Mott Foundation Grant Reporting Form

CSMF/04/23/2001

Mott Foundation Grant Reporting Form

Narrative Report

The narrative and financial sections of the report must be submitted together. They cannot be processed separately. If you have any questions regarding the completion and submission of this report, please feel free to contact your Mott Foundation program officer.

Grantee: Nizhniy Novgorod Voluntary Service

Program Time Bank

Mott Foundation Grant #2008-00852Period Covered January,1st 2009 through December,31st2010

(starting date of grant) (ending date of reporting period)

1. List the reporting objectives referred to in the grant agreement letter and concisely indicate the progress achieved toward each objective. Use additional pages if needed.

Achievement of the 3 primary project objectives stated in the proposal:

1. Strengthening the capacity of NNVS and its staff to manage and oversee effectively complex volunteer-oriented projects.

During the project realization period NNVS clearly identified aims and uniqueness of each program realized here, so nowadays we separate TimeBank and volunteer-oriented projects on the following principles:

-People participate in TimeBank in the main (working) time of people like an alternative or addition to job, and people are involved into voluntary programs in their spear time, as an alternative of hobby

-Time Bank proclaims abilities equality among different groups of people, voluntary programs separate people with stronger capacities (volunteers) and people with less capacities (beneficiaries)

So, first of all, NNVS strengthened a skill to identify key principles, potential effectiveness and uniqueness of different social techniques of improvement of social adaptation of people. This fact helps to organization to manage projects to achieve project’s goals.

From other hand, NNVS has got a practice of development of new social technique from the beginning realizing first in its life the second announced goal of organization – to develop new social techniques for the community for future translation of those techniques through other social institutions. Nowadays NNVS is going to translate TimeBank in 3 new Russian regions and than to separate in an independent network of TimeBanks, so it won’t be a program of NNVS anymore in 2014 and will be an NGO.

Speaking about management skills of NNVS staff, in the project’s period staff has got an experience of work with people of different age, social development level, cultural background in the frames of one project and nowadays staff of TimeBank project has a very strong capacities of work with different target groups. In 2010 NNVS has managed to find 6 organizations all around Russia which wish and able to translate Time bank techniques on new territories. So NNVS staff is developing competences in managing regional and interregional networking.

Thanks to the project NNVS found 30 new partner organizations for co-operation, including 5 business organizations, 24 public organizations, 33 mass-media. Besides, in 2010 NNVS became to work as a part of informal network of Time Banks in Europe which actively involve young people, so NNVS and its staff have got an experience of work on international level.

In 2010 the Board of Consultants was created for Time Bank based on initiative of Sergey Ivanushkin – one of initiators of Time bank program in Russia. So in 3 years Time Bank in Nizhniy Novgorod will be prepared to be an independent organization with sustainable support of the local community.

1. Growth in, and active involvement of, clients in the Time Bank model across the evolving geographic areas where the model is to be introduced

In 2009 Time bank worked on the territory of Nizhniy Novgorod and number of participants achieved 473 people. Following groups of service are asked in 2009:

-Domestic help: cleaning (105 applications) and repair (56 applications)

-Educational services: consulting (45 applications) and tutoring (47 applications)

-IT and computer help: 44 applications

-Communications and free time organizing: 44 applications

-Hand crafts: 56 applications

-Medicine and cosmetology: 22 applications

-Courier and transport service: 37 applications

So, in 2009 Timebank satisfied 456 applications.

In 2010 Time bank worked on the territory of Nizhniy Novgorod and found new partners in 3 areas of Nizhniy Novgorod region and 3 other Russian regions, and number of participants achieved 749 people. Following groups of service are asked and received in 2010:

-Domestic help: cleaning (181 applications) and repair (106 applications)

-Educational services: consulting (60 applications) and tutoring (127 applications)

-IT and computer help: 113 applications

-Communications and free time organizing: 89 applications

-Hand crafts: 78 applications

-Medicine and cosmetology: 29 applications

-Courier and transport service: 134 applications

So, in 2010 Timebank satisfied 917 applications.

The statistic of progress presented in the diagram below:

Analyzing the statistic we can make following conclusions:

1)The number of active clients grows every year, and especially visible in 2010 what shows effectiveness of using methods and staff work. The number of clients getting services in equal of services provided, thanks to new approach used in 2010: every new client has a right to get one service from Time Bank data base “free of charge” – what means clients received services don’t lose hours from their accounts, and clients provided the service have got hours on their accounts and then can spent them. The number of potential clients increased in 2010, what means the program became to be popular in the community and thanks to finding new partners of TimeBank in new regions. As an “active clients” nowadays NNVS calculate only clients who provided and received the service both, clients only provided services calculated as “potential”.

2)Still the number of hours in comparing with number of active clients shows the necessity to develop regular participation of people in Time Bank and to promote longtime services. It demonstrated that Time Bank is still at the beginning of development, because people still use it episodically for the short time, what means Time Bank is not playing the role it can play in social system. Concerning the prognosis done in NNVS at the end of 2010 in 2011-2013 the number of active clients will grow thank to turning potential clients into active and each client will use Time Bank services at least 8 times a year, so the number of hours will grow intensively and number of clients not so much.

3)The number of applications to educational services, IT-services and to transportation services growth a lot in 2010, what demonstrates better understanding of opportunities of Time Bank by clients and growing the level of trust: Time Bank can provide not only “elementary” domestic help, but also qualitative, professional help.

1. Evidence that the implementation of the Time Bank model has helped identify and release local financial and other resources in support of the overall project objectives.

Besides the main resources announced in the application (Mott Foundation, Nachalo Foundation)Time Bank project involves following resources of local communities in 2009-2010:

-949 hours of volunteer help (40 volunteers participate in regular work of Time bank to organize Club activities and to provide accompaniment for services realized by new clients)

-Help of 22 public organizations for organizing TB Club events

-Discounts and prizes for clients from 4 business structures

-Informational and technical help of Youth Parliament of N.Novgorod region in searching partners for opening branches in the region in 2010.

-Lightening of the project in 17 newspapers, 6 TV, 3 radio, 7 internet portals

NNVS also involves 3 kinds of resources to support the project:

-Prize for the most active TB volunteer (a boat trip) from the President of RF grant for support local initiative ( NNVS is a granted organization)

-Grant from European Youth Foundation for International TimeBank contact making seminar

-Donations from local business to support the project (see the financial report)

The total sum of the involved support of the project in financial equivalent is about 287000 US dollars. Donations from local business helped to balance applied and real additional support from local recourses in the second half of 2010, as well as input of federal mass-media in PR-campaign of Time Bank.

Achievement of the working goals:

The TimeBank project has 3 working goals which are achieving through realizing a number of tasks. The current development (on December,31st 2010) of goals achievement is represented below:

Goal 1. To make the technique of the TimeBank popular on the project’s territories, i.e. to involve to the participation in the TimeBank at least 0,05 % of habitants of the project’s realization territories.

To achieve this goal the applicant worked on following tasks:

• To find the most appropriate ways and forms of project’s promotion among local communities (to make PR the most attractive and the most effective – to be sure each promo-event turns at least 0,05% (in case of mass-media and exterior advertisement) and 2% (in case of other events) of it’s participants into newcomers of the Time Bank)

The projects shows that the most attractive advertisement for the involvement of newcomers of Timebank is TV advertisement on federal channels and Internet (first of all, TimeBank group in social networks and web-site Those resources are the most useful for involvement potential clients. But the clients came from recommendation of their friends became to be active faster than those who registered after the advertisement. This conclusion made on analysis of answers of Timebank newcomers where they find the information about the project. The diagram below shows the percentage of answers:

During the project NNVS also found that the advertisement prepared by professional PR-specialist give much better effect than things done by NNVS itself. That’s why since 2011 NNVS decided to take a PR-manager on outsourcing. Still the number of people applying to Time Bank after advertisement events lower then that was announced at the application (maximum 0,015% of target auditorium in case of external advertisement), but this is connected rather with perception of Time bank as a new phenomenon that with quality of advertisement. In the following years number of people applying to Time Bank after advertisement will grow, what is demonstrated in December, 2010 when after the federal TV advertisement 140 clients registered in 2 days on Time Bank site. In December 2009 after the federal advertisement only 20-30 new clients registered.

• To provide target groups of the project with the information about TimeBank using all possible resources of public access: TV, newspapers, posters, presentations etc.(to be sure at least 60% of local population have the information about TimeBank)

At the moment Time Bank bulletin is distributed together with local newspapers for 7000 habitants of Nizhniy Novgorod region, more that 4000 people visit Time bank groups in social networks, and about 20000 habitants of N.Novgorod watch TV at the moment of translation of regional TV programs. Only federal TV advertisement achieve 5-10% of population, so the objective can be realized only by regular co-operation with federal mass-media what makes sense in 2011-2013 when an interregional network of Time Banks will be developed.

• To analyze actual needs of target groups of the project depends on social status, age, geographical factors, etc. and to work off forms of services which can satisfy those needs in TimeBank ( to find different modifications of services if applicable)

Analysis of the TimeBank database in 2009-2010 shows that clients suggest wide varieties of services and can clearly identify their needs only after coming on informational meeting with newcomers and work with Hand Book of TB client. So, for the moment every person would like to be a client of Time Bank have to attend the informational meeting first of all, and also have to try a service from TB database to analize if she or he is really want to participate in this project and understand the most appropriate ways of participation.

NNVS also found that if Time Bank manager calls to clients from time to time and suggest them services different they wrote in application forms, clients are agree. So, at the beginning of Time bank development the manager has to be really active and initiative to stimulate client’s participation.

The most problematic factor for Timebank clients is geographical factor, so Time Bank has to have branches in different districts of Nizhniy Novgorod region and try to combine people living at the same district for services exchange. At the moment NNVS achieved agreements with the organization “Lada” in a lower part of Nizhniy Novgorod about opening of TB branch there, so people living in a lower part of the city don’t need to travel 1,5-2 hours to achieve the main office.

• To improve the quality (till the level of local companies with good business reputation provided people with same services) and the quantity (till 500) of services available in Time Bank

Collecting feedback of clients getting services through Timebank, NNVS can say the quality of TB services is comparable with the same services of regional business structures. From 917 services realized in 2009-2010 the feedback showed 97% of client’s satisfaction with quality.

For the moment 325 kinds of services are available in the Time Bank, 122 of them came in 2009-2010.

• To create the all-sides support system for clients to guarantee open access, comfort conditions and attractiveness of Time bank

Since 2009 TimeBank clients support system includes:

-Newcomers meetings (125 newcomers participated)

-Timebank Club activities (12 group activities realized, 5 companies provide prizes and discounts)

-Escort managersgroup (10 managers prepared, 68 clients asked for their services)

-Feedback collecting system (all clients active in 2009-2010 gave their feedback to Time Bank managers)

During the festival of clients realized in November,2010 clients decided to create working groups of volunteers of Time Bank for managing accompanied service (they named it TB safety group) and organizing of Club activities. So for the moment we have 25 activists ready to work on development of support system.

Conclusions:

-There are 749active clients in Nizhniy Novgorod TimeBank for the moment. More then 1000 people are potential clients of Time Bank, but they just registered and observe on processes and not participate actively, so they cannot be calculated as clients. So the goal has achieved for 50% what is the expected percentage for the project. Future activities has to be targeted to strengthens of services exchange between actual clients and involvement of potential clients. The main role in those processes has to lie on project manager, who has to suggest different variants of services exchange to clients and promote the approach “A service as a gift” which means clients will use services and collect hours more intensive.

-The whole complex of client’s support worked off during the project realization, excluding insurance system. The only decision NNVS found for the moment is to include the article about responsibility for their own health and quality of services on clients into the agreement signed by clients at the end of informational meeting. We also have to work more on involvement of clients into Club activities. In 2010 the number of participants who would like to take part in the activities of TB Club grows (so, every month NNVS organize 1, sometime 2 Club activities), already 40% of TB clients participate in Club events. But this is clear from the experience that small-sized groups of clients feel more comfortable during such activities, they have better chance to communicate each other, that’s why since March, 2010 NNVS makes stress on “chamber” activities.

-The accent of PR campaign of the project has to be done on TimeBank site improvement (creation of more interactive and informative database), creation of professional PR-materials (especially TV materials)

-The new promo-events have to be realized to make Time Bank technique transparent for the community. This is especially important for work with new geographical territory (Nizhniy Novgorod region districts).

-The TimeBank bulletin has to apply more to interests and needs of actual clients, and, as well, to be more attractive for potential clients. Also different ways of bulleting dissemination has to be used.

-All PR activities have to be realized for different regions and have the same standards of quality and the same style and approaches, so this is more logic to produce PR concept and materials in Nizhniy Novgorod region and share it with other regions.

Goal 2. To change social attitudes of the project’s communities, what means to foster empathy, tolerance, and active civil participation as non-disadvantaged, as disadvantaged people there, i.e. to improve readiness and sensitivity of the communities to progressive social techniques, and, in particular, to the TimeBank.

• To achieve a balance between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged groups of clients, different ages, genders, nationalities, religions

For the moment there is a following balance of TimeBank clients:

-By age: 50% of young people (18-25 years old), 20% of middle generation people (26-55 years old), 30% of elderly people (56+ years old)

-By gender: 68% of women, 32% of men

-By social status: 45% of students, 5% of unemployed people, 30% of pensioners, 25% of working people

-By financial status: 70% of poor class, 28% of middle class, 2% of reach class

NNVS doesn’t ask clients about their nationalities and religion in case to declare equal rights for any nationality and religion.

• To involve clients of Time Bank into process of project’s development and into different events, to stimulate client’s activity and initiatives

There is a new system works in Timebank since 2009 – volunteer support of the program. It means clients help directly to Time bank development doesn’t get hours to their personal accounts. They have other forms of encouragement, like sending to educational courses, prizes etc.

During the project volunteers helped:

-As administrative support of seminars, meetings: 75 people

-As escort managers: 25 people

-As couriers: 67 people

-As photographers: 8 people

-As interviewers: 42 people

-As transport services providers: 6 people

-As co-coordinatorsand organizers of Time bank Club activities: 15 people

Totally in the year 2009-2010120volunteers spend 949 hours to help Time Bank. Two volunteer worked permanently during 9 months in the frames of Youth in Action program, spending 28 hours per week to help Time Bank.

• To organize special events for development of solidarity of clients, creation of opportunity to discuss different points of view, to improve social skills etc.

There are 3 main things were done to realize this task: