About ChangeLink

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We at the Otesha Project have been looking for a way to support and foster the change-making initiatives of our more than 450 program Olumni – passionate individuals brimming with ideas about how they can incorporate more sustainable choices into their lives, communities and workplaces. Our new social venture program, ChangeLink, is seeking to help our tour Olumni as well as newcomers to the organization take these ideas and turn them into reality. We are aiming to spur social ventures, enterprises (businesses or organizations that pursue a social good) and other exciting change-making activities that will improve access in our communities to more sustainable consumer and lifestyle choices. 
 
ChangeLink will be supporting the après-tour engagement of our Olumni, hoping to create an empowered, connected community of like-minded people committed to the goals and mission of The Otesha Project.To successful applicants, ChangeLink will provide...
 
  • resources
  • encouragement
  • mentorship
  • training
  • seed funding
  • and much much more!! 

The Program…

By providing the necessary tools and training for our Olumni, ChangeLink will create, empower and enable change-makers and communities to support sustainable lifestyle choices by encouraging and supporting more sustainability events, campaigns and businesses. Although much of the encouragement and many of the resources will be available to all Olumni, there will be a certain number of grants available to successful applicants. There will be laddered entry points to the program to make it accessible to a range of ages, experience, and ambition, so everyone is welcome! They are:

  • Events… Applicants who are seeking support for a one-off event that draws attention to an environmental or social justice issue, celebrates actions being taken to support positive change, mobilizes a community in some way, or promotes Otesha and supports Otesha programming. An event could be something like a fair-trade bike ride, cycling to different cafés in the community and tasting yummy fair-trade treats! We would like to encourage Olumni-initiated events (organized by two or more Olumni working together). We will also consider supporting events that involve partnerships with other organizations.
  • Campaigns… Applicants who are seeking support for a sustained call-to-action to make change leading to improvement in a social justice or environmental area, or supports Otesha related campaigns, such as bike tour recruitment. This could include advocacy, mobilization or education. A campaign could be something like a month long community-wide education campaign on the problems with bottled water, aiming to create a community boycott! We would again encourage Olumni-initiated campaigns (ideally organized by two or more Olumni working together). We would also consider supporting campaigns that involve partnerships with other organizations.
  • Enterprises… Applicants who are seeking support to establishing a social enterprise, business or organization. An enterprise could be something like a bicycle-pedal run travelling smoothie stand, making smoothies in a pedal-powered blender! A successful applicant would receive access to educational resources, mentorship and perhaps loan financing from partner organizations or sponsors.


Themes…The ChangeLink program will attempt to follow a theme or speak to a specific sustainability issue that will change every 6-12 months. The themes are chosen by an Olumni advisory committee and Otesha staff. The current theme is as of yet undecided, but will be coming soon. 

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