Hello
I'm Rob Byrne and I'd like to tell you about my new venture, Taskbook. We think that this technology has the potential to make it dramatically easier for not-for-profits to
find volunteers, attract donations and engage with their communities. Any support you can provide to help us launch the service will make a difference and will be greatly appreciated!
Rob
(For background information about Taskbook, please visit www.startsomegood.com/venture/taskbook or go to
www.taskbook.com.au)
What is our goal?
Not-for-profits — whether registered charities or community groups — contribute absolutely enormous social value in our communities. What we want to do at Taskbook is to
use collaborative consumption technology to significantly amplify this social value.
We will do this by providing them with better ways to:
・find volunteers for upcoming activities:
- from within their current network of supporters,
- from other organisations in their area,
- from the broader community;
・attract additional donations
- without having to run additional fundraisers;
・build their community integration
- by strengthening relationships with like-minded people in their area.
How will Taskbook do this?
The first step has been to use collaborative consumption technology to build a
task outsourcing service. Anyone can use the public
taskbook.com.au site to list a task — whether in the home, office or online — and anyone can bid to undertake these tasks.
However we have taken this idea several steps further to make it dramatically more useful for NFPs:
・Taskbook is not a single site. The solution that we have built is a
'platform'. This means that we can not only deploy a public task outsourcing service. We can also very rapidly deploy
sites for the exclusive use of NFPs and their supporters — we call them 'Tasksites'. So instead of doing tedious ring-arounds each time a task needs doing, the NFP can list the task on their Tasksite and supporters then
offer to help.
・And a Tasksite is not an island. Within every community there are numerous NFPs and each can have its own Tasksite.
The key to Taskbook is that we provide the facility for NFPs to LINK their Tasksites. Then, when the NFP lists their task, they can simply tick some boxes to list their task on
linked Tasksites — providing visibility of volunteering opportunities to a larger pool of prospective helpers.
・If they wish, the NFP can also tick a box to list their task on the public Taskbook site.
・A special type of Tasksite is the Corporate Tasksite. These are used by organisations (businesses and government) who pursue corporate sustainability objectives. Corporate Tasksites are linked to the organisation's preferred
NFPs and provide visibility of volunteering opportunities to corporate employees.
・We also encourage the NFP's supporters to use Taskbook to get things done for themselves, on a
paid basis. When they do, we pay a proportion of our fees to the NFP, creating an
ongoing stream of donations to the NFP. Members of the
public Taskbook site can also choose to direct the fees on their tasks to their favourite NFP.
・By providing visibility of volunteering needs to members of other NFPs in the vicinity, Taskbook creates the opportunity for
much closer two-way ties and cooperation between the NFPs in a community.
But who is YOUR favourite Not-for-profit?
Often when we think of not-for-profits we think of registered charities, such as the Red Cross and Lifeline, and here in Australia there are over 20,000 charities! But when you add in all the community groups, there are over 600,000 NFPs. And that's less
than 5% of worldwide NFPs.
Community groups include sporting clubs, scouts, spiritual groups, social groups, service clubs, special interest groups and schools — and that's just the S's ;)
Do you have any favourite charities
or community groups — maybe your local school? Why not ASK THEM whether they would like:
・easier access to volunteers,
・more funding (without more work) and
・better integration with their local communities.
If these things are not important to them, Taskbook may not get your vote. But if they
are important, and if you do lend us a hand, we think we'll be able to amplify the social value that your favourite NFP can generate in your community.
Follow us on
Facebook,
Twitter, Google+ and
YouTube.
$12,000 Tipping Point Goal
Tipping Point goal
To get Taskbook underway, we need to find and train a team of 'Network Builders'. These are people who are:
・well-connected in their community
・ready to create their own business
・able to introduce NFPs to Taskbook
・willing to provide subsequent support and guidance to the NFPs.
To implement the Network Builder program, we'll need to have training materials developed, get some lawyers to check out our Network Builder contracts, advertise the opportunity and travel. This will take about $8,000.
During this phase, we also want to get a user interface specialist to make the the site as user-friendly as possible for NFPs (we think it's already pretty good but it can be better). $4,000.
Ultimate goal
Getting the message out to thousands of charities and community groups is non-trivial. We can accelerate the process by supporting our Network Builders with promotional programs — not just through social media but some traditional media as well. $12,000.
While our website has been built using responsive design (so it operates well on phones and tablets), we need to get underway with a mobile device app. Initial implementation $6,000.
About our rewards
We think that people who help us to get Taskbook launched deserve a knighthood :)
So we've created The Order of the Task... and yes, we are 110% happy about calling you Sir or Lady! Heck, for the top contributors, we'll call you Your Majesty or
Your Heavenliness if you like!
It only takes $15 to become an Associate of the Order of the Task and receive our blessing to place the letters AT after your name. We'll send you an official certificate — complete with your Insignia of Office (which
in the case of an AT is the ginger kitten pictured below).
The rewards progress from Associate all the way through to Deity ☺ and include other forms of recognition too. The number of places in each Level of the Order is limited so be quick!
Associate of the Order of the Task
Contribution: $15
1,000 places — 3% NFP Donation (details below)
Insignia: The Kitten
Member of the Order of the Task
Contribution: $30
600 places — 4% NFP Donation
Insignia: The Lion Cub
Fellow of the Order of the Task
Contribution: $100
400 places — 5% NFP Donation + NFP plug
Insignia: The Lynx
Officer of the Order of the Task
Contribution: $350
200 places — 6% NFP Donation + NFP plug + party invitation
Insignia: The Cheetah
Companion of the Order of the Task
Contribution: $1,000
100 places — 7% NFP Donation + NFP plug + party invitation
Insignia: The Snow Leopard
Lord of the Order of the Task
Contribution: $2,000
50 places — 8% NFP Donation + NFP plug + party invitation
Insignia: The Tiger
Sovereign of the Order of the Task
Contribution: $4,000
20 places — 9% NFP Donation + NFP plug + party invitation + celebratory dinner
Insignia: The Lion
Deity of the Order of the Task
Contribution: $10,000
4 places — 10% NFP Donation + NFP plug + party invitation + celebratory dinner
Insignia: The Ancient Egyptian Cat God, Bast
WE WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNISE YOUR CONTRIBUTION:
1. for all contributors we will (if you like)
recognise your contribuion on the home page of
taskbook.com.au,
2. If you use Taskbook to get things done (whether as a
Tasker or a
Booker) we will pay a
'NFP Donation' of up to 10% to a not-for-profit of your choice*,
3. if you contribute $100 or more, we'll give you favourite not-profit a plug in our website and newsletter,
4. if you contribute $350 or more, you will be invited to attend a party to celebrate the launch of Taskbook and the completion of our StartSomeGood campaign.
5. Sovereigns and Deities of the Task will be invited to a dinner at a flash Sydney restaurant with the founders of Taskbook, other major contributors as well as our
VERY special guest, Wendy Carver, the CEO of Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury.
We encourage you TELL US WHAT IT WAS THAT INSPIRED YOU to make a contribution and we can mention this on our website. Some examples might include:
・help schools and other groups in my community to find the volunteers they need
・create a new source of donations for charities and community groups
・act as a way to build closer ties between the not-for-profits in my community
・make it easier for corporate employees to volunteer in their communities
・create a service that I can use (or my business can use) to get things done
・create a service that I can use to earn some pocket money… or build a business
・help people to 'monetise' their blog or social media presence
・create a smartphone app that I can use to get things done
・create a business that delivers strong social value in Australian communities
・help Rob and Ulli bring Taskbook to life!
・OTHER (up to 80 characters)
* When you list a paid task on Taskbook, or carry one out, we charge a
Service Fee to the
Tasker who completes it (usually 15% of the task price). For contributors to this StartSomeGood campaign, we will then pay a percentage of this Service Fee to a not-for-profit of your choice. For Associates of the Task, we pay 3% of our Service
Fee; for Members of the Task it's 4%; and it steps up to 10% for a Deity of the Task.
The NFP Donation program will apply to tasks completed by 31st March, 2015.
For background information about Taskbook, please visit www.startsomegood.com/venture/taskbook or go to www.taskbook.com.au