Timothy Chen: Individual Contribution Page
My work in AguaClara's Outreach Team in this semester has largely involved exploring and contacting corporate sponsors and affiliates. So far, I have not obtained any concrete sponsors--i.e., I have been unsuccessful in creating revenue flow for AguaClara. However, I have established several contacts with our group by speaking with organizations that might eventually become our affiliates. Below, I have identified and provided a brief description of those organizations:
- Fundacion Cantaro Azul: this NGO started as a student-run project group in UC Berkeley, and it focuses on helping Mexican communities obtain clean drinking water. We are in the progress of contacting Cantaro Azul to request guidance for AguaClara.
- Net Impact: as an international non-profit organization, Net Impact is a network of like-minded industry professional and students who seek to use socially and environmentally responsible business to effect change. We have established a contact with Net Impact, and I will be attending their conference in late October (with the hope of spreading awareness of AguaClara).
- Pillsbury Institute for Entrepreneurship: the Pillsbury Institute is a center in the Cornell Hotel School, and its sole purpose to provide skills, knowledge, and resources to individuals and organizations who are developing entrepreneurial ventures. I have a contact in the institute, and I'm planning a meeting with them in late October or early November.
Although these organizations are not sponsors per se, I believe that they will become invaluable resources for us in the future. I have made contact with each of them and am making slow (but steady) progress. One of main goals for this semester is to bring AguaClara closer to official NGO status so that we can be recognized by corporations and grants more readily.
In mid-October, I will be showcasing AguaClara's demo plant with Rosa. This demonstration will be held for prospective engineering students, and we hope that it will spread awareness about our organization. I'm pleased to be working with a group of talented and creative individuals on the Outreach Team, and I look forward to what this year has in store for us.