Path To Change

Think you have what it takes to change the world?

! SEE IT: What is your vision for a stronger community?

In one sentence, address what you think needs to change in your community (ie. your school, your town, the global
community, etc.) and come up with a way to make it better. Only after you identify real needs in your community can you
imagine a better way of doing things. It could go something like this: “My vision for a better community/world is…and this is my
idea for making it happen……”

! UNDERSTAND IT: Why is my vision important to me and others?

Changing the world can be tough work. If you believe in yourself, and have a firm grasp on how your passion will pay off for
yourself and your community, it’ll be so much easier to keep going. It’s important to not only pick a cause or an issue that you
believe in 100%, but it’s also important that the community, especially the people you are trying to help, believe in your project
as well. It is important to understand the problem you are trying to solve and be able to communicate the need and goals of
your project to others.

! BUILD IT: What can I do to make my dream into reality?

Nothing happens with an easy snap of the fingers. You have identified the problem and come up with an idea, now its time to
BUILD your project and come up with some action steps.

The first step is setting up goals for your project. Your long term goal maybe to end poverty, help the homeless, or use the
power of music to help sick children, but if you think about your project in terms of measurable short term goals, you’ll have an
easier time making change. Some examples to keep in mind:
o Goal: To directly help 20 people.
o Goal: To raise $1000 in donated goods and services towards my project.
o Goal: To get the local news to do a story on my project.
o Goal: To inspire 50% of the school population to get involved.
The next step is to break the goals you came up with in the into action steps. For example:
o Goal: Get the local news to do a story on my project
o Invite someone, like a local politician, that’s likely to draw a crowd and the media to an event your holding.
o Make a list of all your local news outlets and research the best person to contact at each
o Write a press release and send it out to all the outlets on your list
o Create a packet of materials on your project (ie. Media Kit) that you can give to any media that attends your
event
Once you have figured out the goals of your project, you next need to build out the larger structure of your project.
! TITLE of the project
! WHAT the project will accomplish
! WHO the project will affect
! TIMELINE for the project
! RESOURCES you will need and where you will obtain them.
! CHALLENGES that the project may present

! DO IT: Put your plan into action

Go out there and get moving! Keep your plan in mind, but stay flexible. Unplanned things are bound to happen.

! REFLECT: What happened? And what’s next?

Here is where you think about the goals you set up in the BELIEVE IT step. Did you reach your goals? What would you do
differently going forward or next time? Did you achieve so much success that you want to repeat the project again or keep it
going? Even if you decide to keep growing your project past your original goals, it’s important to regularly stop and reflect on
your goals, celebrate your accomplishments and set new ones. If you don’t reach all your goals, don’t worry, that’s what “next
time” is all about.
 Path To Change Tips
Tips for making your project happen

SEE IT: What is your vision for a better community?

Below are some ideas and tips to help you come up with your vision and turn it into a project idea:

! Define your community

o What is your community? Is it your neighborhood? Your school? Your city? A community abroad?

! What do you want to change?

Some ideas for brainstorming issues:
o Map the strengths and weakness of your community. Take a walk around your community and
observe good things as well as things that you would like to change. For example: Does every place
seem safe? Are there things, places, or services that are missing? Are there any tensions between
different kinds of people in the community? List all the things you observed.
o Conduct a survey of students at your school or through a local community center (i.e. YMCAs,
Boys and Girls Clubs, religious centers etc). What issues do your community and peers care about?
o Watch the news and read the newspaper (local and/or national). What stories make you feel angry or
anxious?
o Read up on nearly any cause you can think about on our site, DoSomething.org. Something is
bound to peak your interest.
o Most importantly, pick a cause or an issue that you believe in 100%!

! How are you going to change it?

Some ideas and tips for brainstorming project ideas:
o Start with what’s in front of you. It’s awesome to think big! But it’s good to start with what’s in front of
you, too. Are there people in your local community that could benefit from your abilities? How can you
use your musical abilities to tackle some of the problems you want to change?
o Research the issue! Use the internet, libraries, newspapers, documentaries, etc. to find out all you can.
The more you know, the better prepared you’ll be to face this problem head-on and to educate others.
o Research how other people are tackling the same issue. What programs and resources already exist
in the community? Chances are that other people have noticed the same problems that you have. What
are community organizations and other non-profit organizations doing to address the issue? Browse
through the projects section of the Do Something site to see how other teens are tackling the same issue.

o Ask the people or community you are hoping to help. This may seem obvious, but people often
forget to ask the people they are trying to help for their ideas. Dialogue can take the form of an informal
discussion or a more formal survey.
o Ask your friends and neighbors for their ideas. Since you may need their help latter on, it’s not a bad
idea to get their input now. The earlier they get invested the more likely they are to help later on.
o Think outside the box: Crazy ideas are good for getting the creative juices flowing. Don’t be afraid to
think outside the box.
UNDERSTAND IT: Why is my idea important to others and me?
Why do you think the need you identified has to be addressed? Remember it’s not only important that you believe in
your project 100%, but that others do too. If you are filling a real need and can talk about that need and your solution
with passion, knowledge and clarity, it will be a lot easier to get people to believe in your project.

! Project Summary
In most cases you will not hours of time to get people excited about your project., especially if you are asking for
help. You need to sell people on your project fast. That’s why it is important to be able to sum up your project
in a few compelling sentences. You need to let people know:

o Your long term goal (vision)

o Who you are helping
o Why you are helping
o What your project intends to accomplish
o How your project intends to accomplish your goal

! Additional tips for getting people to believe in your project:

o Explain Why YOU: People invest in people, not ideas. So give the audience a sense of why you’re the right
person. Illustrate your commitment, knowledge, and expertise. How many years have you been at this? How
has your life experience prepared you for this endeavor? Show the audience that you are real, genuine, and
passion-driven.
o Don’t Over-Describe the Problem: Most of us are aware of the overwhelming and intractable problems out
there. Unless you’ve got a really unique take or identify a completely overlooked problem…don’t devote more
than one slide (90 seconds) on this topic. The more targeted you can be here the better - e.g. “poverty” versus
“18-25 year olds in urban communities with untapped talent and potential who seek job opportunities.”
o Present a Focused Solution: This is what everybody’s waiting for. A simple yet elegant idea for a better
mousetrap. The more tangible and clear your product or service can be the better. Most important - Why are
you distinctively positioned to deliver this solution?
o Make it Real: Describe how this is more than just an “idea”. Any evidence that there is both a need and
demand for your solution?
o Find the Emotional Hook: People act based on emotion and then justify through logic. So how will you get
your audience to self-identify with your message? What is it about your project idea that they can personally
relate to? In order to find the emotional hook, begin with basic ego needs - who benefits from a transaction with
your solution? Does it include any intangible benefits such as, “feeling good”, or “belonging to something
meaningful”?
o Justify Your Model of Change: You’ve got to justify how your idea will generate social change and help
others. Get specific. How will launching an after school music mentoring program really alleviate education
inequalities? More than superlatives, people want to know how you will move the needle on this issue. What
kind of social return on investment is generated - and can you substantiate it?

BUILD IT: What can I do to make my dream into reality?

Any long-term project is going to have many steps. Logistics can be a pain! But once you break it down to steps,
everything will seem much more manageable. Use the three steps below for building out the details of your project.

! Step One: Set up Goals

Your long term goal maybe to end poverty, help the homeless, or use the power of music to help sick children, but if you
think about your project in terms of measurable short term goals, you’ll have an easier time making change. Some
examples to keep in mind:
o Goal: To directly help 20 people.
 o Goal: To raise $1000 in donated goods and services towards my project.
o Goal: To get the local news to do a story on my project.
o Goal: To inspire 50% of the school population to get involved.
! Step Two: Action Steps
After you have the parameters for your overall project fleshed out, the next step is to break the goals you came up with
in the first step into action steps. For example:
o Goal: Get the local news to do a story on my project
! Invite someone, like a local politician, that’s likely to draw a crowd and the media to an event your
holding.
! Make a list of all your local news outlets and research the best person to contact at each.
! Write a press release and send it out to all the outlets on your list
! Create a packet of materials on your project (a Media Kit) that you can give to any media that
attends your event.

! Step Three: Map It Out

Give your project some structure.
o TIMELINE for the project
o RESOURCES you will need and where you will obtain them.
o CHALLENGES that the project may present

! Other important things to think about in the BUILD IT stage:

o Creating a Budget
o Creating a Marketing and PR Plan- Make a plan to get the word out about your project.
o Recording your progress-Keep all your papers, flyers, and letters, so that you can write a summary
at the end of the event.

REFLECT: What happened? And what’s next?

Reflecting is all about asking questions.

! Some key questions you should answer at the end of any project are:

o What went well? Why?

o What could have gone better? How could you have improved it?
o Did you achieve your goals? Both in terms of the community and for yourself?
o What are your next steps? What else can you do?

! Ideas on ways to gather reflections and feedbacks from participants:

o If you are holding an event, find someone to video record interviews with the guests for their
feedback.
o Have all the participants in your project take a survey.

! Let your funders and partners know of your successes. Send all the people who helped you with your
project a short update about all the awesome things your project accomplished (make sure to include pictures).
Next time you come to them with help they are more likely to help.
 The Path To Change Worksheet

! SEE IT: How would you make your community stronger?

Address something you think needs to change in your community (i.e. your school, your town, the global
community, etc.) and come up with a way to make it better.

“My vision for a better community/world is……”______________________________________

_________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
_____________________________
_________________________________________________________________

“My idea for making this happen is……”_______________________________________

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

! UNDERSTAND IT: Why is my project important to others and me?

Sum up your project idea in a paragraph

Project summary - the Who, Why, What and How of your project? _________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

Key people and organizations that I want/need to believe in my project:

_________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

! BUILD IT: What can I do to make my dream into reality?

Step One: Set up Goals

Your long term goal maybe to end poverty, help the homeless, or use the power of music to help sick children, but if
you think about your project in terms of measurable short term goals, you’ll have an easier time making change.

Goal 1: ____________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

Goal 2: ____________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

Goal 3: ____________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

Goal 4: ____________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

Goal 5: ____________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

Step Two: Action Steps

The next step is to break the goals you came up with into action steps.
Goal 1: ____________________________________________________________
Action steps:
1.________________________________________________________________

2.________________________________________________________________

3.________________________________________________________________

4.________________________________________________________________

5.________________________________________________________________

6.________________________________________________________________

Goal 2: ____________________________________________________________
Action steps:
1.________________________________________________________________

2.________________________________________________________________

3.________________________________________________________________

4.________________________________________________________________

5.________________________________________________________________

6.________________________________________________________________

Goal 3: ____________________________________________________________
Action steps:
1.________________________________________________________________

2.________________________________________________________________

3.________________________________________________________________

4.________________________________________________________________
5.________________________________________________________________

6.________________________________________________________________

Goal 4: ____________________________________________________________
Action steps:
1.________________________________________________________________

2.________________________________________________________________

3.________________________________________________________________

4.________________________________________________________________

5.________________________________________________________________

6.________________________________________________________________

Goal 5: ____________________________________________________________
Action steps:
1.________________________________________________________________

2.________________________________________________________________

3.________________________________________________________________

4.________________________________________________________________

5.________________________________________________________________

6.________________________________________________________________

Step Three: Map It Out

TIMELINE for the
project____________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
RESOURCES you will need and where you will obtain them.
Need:_______________________________________________________________________________________

Resource:__________________________________________________________________________________

Need:_______________________________________________________________________________________

Resource:___________________________________________________________________________________

Need:_______________________________________________________________________________________

Resource:___________________________________________________________________________________
 Need:_______________________________________________________________________________________
Resource:___________________________________________________________________________________

CHALLENGES that the project may present

1.__________________________________________________________________________________________

2.__________________________________________________________________________________________

3.__________________________________________________________________________________________

! DO IT: Put your plan into action

Go out there and Do Something! Keep your plan in mind, but stay flexible. Unplanned things are bound to happen.

! REFLECT: What happened? And what’s next?

Think about the goals you set up in the UNDERSTAND IT step.

What were three things that went well?

1.__________________________________________________________________________________________

2.__________________________________________________________________________________________

3.__________________________________________________________________________________________

What were three things you would change?

1.__________________________________________________________________________________________

2.__________________________________________________________________________________________

3.__________________________________________________________________________________________

Want to learn more about what other people like you have done?
Go to www.dosomething.org to speak up, listen, and take action.