than a business plan forecasting large returns.

Find ways to test your business's viability on a shoestring budget, and turn your idea into a functional

business before you seek investment.

Leave the hockey sticks on the ice

Excite investors about your big picture, but be reasonable and responsible. Avoid hockey stick projections.

Respectable investors will not take you seriously if you present them with nonsensical financial graphs

that claim your company's revenues will grow from $100,000 to $50 million in three years. Show investors

that you have a grasp on reality with three versions of financial projections: best case, moderate case and

worst case. Base each of these models on facts, past and present performance data, industry and

competitor analyses and a series of well-thought-out, defendable assumptions.

Learn to love discount stores

Being cheap is chic. In an age where spending is out of control, you'll need to prove that you are a fiscally

responsible manager who knows how to get the most out of a buck. Give yourself wiggle room in your

operations and marketing budgets, but avoid being excessive. Investors want you to be in a position where

everything is on the line.

Rome wasn't built in a day. Your business won't be either.

Investors are wary of funding over-eager businesses that seem destined to bite off more than they can

chew. Before asking for millions of dollars to fund 50 divisions and hundreds of product lines, prove how

well you can create, manage and fulfill demand for a single product. Demonstrate that your business can

crawl before you say it can walk. Perfect your marketing tactics, sales strategies and operational

procedures. Investors appreciate companies with sustainable step-and-repeat business models that are

poised for exponential growth. Remember, even Google's success is based on a single product.

Make sure your presentation is crystal clear to anyone and everyone

If you can get someone who doesn’t understand your business model to grasp what you’re

communicating, then you’re prepared to give a pretty good pitch. Some of the worst pitches I’ve seen

have been filled with acronyms, tech speak, and gobbledygook. Keep your pitch short, sweet, and to the

point. Practice your pitch on someone outside of your company, and ask them to repeat what they think

your business model is back to you. I’ve done this many times, and it’s always an eye-opening exercise to

hear what people repeat back.

Talk about yourself

It’s important to know that investors invest in people first, and ideas second. As a matter of fact, I’ve had

several investors tell me to keep them posted on my next startup because they’d like to invest in me and

my next venture. So don’t be afraid to toot the horn on your and your team’s accomplishments—

especially if those accomplishments relate to what it takes to start and scale a venture. Tell (and whenever

possible, show) the investors why you are the right people to lead this venture.

Tell us, what have you done lately?

By this I mean that you should share the successes and traction your team has had since the inception of

your company. It always surprises me how frequently this is left out of pitches. Investors want to hear

about your first customers, other investments put into the company (including your own sweat equity),

key media placement, signed letters of intent (LOI) to purchase/partner, product and customer

milestones, key hires, etc. As the CEO of your own company, you will be expected to be the lead sales

person, so show the investors that you know how to sell them on your own company.

Give the numbers that are behind your numbers

Don’t say you’re going to be a 50 crore business in three years, because most investors won’t even believe

it—unless you’ve done this before in another company. What’s more compelling than big talk is to show

exactly how you will reach those millions—what information about your company do you have that’s

made you forecast those kinds of sales? Share what your assumptions are about your business model.

For example, here’s an appropriately detailed financial forecast for a SaaS (software as a service) business:

We leverage the site traffic and customer base of partners A, B, and C

100,000 unique visits/month to our network of online sites

1,000 new leads captured per month

0.22% average conversion rate

5% monthly churn rate

16 months is the average lifetime value (LTV) of a customer

$160 is average revenue per user (ARPU)

$12.50 is our customer acquisition cost (CAC) You want to see investors take out their phones and begin calculating numbers. This is a good sign—it

means they want to see how you think, and see if it matches (a) what you’ve indicated as your total

revenue numbers, and (b) what they know about your industry.

Show your product!

I’ve seen so many pitches where the entrepreneur doesn’t even show their actual product. For some

businesses, showing their product is not easy to do, but for most people pitching for funding to investors,

it is. Even if your product is not yet built, show mock-ups. It’s amazing what a visual representation of your

product and your business can do for the overall effectiveness of your

Pitch Just the Right Investors

Pick people who really know your business. They are already interested on it, and you will get more than

their cash. They have expertise.

Your Plan on the Money

This is the most important part. You must tell them how their money will help the company, and how they

will earn profits from there.

Let Them Ask Themselves

In the end, give them self-challenging questions why not to involve on the business. Give them multiple

questions and let them motivated to join you.

Now, try to make your business pitch first orderly. Do it slowly and prepare yourself on how to deliver it.

Those ways are proven to be effective. Combine them and make it perfect. They will listen to you as long

as you make it perfect and nice.

Reporting an Event

Who was there?

Bill Smith, company president James Jones, keynote speaker and successful entrepreneur Lisa Brian, advertising guru 1,000+ employees from the Marketing division

What was the event about?

Event Tagline: “From Good to Great: Turning a Mediocre Campaign into a Home Run for Your Client”

Memorable information: o Meet the unspoken needs by going the extra mile to discover what your client really

wants but is afraid to ask for o When you think you’re done, let it sit on the shelf for a day. Then go back and make it

even better. o Don’t ask whether your client will like what you’ve done; ask yourself if you would

purchase the product based on the advertising you’ve provided

Where did the event take place?

The King Center, downtown The executive meeting room, on the top floor, provided a panoramic view of the city

When did the event take place?

Speakers and presentations: 12pm–4pm Q&A Session: 4pm–5pm Dinner with the presenters: 5pm–7pm

Why was the event scheduled?

To inspire our company to give our absolute best to our clients

Quotes from attendees: o “I feel a new sense of purpose towards the campaign I’ve been assigned. I’m motivated

to do more than just get the job done; I want to create a campaign that I would be passionate about as a consumer.”

o “It was great to hear about the common pitfalls of marketing executives and know that I’m not alone in making a few natural mistakes! I feel much more confident about avoiding errors in my future projects thanks to the advice given today.”

o “I loved the advice about meeting unspoken needs. I’m ready to get back to work tomorrow and investigate how I can better serve my client.”

Event: Bad and Beautiful World

Key Audience

• The guest of honor Miss Helen LaFave, US Consulate General, inaugurated the film festival and released the teaser of CVNN (Community Visual News Network ) with eight filmmakers

• Media persons from newspapers such as MukhyaBartha, Bartyaman, Newstime, the Telegraph, Rajasthan Patrika and Xpress Bengal covered the event

• The people from the field of film studies from universities like IIM Calcutta, Ram Mohan College, Calcutta University and Jadavpur University adorned the stadium with their presence

• The students from Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute constituted of the audience • Coordinators and community children from several other NGO’s such as World Vision, Jungle

Crow and Srishti Foundation also attended the film festival

Event

• The festival screened eight films created by the youth in the Visual Basic class as a part of the Grassroots Film Studio

• The films were based on the issues that the community members face in their daily lives such as verbal abuse, bullying, domestic violence etc

Venue

• The BBW festival was hosted in the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute situated on the E.M. Bypass Road, Kolkata by Prayasam

When did the event take place?

It was hosted on 05 June, The World Environmental Day

History

• Grassroots Film Studio, GSF is supported by Adobe Foundation USA and is in collaboration with Adobe Youth Voices. It conducts Visual Basics classes for children from different communities that Prayasam is working with. Students use the studio to create unique videos that address social issues in slums and marginalized areas of Kolkata.

Impact

Stakeholder Level

When the “Kolkata Korcha” reported about the BBW film festival, Cine Centre presented Prayasam with a great opportunity of screening the eight films in “Nandan”, a government cinema hall in Kolkata on 17th July during the “Nandan Film Festival”

The eight films have also nominated by Films Division for screening during the “Mumbai Film Festival”

One of the very well reputed cultural institutions “Rabindra Okakura Bhawan” has also offered to show the films in every district of West Bengal

The representatives from the “Srishti Foundation” also want to show the movies in the communities they are working with

Miss Helen LaFave enlightened the spectators with her speech on how India has become one of the largest users of social media. She also mentioned the fact that since most of the Indians operates Internet on their mobile phones; the news travels with them wherever they go. CNVV is an effort by the Prayasam to bring before the world, the various issues and endeavors of the communities that it has been working for that are so often neglected by the people.

Community Level

• One of the residents of RAC remarked, “The movies were eye opening for us as they reflected the

daily lives of people in our community. The movies were based on reality and it felt like a day from our lives has been videotaped and shown on the big screen.” After watching the movies, they felt that what’s happening in their community is wrong and it’s time to change the scenario.

• When asked, “Do people think twice before committing any offence like verbal abuse, bullying against girls/boys, taking alcohol etc.?” One of the residents of Mahisbathan answered, “If people

would have thought even once, then the circumstances in our community would have been different today.”

Business Report

Aim: To give people a chance to express their emotions to their audience effectively. Mission: To provide high-quality writing services at competitive rates to individuals for important occasions of their lives. Vision: To enable people convey the right message as desired. Service Offerings:

Operational Process:

Key Resources: a. Writers: It is a freelance model where writers will be paid on a per-assignment basis. The idea is to leverage upon the untapped talent of potential writers who are not associated with any professional writing service. b. Quality assurers: To maintain the quality of work. Revenue Model: Service fee from clients. Cost Structure: a. Fixed Costs – Office rent b. Writer and quality assurer fees c. Sales and marketing costs d. Commission to lead providers

WordsForYou

Personalised

eg: Appreciation, Apology, Proposal

etc

Script

eg: Events, plays

Business

eg: Brochures, Website Content

Application

eg: SOPs, essays

Requirement Understanding

Collection of Data

Writing Quality Check Moderations Edits Feedback

Value Proposition:

Channels:

a. Website b. Lead providers c. Hotline Services d. SEO e. WOM

A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company, organization or person; its reason for

existing; a written declaration of an organization's core purpose and focus that normally remains

unchanged over time.

The commercial mission statement consists of three essential components:

1. Key market: Who is your target client or customer (generalize if needed)? 2. Contribution: What product or service do you provide to that client? 3. Distinction: What makes your product or service unique, so that the client would choose you?

Vision Statement: (Desired End-State) A one-sentence statement describing the clear and inspirational

long-term desired change resulting from an organization or program’s work.

General Findings

The best visions are inspirational, clear, memorable, and concise.

Avg length for the full 30 organizations listed here is only 14.56 words (excluding brand references)

Avg length for the first 15 organizations is only 10.5 words (excluding brand references).

The shortest contains only three words (Human Rights Campaign)

The longest contains 31 words (Amnesty International)

Best Mission Statements of Non-Profits

Oxfam: A just world without poverty (5 words) Feeding America: A hunger-free America (4 words) Human Rights Campaign: Equality for everyone (3) National Multiple Sclerosis Society: A World Free of MS (5) Alzheimer’s Association: Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s (7)

Clients

Effective Communication

Customization

Writers

Talent Showcasing Platform

Alternative Revenue Stream

Investors

First Market Mover

High ROI

Habitat for Humanity: A world where everyone has a decent place to live. (10) Oceana seeks to make our oceans as rich, healthy and abundant as they once were. (14) Make-A-Wish: Our vision is that people everywhere will share the power of a wish (13) San Diego Zoo: To become a world leader at connecting people to wildlife and conservation. (12) The Nature Conservancy: Our vision is to leave a sustainable world for future generations. (11) Ducks Unlimited is wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. (13) In Touch Ministries: proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people in every country of the world. (14) NPR, with its network of independent member stations, is America’s pre-eminent news institution (12) World Vision: For every child, life in all its fullness; Our prayer for every heart, the will to make it so (19) Teach for America: One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education. (16) ASPCA: That the United States is a humane community in which all animals are treated with respect and kindness. (18) Cleveland Clinic: Striving to be the world’s leader in patient experience, clinical outcomes, research and education. (14) Goodwill: Every person has the opportunity to achieve his/her fullest potential and participate in and contribute to all aspects of life. (21) Smithsonian: Shaping the future by preserving our heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharing our resources with the world (17) WWF: We seek to save a planet, a world of life. Reconciling the needs of human beings and the needs of others that share the Earth… (25) Save the Children: Our vision is a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation. (18) Kiva: We envision a world where all people – even in the most remote areas of the globe – hold the power to create opportunity for themselves and others. (26) Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. (18) Boy Scouts of America: To prepare every eligible youth in America to become a responsible, participating citizen and leader who is guided by the Scout Oath and Law. (24) charity: water believes that we can end the water crisis in our lifetime by ensuring that every person on the planet has access to life’s most basic need — clean drinking water. (28) Clinton Foundation: To implement sustainable programs that improve access worldwide to investment, opportunity, and lifesaving services now and for future generations. (19) VFW: Ensure that veterans are respected for their service, always receive their earned entitlements, and are recognized for the sacrifices they and their loved ones have made on behalf of this great country. (32) Special Olympics: To transform communities by inspiring people throughout the world to open their minds, accept and include people with intellectual disabilities and thereby anyone who is perceived as different. (28) Creative Commons: Our vision is nothing less than realizing the full potential of the Internet — universal access to research and education, full participation in culture — to drive a new era of development, growth, and productivity. (33) Amnesty International: Amnesty International’s vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments. (31)

Prasaad – Food for Good

Concept:

Commercial Kitchen – Catering Service

Deliverables:

Food

Elementary education

Vocational Training and Life Skills

Employment

Brief:

Prasaad initiative focuses on providing skilled labor to adolescents in the field of catering and

hospitality service through Prayasam’s training program as a part of its commercial venture.

Prasaad focus on the business aspects of delivering nutritious foods to the schools, working

professionals and households around Salt Lake City, Kolkata and Rajarhat, Kolkata area. Prasaad

will work as a profit venture and the man power will be generated from the 30 trainees who are

part of the skill development program.

Benefits to the trainee candidates; provide marketable technical skills to adolescents in food

production and catering services that aims to enhance employment opportunity for children.

Vocational Training is given in 6 key aspects of running a restaurant business namely Cooking,

Serving, Packing, Operations, Marketing and Distribution and Finance

Selection Procedure:

The Commercial Kitchen involves 30 adolescents from the source areas of Bidhannagar and

South DumDum Municipalities of the district 24 Parganas(N), namely, Udayanpally,

Mohishbathan, Nazrulpally, Shantinagar, Duttabad and Rishi Aurobindo Colony.

The trainees at the commercial kitchen are also enrolled in the National Institute of Open

Schooling (NIOS) education program and are part of other activities of Community

Development like running the YUVA (YOUTH UNITED for VARIOUS ACTIVITIES), working as Area

Health Minders, taking part in Alternate Media, Computer Education etc.

Customers:

Prayasam and other NGOs

Hospitals

Schools – as a part of mid-day meal program

Corporate houses – for working professionals and conferences

Academic institutions – for workshops and seminars

Shopping Malls

Local workforce that come here for work and Bus stands

Services offered:

Full service/Buffet/Drop off)

Event Catering (Wedding, Corporate Event, National Festival, Birthday Party,

Anniversary, Reunion, Graduation)

Food Cart or Truck Services

Pricing:

Two kind of pricings are followed

Subsidized rate – mainly for school’s mid-day program, NGO’s and hospitals

Standard rate – Corporate houses, shopping malls and academic institutions

Partners:

The Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Kolkata

Hyatt Regency Kolkata

Process Life Cycle:

Selection

Inside training

Workshops with other training institutes

Basic Computer Education and Accounting

Vocational training session with Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology

and Applied Nutrition, Kolkata

Local partnership – Employment opportunity

Suggestions:

Proposed Training Program Life Cycle

Training program to span over a period of 24 months

A proposed internship opportunity for candidates for a period of 3 months

Partnership with more private hotels and restaurant chain, internship and employment

opportunities to be covered by this partnerships

Include business model training and b-plan creation as a part of the curriculum

Support/Funding mechanisms for people who want to start their own business at the

end of the program

Restructuring the curriculum after every year for the new batch based on the industry

standards and changes in catering and hospitality sector

Opportunity for passed out trainers to stay back us resource personals with a monthly

incentive

Partner with schools and colleges for school/college canteen management

Proposed budget by Prayasam for the Prasaad initiative

Project : Prasad

Budget for 12 Months

Sl No Particulars Unit No of Units Cost per Unit Total Budget Remarks

1 One time Costs

1.1

Utensils (including gas oven, Refrigerator hiring, Mixer, cooking utensils, storing utensils, caps, gloves, aprons, uniforms, etc.) Materials 1 200000 200,000.00

Market survey of requirements

2 Recurring Costs

2.1 Venue/House Rent with electricity Month 12 20,000 240,000.00 Dumdum

2.2 Per diem to Participants (30 Participants x 20 days/month) Rs. 200/participants/day Month 12 180000 2,160,000.00

2.3 Honorarium of Resource Person/s Month 12 10000 120,000.00 Supervisor

2.4 Capacity BuildingTrainings Visit 6 15000 90,000.00

2.5 Raw Materials Month 12 6000 72,000.00

2.6 Fuel, Cleaning etc. Month 12 10000 120,000.00

Grand Total Rs. 3,002,000.00

Concerns:

The budget only accounts for one Resource Person and it’s advisable to have minimum 4

resource persons for a group of 30 students, because every year new batch of students

will take part in the program

No mention of culinary experts and other trainers who required for the program to

manage the training and curriculum for students

No mention of age of adolescents who can be a part of the program; because there are

clear restrictions about using under 14 children for labor activities

No mention of profit management and re-investment into the program

Duoranir Sansaar (Material Bank)

The miracle is this: the more we share the more we have.

When we donate our unwanted clothes or articles to charity, we rarely think about what will happen to

them: who will sort and sell them, and finally, who will revive and wear or use them. In Prayasam we

have the answer. Duoranir Sansaar is a concept facilitated by the senior members of Prayasam. These

youth collect, sort, and organize donated clothes that then can be available for sale to the members at

the price of Rs.2. The youth are completely in charge of this organization.

The name Duorani signifies the ever sacrificing queen of the Bengali fairy tales who wins the heart of the

king finally by her sheer goodness, intelligence and honesty. The queen lived a meager but respectful

and dignified existence. Thus our material bank is aptly called the queen’s haven, because the dignity of

the buyer is maintained through the low price that the materials are offered.

Duoranir Sansaar runs completely on donations of clothing and household items that are of a decent

condition through twice monthly donation drives. These items are then sold to members at a set rate of

Rs.2. Nothing is given for free. This is in order to maintain the dignity and honor of the disadvantaged

buyers. Duoranir Sansaar also offers community sales of items for Rs.5. The youth are completely in

control of the project, so they decide how the funds will be used and put back into the Prayasam

community.

Douranir Sansaar creates a system where the disadvantaged are able to purchase items that are

necessary for successful living at a price that they can afford. It is benefiting Prayasam in many ways; not

only by giving resources to members who need them, but also by creating a sustaining project that

allows the Prayasam senior members to take a leadership role in sustaining a project that is benefiting

their community. Douranir Sansaar maintains human dignity while offering unused resources to those in

the community who really need it.

Suggestions/Improvements

Identify few of the existing charity organizations which deal with collection of clothes and try to

work/connect with them.

Should have any specific kind of clothing such as children’s clothing or blankets, or if they do not accept

certain specific clothing for example inner or undergarments.

Flyers/ Word of mouth /email with information on kind of clothing and other details

Spread the word in as many ways as possible.

Sort the donations as soon as it is received or as regularly as possible so that it doesn’t just keep piling

up.

Show gratitude to all donors, either in person or mail, including details of how much was collected and

how many people their donations will help, this would encourage them to donate on a regular basis.

Binapani Tailors The Binapani Tailors program is one of the newest ventures at Salt Lake City Prayasam. The boys and girls involved in the program have learned how to sew to help sustain their higher education. Binapani, or Saraswati, is the goddes of learning and knowledge, and the inspiration for the name. So, to promote higher education, we have started creating this male shirt and Kurta ensemble to sell. We use hand-woven Tangail fabric, which is appropriate for any weather, and also represents the sentiments and emotions of the migrants in this part of Bengal. Tangail originates in Bangladesh, and most of the marginalized people here are from that part of the globe. The shirts and Kurtas are customized according to the wants and needs of our customers, and they have already gained popularity in and outside of India for both their comfort and their benefit to students. Have you ordered yours yet?

Suggestions

Expand from just clothes to table cloths, towels and other simpler sew-able items.

Since it is seen as program intended to promote higher education, interested and motivated students

can be encouraged to pursue advanced tailoring courses.

Work/connect with a local vendor so as to maintain a constant demand for the sewed materials.

If there is already a huge demand for the materials from outside India, we could explore options on

taking this online or on Social Media.

Performing Art Studio – Concept Note

Dancing Through Life: Learning Life Skills through the Art of Dance

Prayasam is creating a Performing Arts Studio in six of the communities that they are working in.

The goal of these studios is to provide children life skills through dance, performance, and art therapy.

In the communities, these children are often voiceless. They lack the basic knowledge of proper body

language, communication skills, and behavior necessary to succeed in society. Seeing this problem,

Prayasam has created the Performing Arts Studio.

The goal of these programs is to create an extracurricular team who will be responsible for these

activities in their communities. The goal is for this group to reach out and teach the skills of dance, drama,

and painting to other children and realize the potential for using these skills in their future careers.

Prayasam has always recognized the importance of performing arts since its founding. Prayasam

created the Aladi studio which teaches dance therapy. Dance therapy teaches the children life skills

through the art of dance.

Prayasam recognizes the many skills that can be learned through performing arts. Through dance,

children are able to learn how to change their body language and behavior. The children can learn how to

present themselves to society through their dance skills. Specifically, the children will learn Kalari Putto,

which is a martial arts form of dance. Through this dance, children, especially the girls, can learn self-

defense. This can be used as a tool for empowerment and self-protection.

Through drama, the children are able to learn dialogue skills that can be used for talking to people

in their lives that might be more difficult, such as parents, teachers, or elders in their communities. The

students learn how to make their needs vocal, and gain the opportunity to communicate with others. The

students can create dramas which can be performed all over the world, thus sharing their voice to those

who may have never had the opportunity to hear without their dramas.

Through art, the students are able to use an alternate medium as a form of communication.

Students are able to learn to express themselves through the use of a variety of colors. Drawing therapy

gives students the courage to do many things, to express their ideas. Drawing therapy teaches the

students individuality and freedom and gives them the ability to learn how to think differently.

All three skills teach the children to open up, how to convey information, and how to express

themselves. Often these skills are suppressed by parents who want their children to focus on their studies

and not the arts. Prayasam recognizes that through performing arts, children can learn who they have

always been and who they are meant to be. Through the Performing Arts Studios in these communities

children will learn life skills necessary for success in an unconventional way- because why teach

unconventional children who were born to stand out in a way that makes them fit in?

Main Objective of the Performing Arts studios

Through the process there could be a possibility of identifying some children who are exceptionally good

at either dance or drama or art and can in turn be motivated to pursue the same.

The Extracurricular team must be extremely energetic and capable of influencing other children to take

these form of arts and become more expressive.

Life Skills

Art therapy

Dance Therapy

Performance