Directions This document will take you through the basics as
you step into volunteering with ServiceSpace (SS) The information
is broken into 4 sections, and each section will end with a review
where you will answer questions to demonstrate your understanding
There are many links to articles and videos that will be presented,
but not all required reading. All links in the main text of a slide
should be read if there is additional interest in nuance, please
click links provided in footnotes The process should take 45-60
minutes, after which we will respond to you for contact with one of
our volunteer coordinators. We can then review the overlap between
organizational values and your wishes to determine the best path
forward 2
Slide 3
Agenda Background and project overview Organizing principles
Importance of the forest Roles in the ecosystem
Slide 4
History ServiceSpace started in 1999 with a group of friends
who wanted to put their technical skills to good use by offering
free web services to nonprofits Over time, the services provided by
the organization moved outside of the online world and the focus
shifted much more to inculcating gift culture values in a variety
of projectsgift culture While the organization was originally
called CharityFocus, the name was changed to ServiceSpace in 2011
to more accurately reflect the work ServiceSpace is held together
by three key values which well dive into later being fully
volunteer run, serving without asking, and focusing on the small
The organization is based in the Bay Area, California, USA, but as
a decentralized organization there are many volunteers in multiple
continents the world over Over 300,000 people in ~200 countries
receive ServiceSpace content, thousands take an active support
role, and several dozen coordinate the projects 4 Additional
information: More info on organizational valuesorganizational
values
Slide 5
Project Overview 5 DescriptionName DailyGood shares inspiring
quotes and news stories that focus on the "good" along with a
simple action to continue the goodness Imagine a restaurant where
the check reads $0.00 with a note that says: "Your meal was a gift
from someone who came before you. Pay it forward PledgePage is a
simple, free way for people to bring their favorite fundraising
causes to the Internet. Offers a weekly mailing of insightful
articles to thousands of people. In addition, meditation have
sprouted up in +20 locations around the globe. Conversations is a
space for in-depth interviews with artists from all walks of life.
Originally started as a magazine in the early 1990's.
DescriptionName KarmaTube is dedicated to bringing inspirational
videos to light, using the internet to amplify kindness and
generosity. TBD ProPoor provides info/news about development work
in South Asia. It serves as a database of +14K NGOs First project
of ServiceSpace, it has transformed into a simple, free way to
create a basic website for a good cause HelpOthers.org is dedicated
to Acts of Anonymous Kindness. +1M Smile Cards shipped, stories
shared online Several dozen gift culture projects have been
developed by ServiceSpace, for more in-depth info visit the Our
Projects page on website Additional information: Many more gift
culture projects are friends of Service Space such as Karma Clinic,
Green Museum, and Bread for the Journey.Karma ClinicGreen Museumand
Bread for the Journey
Slide 6
Case Study - E-Mail released every day for 12+ years
Distributed to +100K people Mass mailing services donated by 3 rd
party High-trust, permission based distribution list Fully
searchable online for all prior mailings Run by team of 30+
volunteers Pioneered consortium of good news sites to share their
content as a group Potentially the #1 site focused entirely on good
news on the internet 6 Additional information: DailyGood website;
DailyGood twitterwebsitetwitter
Slide 7
Case Study Pay-it-Forward restaurant Started in 2007 in
Berkeley, CA Now in Berkeley, Washington DC, & Chicago Requires
a total rotating group of +100 volunteers/month Tons of press,
start of movement, tens of thousands served Tons of pressmovement 7
Insert Toan Lam video (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/toan-
lam/karma-kitchen-serves-up-
g_b_775755.html)http://www.huffingtonpost.com/toan-
lam/karma-kitchen-serves-up- g_b_775755.html Additional
information: KarmaKitchen website; Pay-it-forward vs.
Pay-what-you-wantwebsitePay-it-forward vs. Pay-what-you-want
Slide 8
Case Study Smile Cards started in 2003 with no business
planstarted in 2003 +1M Smile Cards shipped all over the worldall
over the world Cards are available in 10 languages Future: Growth
of Smile Decks; Smile Cards 2.0 to be trackableSmile Decks
Helpothers.org was born as a place to read stories from Smile Cards
Helpothers.org Supportive online community of thousands of readers
Newsletter sent to nearly 100K people Plenty of press (including
CNN) but we prefer to be anonymous, just like it says on the
card!including CNN Run by +70 volunteers from across the globe 8
Additional information: Why I use Smile Cards; Intro video to Smile
Cards and generosityWhy I useIntro video
Slide 9
Review Name three projects of ServiceSpace ServiceSpace
projects are all based online (T/F) ServiceSpace projects are all
manifestations of gift culture (T/F) 9
Slide 10
Agenda Background and project overview Organizing principles
Importance of the forest Roles in the ecosystem
Slide 11
What is Gift Culture? A gift is something that is given with no
strings attached Gift culture is the systemic spreading of gifts as
the primary medium of exchange (instead of transaction or
conquering) Wealth of society increases the more gifts are given,
as the value isnt in the things but in the giving The benefits of
gifting go well beyond what can be measured as this short blog
entry showsblog entry 11 From consumption to contribution,
transaction to trust, isolation to community, scarcity to abundance
Additional information: Gift economy showcase in Mali; How to
survive in a gift economy; Founder talks gift economy at Bioneers
ConferenceGift economy showcaseHow to survivetalks gift
economy
Slide 12
Principle 1 Be Volunteer Run 100% of the organization is run by
volunteers Here is why No money-related hierarchy at ServiceSpace
Enhances service-focus of the organization (lower overhead, can
focus on great ideas to give) Underlines that ServiceSpace
volunteers want to change themselves as well as serve the world
Instead of 10 people working 40 hours a week, we have 40 people
working 10 hours a week helped by technology 12 Additional
information: Overhead in a fully volunteer run organizationOverhead
in a fully volunteer run organizatio
Slide 13
Principle 2 Serve Without Asking Offer with what you have no
fundraising, no advertisements, no strings attached Here is why
Keeps the organization humble Roots societal change in deep
personal shift (survival depends on deeper levels of giving since
asking is not an option) Allows each volunteer to assume value in
any interaction To solicit resources, one ends up making promises
for a future that is impossible to predict. Often, it ends up being
a game of pleasing and appeasing donors and showing them what they
want to see. On the other hand, not asking for resources more
accurately implies, "We can't guarantee anything. If you like our
work in the past, if you like our values, lets work together. 13
Additional information: Mother Teresa on serving without asking;
Three hurdles of a gift economyserving without askingThree
hurdles
Slide 14
Principle 3 Focus on Small Acts Every small change we make
creates a ripple in the universe without a measurable end Each step
is a goal and reward in itself In a networked economy, scale
doesn't come from doing big things but rather creating empty spaces
that allow the network to virally spread Going big brings in other
complicating factors including greed, selfishness 14 Additional
information: Seed of a revolution, Change Yourself and You Change
the WorldSeed of a revolutionChange the World
Slide 15
Review ServiceSpace believes small acts can ripple into
something big (T/F) Fundraising is a necessary evil at ServiceSpace
(T/F) Every action is a chance to practice giving (T/F) Being
volunteer run lowers overhead enough to allow ServiceSpace to focus
on projects that may not have a traditional business plan (T/F)
Gift culture shifts people towards more consumption (T/F) Short
answer Describe a recent experience where you personally saw gift
culture in action. What did you learn from the experience? (3-5
sentences) 15
Slide 16
Agenda Background and project overview Organizing principles
Importance of the forest Roles in the ecosystem
Slide 17
What is The Forest??? The Forest is the support network of
people and resources that is available to a volunteer Includes
project coordinators and others in ServiceSpace network who have
led projects and been practicing values in this space over time
Includes online/offline content that has been written with a new
volunteer in mind Purpose of The Forest is to support all of us in
our service journey As a virtual, decentralized organization it is
sometimes hard to stay connected The Forest is the explicit
infrastructure to help all volunteers support each other Available
through multiple channels Online (e.g., Forest Feed, twitter)Forest
Feedtwitter Offline (e.g., Wednesday meditation, location-based
service work)Wednesday meditationlocation-based service work
Virtual (e.g., conference calls, ad hoc group emails) 17 Additional
information: Latest Forest FeedLatest
Slide 18
Importance of Personal Journey 18 Margaret Mead famously said,
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can
change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Looking even more deeply, it is the small acts of that small group
of people that end up snowballing into significant change. And each
small action is predicated on even subtler inner awareness. The
seat of authentic strength lies in that intangible space within us.
While many of us intuitively understand the power of internal
change, we are often seduced by external change that can be neatly
measured, categorized and owned. Certainly, external changes are
required for the world to progress but when coupled with an inner
transformation, they affect the world in a radically different way.
This is why Gandhi spent each Monday in silence, why Martin Luther
King Jr. prayed twice as much on busy days, and Cesar Chavez
practiced Yoga regularly. Its why Mother Teresa declared, We can do
no great things; only small things with great love. Each one of us
is on the same journey ServiceSpace projects are simply an excuse
to practice this small scale inner shift. A sandbox where you can
build your giving muscles. Without an intention in each of us to
continuously step up our giving, the projects just become another
hollow way to seek attention and glory. We are never done, we have
never arrived.
Slide 19
Review ServiceSpace seeks to centralize much of its
decision-making (T/F) The Forest network exists primarily to help
new volunteers understand the organization (T/F) Personally
committing to more giving in ones own life is an important aspect
of ServiceSpace (T/F) Short answer Describe a recent small act of
service that you saw and how it made you feel. (2-3 sentences)
19
Slide 20
Agenda Background and project overview Organizing principles
Importance of the forest Roles in the ecosystem
Slide 21
Levels of Engagement with ServiceSpace 21 Receive Inspiration
Collaborative Engagement Mission-driven Leadership Transformative
Giving Major driver: Personal growth (learning) Service is sharing
inspiration (online and offline) Involvement is ad hoc (up to 1
hr/week) Inspirational content is received through multiple SS
channels >300K members currently fill this category
Understanding values is key Volunteers usually start with
Collaborative Engagement, specific roles discussed next Major
driver: Feeling of doing good/giving Service is giving something
tangible (goods or services) Involvement is consistent and light
(1-5 hrs/week) Giving opportunities are matched with personal
desires/skills Likely the level of engagement that a formal
volunteer starts with Experiential practice of values is key Major
driver: Supporting mission Service is driving change at macro level
and requires servant leadershipservant leadership Involvement can
be more intense (up to 40 hrs/week) Mission support requires
tangible and intangible involvement Projects are major tool to
practice values Creating context for others to practice service is
key Major driver: Personal transformation (constant giving) Service
is dynamically giving in various capacities at all times
Involvement is continuous and can be invisible Every moment is an
opportunity to practice values Dynamically serving others personal
journeys is key
Slide 22
Potential Roles for You to Play 22 Content Driven Fill a role
in an SS project Sample roles- writer, curator, reviewer, shipper,
researcher Key challenge is developing deep intention in each
action Event Driven Organize / support local values-based event
Sample events- meditation, gifting gathering, meditation gifting
gathering Key challenge is consistency Values Driven Develop
methods to refine and share SS message Sample roles- messaging
team, A/V developer, web developer Key challenge is pushing deeper
in values All roles fit in category of collective engagement (as
previously discussed)
Slide 23
Review There is a Strategy Group at ServiceSpace (T/F) Every
role at ServiceSpace is focused on doing small acts of service
(T/F) A servant leader looks to the needs of the people and asks
himself how he can help them to solve problems and promote personal
development. He places his main focus on people, because only
content and motivated people are able to reach their targets and to
fulfill the set expectations. Each ServiceSpace volunteer is
expected to exhibit traits of a servant leader (T/F) 23
Slide 24
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) What do I do next? Sit tight
Well be in touch in the next 5-7 business days to discuss your
preferences with you and jointly decide on your specific role When
will I start? Likely within the next couple weeks, although that
can be decided jointly as well How many hours per week are
required? Roles are available across the spectrum, but initially
good to plan for 1-5 hrs/week Im in a location that SS doesnt
currently operate in, can I still volunteer? Yes, there are plenty
of opportunities that can either be started locally by you or you
can plug in to some online projects How old to you have to be to
volunteer? Depends on the specific role, but roles are available
for any age group. However, if youre not a legal adult, there may
be some options that are not available. My availability is not
consistent, can I still volunteer? Yes. However, your role may need
to be tailored a bit more to ensure its of service to you in your
path. Is there training available? Yes, through various processes
in The Forest please revisit that content for more info. My
specific question wasnt answered, can I reach out to someone? Yes,
if you have other questions, please reach out to a volunteer
coordinator at [email protected] 24
Slide 25
Additional Resources Organization projects list Recent press
TwitterTwitter page, Facebook page and forest feed Facebook forest
feed ServiceSpace book 25
Slide 26
Feedback for ServiceSpace 101 Thank you for your time in
reviewing the ServiceSpace basics. If you have feedback for this
process, please send your thoughts to [email protected].
Specific questions wed love your thoughts on: [email protected]
- Are there any major unanswered questions? - Do you feel excited
to be a part of the group? 26
