Frequently asked questions--Archangel

Howdy, Archangel Friends!

We only had 2 minutes on stage, and 2 minutes to answer questions. That just isn't enough time for an idea as important as this. So, here are some of the questions that you MAY have about us, and here are our answers for them. Of course, if you have more, please fill out the information below, and we'll add the common questions to this.

We so appreciate your heart in looking at JoeVolunteer. Just the fact that you're on this page and reading these words says a lot about you. We love that, and YOU.

What will the archangel money be used for (Looking at us slyly from the corner of your eye)?

In a few words, finishing the app. We raised over $56,000 for this already on our own, and we've actually spent more than that (out of our pocket--we believe in this a LOT) on developing the app. We are about 80% of where we need to be with the app.

It already functions, and we built it to where organizations can put in their own opportunities and it appears on the app. 

HOWEVER, we realized that it doesn't work that well. Out of 23 organizations that said they'd use the app (like Meals on Wheels, Red Cross, etc), only 2 actually did it. So, we regrouped and iterated. Now, we are partnering with the awesome folks at VolunteerMatch to provide our initial volunteer opportunities--and have over 400,000 available now in North America!

The money specifically is going to apply our filter of time, place, and (Joe) interest to make these opportunities available on your phone instantly. For example, if you are interested in helping with the homeless--as soon as an opportunity to help the homeless comes up soon, IN YOUR AREA, you'll be getting a push notification letting you know that you can help.

We're also planning on adding a USER INPUT so that Joes can put in their own volunteer opportunities. An example might be posting an opportunity to help your elderly neighbor mow their lawn--posting that, and having that opportunity go out to the many people that had signed up to help the elderly. Coat drives for cold days for the homeless, community volunteers needed for a children's play...the possibilities are as endless as there are people. 

For the first time, this technology can be used to crowdsource kindness.

We have other things we want to do with the app--a lot more, actually--but these are the big building blocks.

What are your plans for the world domination of kindness?

We will be working on this app, finishing up the major needs for it, and launching it on Thanksgiving Day (America's date) in the Austin, Texas area.

We will be in the news, in media, across social media. We will thunderclap. We will be on the newspapers, in the blogs, and on the lips of influencers. We are striving to be a big fish in a small pond. We want to BLANKET the area with kindness, get the downloads for JoeVol, and help people spread the word.

Our GOAL is to create a prototype of the way to 'conquer a city with kindness.' We will refine this, and add the things to our playbook that work, and scrap those that don't!

THEN, because of the gigantic influence of Toronto on JoeVolunteer, we want to set our sights Internationally and come to Toronto. If we're honored (oops, sorry 'honoured') enough to win the Moonshot award, we'll go to Toronto and apply what we've learned in Austin to help take over Toronto.

From there, it's the WORLD. We literally see this being used in places like Iran and remote areas of Africa. Our vision for this is not modest...and that's why we need YOUR help.

Here's the deal: there are 400,000 opportunities in North America ready on our app now. If only 10 people were to help with each of these, that would be 4 MILLION ACTS OF KINDNESS. But here's the thing, these folks will volunteer again. If they decided to help 10 times over the course of their ENTIRE lifetime--that's 40 MILLION ACTS OF KINDNESS.

What have you done already?

We've been punched in the face and gotten up and are still going. We will KEEP going, always iterating, refining and getting better.

We've raised over $56,000 on our own.

We've recruited 1,160 volunteer Joes in the Central Texas Area.

We've won a 3M Corporation Incubator program to help grow the idea and give direction.

We've been a finalist in the City of Austin, TX Gigabit competition.

We've gotten the first iteration of the app built; and feel it's 80% complete right now.

For the Homeless: we've partnered with Chipotle to feed several hundred folks in Central Texas. We've gotten together barbers, hairdressers and folks that have given haircuts, manicures, and pedicures to several dozen people that need it most. We've done coat drives, clothes drives, supply drives, and provided lots of food to go.

For children: we've sponsored tours of The Hope Pregnancy Center. We've also signed up dozens of baby cuddlers for the hospital NICU. We're starting early in their lives.

For the elderly: we've organized Assisted Living home drives where we've had dozens of Joes show up just to talk to lonely souls. We've also had Joes sign up to help the "No One Dies Alone" initiative, where we literally hold hands with those who have no one to be with them as they pass.

For the community: We've rallied people on the spot to help tear down houses for Habitat for Humanity.

What we've done is shown that these opportunities can be done by a small group of determined Joes. Now what we're doing is multiplying those kind of results throughout North America!

Look out for us on Thanksgiving Day (in America), November 23rd, when we all start conquering the world with kindness.

LOVE YOU.