Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
1. Introduction..............................................................................................3
2. Mission and Objectives............................................................................3
3. Organization History................................................................................5
4. Beneficiaries.............................................................................................5
5. Products....................................................................................................6
6. Programme Partners................................................................................8
7. Activities and their expected outcome.....................................................9
8. Social Return on Investment..................................................................11
9. Financials...............................................................................................14
1. Introduction
Magic Bus nurtures and cultivates protective factors in children at risk through an experiential platform (so
that the experience speaks for itself) and a social and emotional learning curriculum, that creates high impact
with novelty, (a change of environment, being in an outdoors setting) with new role models (having mentors
as guides from their day to day lives highly trained Magic Bus mentors who are responsible members of the
community and who are from diverse fields and backgrounds) with positive recreation and fun (that will get
the children engaged and attracted to the learning and have a mood altering effect) and with opportunities to
discover and build talent (sports, art, craft and theatre activities).
Magic Bus is a non-profit organization based in Mumbai that provides marginalized children the opportunity
to participate in residential camping trips, a full fledged sports program and one day excursions. Activities
include outdoor exploration trips, various team sports, trust building exercises and drama sessions, all of
which are the chosen platform of learning for the various modules. Through Magic Buss programs, children
strengthen their interpersonal skills, improve their self esteem, and are taught ways to constructively deal
with the many challenges they face.
Working in collaboration with 15 well-established NGO partners in Mumbai, Magic Bus programmes serve
not only as a supplement to the education these NGO partners provide, but also as an incentive to sustain
childrens participation within NGO centres. It also relieves pressure off NGO partners who do not have
adequate resources to provide recreational activities. Overall, Magic Bus promotes and protects the right of
children to healthy recreation and sport.
Magic Bus is seeking funds to cover their expenses needed to successfully execute their various modules
which use residential trips, day trips, and their sports programme Given below is a three year business plan.
B. Objectives
1. Increase the impact of the Magic Bus programs through the child development modules and
enable scalability
1.1. More effective use of the existing Magic Bus Infrastructure
The modules will be used on residential trips, day trips and sports programmes that are being
conducted with the existing Magic Bus Infrastructure. These modules will integrate the various Magic
Bus programmes. The residential will be the initial principal learning platforms with follow -up sessions
in a specific issue during the sports sessions. All the activities will focus on each childs selfdevelopment. Programs will be designed to maximize the time available for learning. Magic Bus will
have trained education counselors designing the curriculum, which principally addresses the following
key issues
Emotional education
Value education
Health education
The project will focus on 1,500 less privileged children to participate in our new modules and a further
3,500 on our recreation and sports activities, selected from our existing NGO network and will provide
a blueprint for replication.
For the purpose of this project Magic Bus has committed funds form Kadhoori Charitable Foundation
to build its own residential centre.
1.2. Creating a scalable programme reaching out to more children
Magic Bus will create a working model that can be migrated to other cities in India and even abroad.
This will involve a documented quality tested curriculum, a broad funding base and a solid human
resource base. By November 2003 Magic Bus in Mumbai will have reached its maximum target
audience of approximately 3,500 children per annum. After completion of this project over the period of
one year we will use the recommendations to move to other cities in a more effective and efficient
manner.
1.3. Use Magic Bus for higher child involvement in existing NGOs
The Magic Bus works with childrens organizations in Mumbai involved with street and slum children. A
key aim of the project is to use the various Magic Bus activities as incentives to the children in each
organization to become more interactive with the opportunities presented to them. Each of the
participating organizations presents their selection criteria for their children. This involves monitoring
individual childrens performance in areas such as greater attendance in school, an increase in
overnight stays in hostels, incentives to join hostels and improved literacy. Magic Bus staff will monitor
the achievements of each incentive scheme.
1.4. Provide neutral forum for childrens organisations to interact
Children and staff from two organizations will participate in each activity. There will be an allocated
time and agenda for staff to utilize this platform most effectively to discuss ideas and comparison of
curriculums, learning methods and fund-raising ideas. Also, the group activities taught to the children
can be used effectively by the NGOs, in their centers in the city for continued impact.
2. Increase involvement and awareness of corporations
Along with the interaction between children of different NGOs, the sponsoring corporation will be also
exposed to the staff and children of the two participating NGOs in every activity. Apart from
sponsorship of the cost of the activities, the organization will be required to send 4 members of their
staff as volunteers for each residential programme and 2 members on other activities. Magic Bus aims
that through this unique corporate volunteering programme, it is able to map its database of corporate
volunteers to respective NGOs in each city for sustained volunteering and long lasting relationships
between different sections of society.
3. Organization History
Matthew Spacie founded Magic Bus in January 1999 with the goal of giving children a break away from their
slum and pavement life by learning more about themselves and their environment. He approached Akanksha,
a childrens NGO in Mumbai educating 1,400 children, to take their children on these monthly outdoor
journeys. Over a two-year period Matthew organized 24 trips taking over 400 children to the hills of Matheran,
beaches of Ali Baug, and local water parks. During this time, Magic Bus was functioning under the Akanksha
umbrella and served as their recreational arm.
In July 2000 Matthew had realized the huge potential of the Magic Bus program and partnered with Impact
Partners, a venture philanthropy fund, to turn it into a sustainable organization. Soon after it was decided that
Magic Bus should not only branch out and become a separate organization, but also increase the number of
NGOs participating within the program, involve the corporate sector for sponsorship and attendance of trips,
and streamline the sports initiative.
During these last two years, Magic Bus has been successful in transforming itself from an individuals idea into
a sustainable organization. With Rinku Varde joining as Office Manager and Alka Shesha as Programmme
Director, the program has flourished reaching out to over 3,000 children.
The sports program has also changed drastically over the last few years. It started with coaching of inner city
youth between the ages of 16-22 years, three times a week, for rugby. Through regular practices, they were
taught discipline, stamina, and the importance of respecting team members, in a healthy competitive
environment. For many children burdened by the demands of poverty, it also provided an outlet to express
themselves and release their pent up energy. Unprecedented success of the teams performance both on the
field winning in national and international tournaments and off the field with Magic Bus placing 23 youth in full
time jobs, three joining the Magic Bus core team paved the way to expand the program to partner NGOs.
4. Beneficiaries
The project will impact following groups:
A. The Children
Magic Bus provides sport and recreation opportunities for less privileged children. Magic Bus target group is
the marginalized children aged 8 yrs to 18 yrs, children at risk who are caught in the cycle of poverty and
socio-cultural deprivation. Magic Bus works in collaboration with 15 well established NGO partners in Mumbai,
using their programmes as the strategic entry points for providing play and recreation services for children.
Many of these NGOs provide basic education for children. Magic Bus will also relieve pressures on partner
organizations that may not have the adequate resources to meet childrens overwhelming demands for and
enthusiastic responses to play and recreational activities. Therefore, Magic Bus aims to promote and protect
the right of all children to healthy recreation and basic education.
Magic Bus has contacted various NGOs, funding agencies, and umbrella organizations to enroll children into
the program. The Magic Bus team had one-on-one meetings with over 15 NGOs at their respective centers
and surveyed its activities, beneficiary base, recreational budget, and interest in enrolling their children into the
program.
Magic Bus firmly believes that to be effective, any partnership needs to be treated in a businesslike way like
any other form of investment. We look beyond ad hoc philanthropic donations to more strategic and
mainstream involvement to create a win-win scenario for both our organisation and each of our corporate
sponsors. This is achieved by good processes that include, looking at existing organisation values,
communication strategy, resource allocation and motivating key employees.
Meet the information needs of interested audiences including employees investors and the local
community
Demonstrate seriousness of intent with regard to social responsibility
Enhance business reputation
Reward staff for involvement in, and support for, their social and environmental responsibility programmes.
5. Products
A. Mentorship Programme
Magic Bus mentorship program uses the outdoors as its classrooms. It will provide experiential learning using
the outdoors. We will facilitate an integrated learning environment through structured modules comprising
outdoor activities, and games. Our activities will be age specific and broadly defined under the following
groups:
8 9 Years
Explorers
Activities will relate to self-expression and team building.
Team: 2 Programme Mentors, 3 Youth Mentors, Volunteers
Magic Bus entitlements per year: 6 day trips and weekly games,art and theatre.s
10 to 14 Years
Challengers
Activities will focus on self-exploration of emotions and self-definition of values.
Team : 2 Programme Mentors, 3 Youth Mentors, Volunteers
Magic Bus entitlements per year: 2 three-day overnight camps and 6 day-trips and weekly
sports.
15 to 18 yrs
Voyagers
Activities will focus on building and asserting life and skills. Employment Programme
Team : 2 Programme Mentors, 3 Youth Mentors, Volunteers
Magic Bus entitlements per year: An eight-day overnight residential camp and a 2-day follow
up, weekly sports
6. Programme Partners
The Magic Bus team had one-on-one meetings with over 15 NGOs at their respective centers and surveyed its activities,
beneficiary base, recreational budget, and interest in enrolling their children into the program. We have selected the
following 15 NGOs.
ORGANISATION NAME
MAIN FEATURES
NO. OF KIDS
AKANKSHA FOUNDATION
1400
MOBILE CRECHES
1400
250
CORP
150
1200
1000
DOORSTEP SCHOOLS
2000
APNALAYA
250
11000
SHRADDHA CENTRE
110
Community centre/school
120
480
SUNBEAM
400
300
SAATHI
150
Emotional education
Value education
Health education
Each of our programmes is linked by means of teaching specific value education in a non-classroom
environment.
Magic Bus makes a sincere effort to create awareness through an overall self-development program. On
each trip to centre, we address the five aspects of a childs personality:
B. Mental - A creative and problem solving approach to their life, and to improve their
concentration
Activities to achieve this:
iv.
Creativity games - Giving children a common object and asking them to think of new uses for it,
making a craft object or fancy dress with available material from nature and waste material. Through
these games the learning experiences that take place are following
1. Each one is self sufficient,
2. There are many facets to a situation or a person, so it broadens ones horizons
3. Each one has the ability to change whatever comes in ones way to ones advantage.
v.
Obstacle race A discussion on what obstacles prevent us in life from reaching our goals,
generating responses such as ones own fears, laziness, addictions or simply oneself.
Positive Environment - Supportive and encouraging atmosphere where volunteers and staff are
oriented on the positive attitude towards children. The structure of the groups formed is without
hierarchy, where both the adults and the children in the group function simply as group members.
ii.
Sense of Responsibility - A child is often made the leader to enable the children to understand this
role as a responsibility and not as a status symbol. A value that is promoted is that mistakes can
happen and this is okay so long as one admits responsibility to it and makes amends. The volunteers
and staff are role models who maintain this attitude in their behaviors in the camps.
iii.
Self awareness - Activities making children think about themselves, their habits, character and goals.
Talent show, rock-climbing, rappelling, swimming, sports activities as new skills are learnt and thus
this enhances self-esteem, and the management of fear.Theatre workshop helps loosens inhibitions
and understands feelings and roles. Periodic sharing after every activity helps an awareness and
understanding of ones feelings and oneself.
D. Social - Civic sense, meaningful relationships, trust, ability to say no, handling peer
pressure, team spirit.
Activities to achieve this:
i.
Team sports - Throw ball, handball, football, formation and structure of groups, three magic bus
rules, periodic sharing after activities of feelings, and opinions, interaction of children from two
different NGOs (this enables sharing and understanding between children from different
backgrounds) Tasks assigned to groups to achieve such as making of a raft by each group, simulation
games to enhance team spirit.
ii.
Point system This system encourages every child to keep themselves and their own spaces neat
and clean and that is given recognition at the end of every session or activity. An open atmosphere is
created where children are made to feel free to come and talk about any habits, or feelings even if
negative.
iii.
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SelfActualization
Esteem
Love, and sense of belonging
ENTERTAINMENT
Safety and security
RECREATIONAL LEARNING
Value
Education
Health
Education
Emotional
Education
All Magic Bus activities are designed to provide challenges, build self-esteem, develop leadership and
social skills, stimulate sharing and trust, encourage openness and cooperation, and create a sense of
community.
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Magic Bus will plan and select a sample of children for testing of impact through planned psychometric
testing that can then be generalized to specific segments we serve. The sample will be representative
of the different backgrounds from which they come to Magic Bus and number of interventions they
have had with Magic Bus. i.e. slum children, street Children, remand children, sex workers children
etc. We envisage this more intensive testing to be carried out in one in every 50 children, in bi-annual
cycles.
Management of anger
Aggressiveness
Self-esteem
Self-Efficacy attitudes
Attendance with center activities
Positive behaviours in the classroom attending, following instructions, co-operativenss and
helpfulness, not using foul language.
Creativity and problem-solving skills; Negotiating conflict situations
Anxiety and mood
Motivation
Pro-social behaviours versus anti-social behaviours
Use of time in talent building activities per week.
Changes in recreation habits.
Attitudes of optimism and hope
Gender attitudes of equal worth and value for girls and boys
Attitudes to alcohol, cigarettes and drugs
Soft skills, discipline and realistic aspirations required for retention of jobs
Ability to withstand peer pressure, skill of saying no
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Impact on any of these areas would be attributed to both the interventions of Magic Bus and
the Partner NGOs
1,500
3,500
20
250
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9. Financials
Current source of funds
We have created four separate revenue streams for Magic Bus. Our funding strategy is initially broad
based but increasingly looking at internal mechanisms of funding to provide a sustainable model over
time. During the early stages of the organization a large proportion of the initial funding has been given
by Impact partners to fund both start-up and administration costs
1.
Private Donations.
Highlights
Section 25 Company approval has meant Tax Exemption for all donations
Networking through Volunteer base has seen a incremental increase in funds received
In 2002, Channels in UK and USA are being established to raise money through contacts of the
Directors, each nationalities these countries.
Since its inauguration, Magic Bus has always had a strong emphasis on networking personal contacts
to raise funds. Approximately 33% of funds raised in 2002 have been from private donations.
In September 2002, Magic Bus launched a fund raising programme in both London. Individuals based
in London and who have worked with Magic Bus in India established the funding channels and created
a funding programme. It is expected that approximately 30% of our private donations will come from
such centres by 2004
2.
Corporate Sponsorships
Highlights
In our first year of operation 20% of costs have been covered by corporate sponsorships.
By 2004, the project is estimated to generate 75% of all our activities costs and 40% of our
administration is sponsored by corporations
It is significant that during a period of tremendous corporate downturn Magic Bus has had significant
success with funds received from corporations. Historically in India organizations that work with leisure,
fun and sport are low priority investments and Magic Bus has been able to create a paradigm shift in
attitudes of how these elements can be used as a crucial part of child development. This is reflected in
that nearly one third of the corporate employees who have experienced a trip will return as a volunteer.
3.
Impact Partners
Highlights
Impact Partners has committed a two-year seed fund to Magic Bus to specifically cover all
administration costs.
Magic Bus has exceeded its return on investment established, using less than its budgeted funds.
Impact Partners are a public service venture capital firm who offer professional services and funds to
visionary individuals and organizations. They build portfolio organizations that are sector leaders,
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incubate start ups and provide the infrastructure to implement innovative ideas that advocate positive
and systematic social change. They have committed to fund $ 65,000 for our administration costs and
some programme costs over a two-year period. We are currently negotiating their involvement in 2003
which will be in the region of $ 30,000 or 50% of the administration cost and is conditional of a matching
fund from other sources.
Sources of funding in past
YEAR
JAN 2001-DEC 2001
CONTRIBUTOR
IMPACT PARTNERS
CORPORATIONS & INDIVIDUALS
IMPACT PARTNERS
CORPORATIONS & INDIVIDUALS**
GLOBAL FUND FOR CHILDREN
MAGIC BUS (UK)
FUNDING TYPE*
ADMINISTRATIVE (100%)
PROGRAMME & ADMINISTRATIVE
(70: 30)
PROGRAMME
Construction of centre
(100%)
ADMINISTRATIVE & PROGRAMME
COST (70:30)
PROGRAMME
(100%)
PROGRAMME
NEW BUS
ADMINISTRATIVE & PROGRAMME
COST (70:30)
PROGRAMME
(100%)
Programme
(100%)
ADMINISTRATIVE & PROGRAMME
COST (70:30)
AMOUNT $ US
14,264
16,874
193,405
37,553
52,500
22,000
40,000
52,500
5000
10,000
Annexures
Budget: Please refer to Annexure A for the budget and Funding Status of MAGIC BUS EXPLORERS
MODULE
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