What are the steps to solicit support from these partners?
For private partners : Realise a maximum 10 pages report, presenting the project clearly and in full (concept, objectives, steps to the concretisation, means and tools used to achieve the goals, budget, company's interest and their advantage in the project). Due to the numerous files and applications that companies receive, it is absolutely necessary to take care of the presentation (pictures, key words, colours…). This is what will attract their attention at first. Make sure you use a pdf version for the document when e-mailing, it will avoid layout disturbances.
Then you need to identify the right contact person, and ideally obtain his e-mail address (it will decrease your printing costs). In order to do so, phone calls before sending anything can make you save a lot of time and settle a first contact. Always send the file together with a personalised letter or e-mail, precising what could be the specific benefits that the company can expect from its involvement.
Do not hesitate to call back your contacts a few days after sending the file, in order to ensure they will read it. The best is then to suggest a meeting in order to personally present the project. When the first step has been achieved, your personality and the sensibility that you will show will certainly make the difference. You have to position yourself as someone attractive and not someone demanding.
For public partners: there are various systems existing in organisations. Pay special attention to the grant « Envie d'Agir » obtainable at the Youth and Sports Ministry via the Defi Jeune (Youth Challenge). To participate, you have to contact your regional council, because it is a system meant to assist you step by step. According to how far you are in your project and if it can fulfil the application conditions at all, a presentation date to the jury will be settled. More information under www.enviedagir.fr
The city of Paris lends grants called « Paris Jeunes Aventures », « Paris Jeunes Talents ». www.portailj.org
Many cities support projects lead by young people. Contact your own town hall for information. General Council does also support certain projects.
For public partners, it is very important to show how much the project means for you, but most of all for others. What would be the social and cultural impact of your initiative? What counterpart and feed back can they expect? Think about all local actions which can be done and would lead to exchange.
How did you manage to collect a sufficient budget to realise the project?
We have invested personally up to 15,000€ in order to cover all expenses dedicated to the trip itself (transportation, accommodations, etc). We cannot deny the personal enrichment we will gain thanks to this project and that is why we wanted to contribute as much as we could to the budget. On the other hand, for all the things related to the realisation of the association's project (research and meeting with women, reports, articles of any kind), we have applied to financial or material investors, public as well as private.
How do you identify the women?
Before our departure, we already contacted a certain number of women through the Alliance Française, the UNESCO, associations like Solidarité Sida (aids solidarity) or even through our personal network. The objective was to firmly identify about 40 women before departure and let time and opportunity lead us to meet the other women.
The contacts we have built, based in France, show a certain woman profile (women close to organisations, internet connected…). It appeared important to us to seek for 25 year old women who were part taking this project from their home country.
