Polar Plunge on the Wellington Waterfront Sep. 6!
We are one week away from the end of our IndieGoGo fundraising campaign and have raised an astonishing $7,218 to date! That means we are just $2,782 from our goal of $10K by Sep. 5!
Yet again, we are ready to up the ante. If we make it to $10K by Monday, Sep. 5, we will dress in ridiculous costumes, parade ourselves down the busy Wellington waterfront, and take a POLAR PLUNGE! This is not just any plunge – this is a 13 foot drop into the COLD Wellington Harbour. And don’t forget – it’s winter here! Just two weeks ago it snowed in Wellington for the first time in 40 years! Yikes!
In addition to our polar plunge, on Sep. 6 we’ll hold our big prize drawings! First, for all backers who donated $25 or more, we’ll draw a winner for a $100 Visa gift card.
Second, from among our $100+ backers, one lucky person will win a pair of premium football tickets – a choice of: Atlanta Falcons v. Philadelphia Eagles on 9/18: Sec 137, Row 19, Seats 7/8 OR Georgia Tech v. Virginia Tech on 11/10: Sec 225, Row 10, Seats 13/14. These are fantastic seats!!
And IF we make it to $10K, ALL of our IndieGoGo backers will be entered into a drawing to win the other pair of tickets! But only if we make it to $10K. A big IF.
So we need your help. We are poised to create the largest online database of professional and academic fellowships in the world with 1,000 fellowships in 183 days.
Please help us meet our goal! Visit: http://www.indiegogo.com/1000-Fellowships-in-183-Days
Huge thank you to Oliver Ward for putting together these awesome fliers!
Great news! We’ve been working hard to make as many contacts as possible within the start-up community in Wellington, and it’s paying off. Today we were featured in New Zealand’s Dominion Post!
The Johnsons have big plans for ProFellow, an online database of professional and academic fellowships. They believe the value of fellowship awards is more than $1 billion. If they can get it running and start linking prospective fellows to the awards, they will have an incredibly valuable database.
The article was also featured in Unlimited Magazine, one of New Zealand’s leading business publications!
Thanks so much to our IndieGoGo backers for supporting our fundraising campaign. We’re at $5,538 and on our way to $10,000!
This is my first time participating in the annual National Association of Fellowship Advisors (NAFA) conference in Chicago and I’m highly impressed with insights and perspectives of the fellowship advisors from universities all over the country. These are professionals dedicated to helping talented students, particularly undergraduate students, prepare and compete for prestigious national fellowships, scholarships and awards.
One of the most interesting things I’ve discovered is that there are few NAFA members at this meeting who advise graduate students on finding and earning fellowships, although some are thinking strategically how they could better serve this population. Also, some of my individual conversations with fellowships advisors revealed that alumni sometimes call them asking for information on professional fellowships. These inquiries can be a challenge for university fellowship advisors focusing on advising undergraduate students.
I’m excited to see opportunities where ProFellow can help. Graduate students and people with five, ten, or twenty years of work experience are eligible for a multitude of fellowships, particularly in the areas of public service, teaching, health, journalism, law, creative arts, technology and science. We look forward to not only helping people find these opportunities, but also providing expertise and access to former Fellows, mentors and institutions.
Well we’re now five days into our IndieGoGo campaign–1,000 Fellowships in 183 Days–so we thought we’d share what we’ve learned so far about online fundraising!
1. Just because it’s online doesn’t mean that it’s easy
The success that some have found on the Internet often convinces many of us that achieving success online is easy, that all it takes is a halfhearted post into cyberspace and within 24 hours the post makes front page news. Well, after three weeks of planning and preparation, and consecutive 18 hour days, I’m willing to go out on a limb to suggest that this is not the case 
.
2. Never underestimate the generosity of friends and family
Vicki and I have been blown away with the support we’ve received from our family and friends. We believe very strongly in our cause and project and are so thrilled that others believe in it too.
3. Sharing is caring
One of the more difficult aspects of online fundraising is reaching people outside of your friends and family network. Try all you want, but pleading your case to strangers doesn’t work and will likely yield negative results. Conversely, when someone that supports your cause shares your project it speaks volumes about both the relevance of your project and that person’s belief in you to deliver.
4. Be thankful
We want to thank everyone who has gone out of their way so far to back and share our project. Your support means more than you could ever imagine to Vicki and I, and further strengthens our desire to educate the world about fellowships. We’re early into our campaign and recognize there is still a lot of hard work ahead of us. However, we’re looking forward to the challenge, and to working even harder over the next 57 days to reach our fundraising goal. We’ll keep you updated in the weeks to come. Thank you so much!
Our IndieGoGo fundraising campaign has received some exciting media coverage. Within hours of announcing the campaign, our press release was published in CBS Money Watch, The San Francisco Chronicle, various newsworthy blogs, the #ThankYou Daily, City Year New York – Five Things Friday, and shared by multiple supporters of our project on Twitter.
Here’s a Snip-it from City Year New York:
Our campaign is off to a great start. We can’t thank our backers enough, and hope that more will follow their lead and join the ProFellow movement.
We’ve just launched a 60-day campaign on IndieGoGo.com to raise $10,000 to find 1,000 fellowships in 183 days for the ProFellow database. All IndieGoGo backers receive prizes in exchange for a contribution. Prizes range from shout outs on social media and participation in our private Beta to our grand prize of one week’s accomodation in New Zealand! Also, over the course of the campaign, which runs until September 5, all IndieGoGo backers will be entered into 4 drawings for a $25 Visa gift card. The first drawing will be Wednesday, July 13! So, the sooner you become a backer, the more chances you have to win. Follow ProFellow.com on Facebook and Twitter for announcements and stories about the Fellows featured in our IndieGoGo video.
Coming soon! ProFellow, the premier source for searching and learning about professional and academic fellowships. This site will provide daily news, articles and tips about how to find and apply for fellowships.
What are fellowships? Fellowships are short-term, funded opportunities to do something exceptional. Fellowships are available for people from all professions and academic disciplines, from college and graduate students to professionals such as teachers, nurses, journalists, artists, engineers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, advocates, policy makers and scientists. There are fellowship opportunities in the U.S. and abroad, for periods of several weeks to several years.
Are you ready to become a Pro Fellow? Check back with us soon!
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