Nonprofits for Northwest PBL

This was the first-ever PBL I both planned and facilitated. Although this project could stand alone, I placed it after reading Night and studying many of Elie Wiesel's speeches in class. In many ways, this project was an answer to Elie Wiesel's call to action; he said, "Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere." This project was designed to teach students how to alleviate the suffering of those around them by creating a nonprofit organization that addressed an area of need in their community.

On one hand, students were answering the problem statement: "How can we raise funding and awareness for a local cause or issue?" On the other, they were faced with recognizing the suffering occurring around them and in their own back yard. Furthermore, it empowered students to solve a real-world problem facing their communities. Throughout the process, I encouraged students not to merely mimic existing nonprofits, but to find a problem and unique solutions that had not yet been addressed through nonprofit work.

Students developed a business plan, created a website to establish their nonprofit, wrote grant proposals to earn funding, and presented their plan of action for effecting change in their communities. Technology wise, students primarily relied on Wix.com, Weebly.com, and Google Sites to create their websites. This project is further documented on twitter at #NP4NW.