Tomorrow will be mark a week since we concluded
our Indiegogo campaign to fundraise for our
social innovation book project.
How did it go?
Thanks to your efforts, we successfully raised (and exceeded) our goal of $7100. Co-author Shivani Khanna was catching a flight to Africa on the day before the crowdfunding campaign concluded. We caught each other just as she boarded the plane and wished each other (and the book project) the best as it headed into its final sprint.
Sunset, Sunrise
We acknowledged that either way, we were heading into a new phase of the book project. What started as a personal goal, morphed to a partnership, became an active project (complete with shared documents, expansive spreadsheets, and a talented videographer), had become a public project. And now, for the next few weeks it would descend back into the deep waters of quiet as we both respectively gather knowledge, perspective, and negotiate distance as we continue working on the project.
Shivani heads abroad on consulting assignment which will bring her in direct contact with social enterprises, officials, and constituents at the forefront of initiatives to provide financial services to the base of the pyramid.
While we are in touch through the means available, much of our exploration and knowledge gathering over the next few weeks will happen independently. The sun setting on our crowdfunding campaign only means an upcoming sunrise for the next phase.
Reading again
Though a voracious reader growing up, since attending law school books have taken a backseat to different deliveries of information such as blogs, podcasts, and documentaries. To transition back into book-reading mode, I have set a personal challenge to read 10-15 books over the next 4-6 weeks. Additionally, there are a number of very exciting interviews that will be posted to Innov8Social which will serve to simultaneously deepen and broaden the conversation on social innovation.
To you
Though we have written a number of love letters to you all, our supporters (including the one below sent out to all of the contributors), it deserves mention again here. From a firsthand view there is something very real and humbling about a crowdfunding campaign. For weeks, days, hours, seconds as you refresh the campaign page and wonder. How will reach our goal.
For us, once the first supporters logged in their contributions we knew one thing for sure—this book was happening.
You have carried the race to this point, and handed the baton back to us. We look forward to digging deep and finishing strong. For the encouragement and opportunity to create this resource, we express our heartfelt gratitude.
Together, we did it!
The past 34 days have been a tremendous, humbling journey. Thank you for not only acknowledging this book project, but for making it happen. With the support of 118 people we achieved our goal of over $7100—and exceeded it. And, along the way, we have been honored to be featured in notable publications such as
GOOD and
Women 2.0.
We are beyond excited to move to the next phase of this journey—immersing ourselves deeper in the study and ecosystem of social innovation.
Shivani will be meeting social entrepreneurs, government officials, and the underrepresented in Africa and South Asia in the coming month on a consulting assignment. Her perspective will help keep our work and ideas about social innovation grounded and will inform how we map and evaluate social enterprises.
Neetal has already begun diving deeper into reading—both to gain learnings and begin brainstorming the elements of an effective book in today’s hectic landscape. She has some great interviews and posts lined up for Innov8Social this month, which will also provide a deeper look into social innovation.
As we count down the final hours, feel free to let anyone who may be interested in pre-ordering know before the campaign sunsets Friday evening. Any additional funding received will go toward a small print run of the book and marketing efforts.
For all who have supported—you will receive occasional updates, be invited to participate in polls, etc.. And, in case you have been following this campaign passively & want to be connected to our efforts, you can join here:
http://i8s.us/19B3oYN
A heartfelt thank you to you all—and looking forward to the next stage of the adventure!
All the best,
Neetal & Shivani