GIVE OUT TODAY A BOOK

PROJECT PROPOSAL












Name of Organisation Give Out Today
Contact Person Ashna F Khan
Phone Number 021-34990561
Cell Number 0346-2769267 0341-1274567
Email Address giveouttoday@gmail.com
Date of Submission 19
th
October 2014


GIVE OUT TODAY A BOOK
PROJECT PROPOSAL


ISSUES:
Major issues that the project has identified are:
Fading out of love of books.
People lack the spirit of sharing books that they are done reading.
Books are wasted as most of the people pack them and keep them in their attics.
Books are sold to street hawkers who then sell them forward keeping a great deal of their margin.
Many people dont have access to street hawkers.
People are unaware that reusing books among the community will contribute towards a greener
environment.
People find it hard to identify who to share their books with.

Demographic Area:
The above mentioned issues are spread all over Karachi.
Causes:
Following are the possible causes of the arising issue:
Not much attention is paid towards the promotion of book-reading in our society.
People are not sure what to do with the books that theyve read.
They dont have the mode of sharing.
Because street hawkers do not understand the valuation of the books therefore they price them unfairly.
Lack of a books exchange network.






INITIATIVE DESCRIPTION:
Give Out Today A Book initiative combines the joy of reading with the power of giving through continuous
sharing of books through a books exchange network. The idea is to prevent unused books going to waste.
Beneficiaries:
Beneficiaries include people residing in Karachi regardless of their age, income level or social class. Following are
the major beneficiaries:
People in need of books.
Book lovers.
Students.
Teachers.
Children.

Areas The Project Will Span Over:
Give Out Today A Book will be starting a pilot project in Karachi.
Strategies To Identify Beneficiaries:

Look out for people who have interest in books
Asking for referrals to identify people who find it hard to afford books.
Visit NGOs and garage schools to specifically identify people who cannot afford books
Identify book-readers in different schools and universities through network of volunteers.











RESEARCH/RATIONALE:
As of 2012, literacy rate in Pakistan is at 58%. Pakistan Youth (15-24 years) literacy rate is 79.1% for males
and 61.5% for females. Pakistan has come a long way in terms of literacy but it is still among the countries
having highest illiteracy rates.
1

In 2012 the literacy rate of Sindh is 69% while that of Karachi is 77%. This is still a very small number.
2

The 9th Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF) that took place in December 2013 had over 400,000 visitors
which gives us an estimate that only 1.7% of Karachis population is interested in books.
3

Furthermore, it took an estimated 8.4 million trees to print every copy of the seven Harry Potter books by
J.K. Rowling.
4

About 60 100-page books are produced per 10-inch diameter tree. Calculations show approximately 20-30
300 pages books are produced when a 10-inch thick tree is cut off.
5

Proportion of population in Pakistan lacking basic reading and writing is too high. This is a serious obstacle in
terms of development of the society. To promote literacy and education books play a major role and Give Out
Today A Book will encourage book reading while keeping the values of generosity and sharing intact.

Give Out Today A Book will help promote reading by making books available to people of Karachi for free. It
seeks to encourage a book for book concept. By making books obtainable to all it will contribute towards
spreading knowledge which shall then add to improve literacy although at a very small scale but we will strive to
make a difference.
The project will provide a platform where people will be able to exchange and reuse books. If books are properly
kept in circulation in the community less trees will be cut off to produce more books and therefore it will
contribute to a greener environment.


1
http://www.siasat.pk/forum/showthread.php?241706-Literacy-Rates-in-Pakistan-1947-
2014&s=21b5bd6e53307dd5d4a3523feb0d4165

2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Karachi

3
http://pakedu.net/pakistani-education-news/karachi-international-book-fair-kibf-kicks-off-today-at-the-expo-centre/

4
http://www.paperitis.com/paperless/five-ways-going-paperless-will-save-a-few-trees.html

5
http://bhplnjbookgroup.blogspot.com/2007/12/how-many-books-in-tree.html


GOALS/MILESTONES/TIMETABLE:
GOALS START DATE END DATE
STAGE 1: PLANNING

What to do
Purpose
Where to do
How to do
When to start
Pros & Cons of the project
22
nd
September 2014 5
th
October 2014
STAGE 2: IMPLEMENTATION

Graphic Designing 6
th
October 2014 15
th
October 2014
Facebook Page Launch 16
TH
October 2014 N/A
Printing 20
th
October 2014 23
rd
October 2014
Recruit Volunteers 20
th
October 2014 31
st
October 2014
Ask for donations 24
th
October 2014 N/A
Meeting with
partners/collaborators
24
th
October 2014 31
st
October 2014
Books Exchange Visits & Set-
ups
1
st
November 2014 N/A
STAGE 3: EVALUATION

Ask for testimonials 1
st
December 2014 10
th
December 2014
Ask for
recommendations/suggestions
1
st
December 2014 10
th
December 2014
Evaluate obstacles and lessons
learnt
10
th
December 2014 15
th
December 2014




PERSONNEL:
Following personnel will have the mentioned responsibilities:
CEO/Founder: Ashna F Khan
Plan every step of the project
Ensure proper implementation of all plans
Overlook all areas of the project
Recruit volunteers
Communicate the concept and ideas to volunteers
Motivate volunteers to work for the positive cause
Influence people and ask them to donate for the cause

HEAD MARKETING:
Promote the concept forward to the general public
Advertise the idea in different universities and schools
Effectively use social media for marketing
Convince people to donate
Look out for sponsorships
Look out for opportunities to invest on

HEAD FINANCES:
Manage budgets
Handle donations
Work on cost minimization

HEAD PUBLIC RELATIONS:
Represent us at different organizations
Promote us in different school, colleges and universities
Act as an ambassador for GOT

VOLUNTEERS:
Update and maintain list of books in the collection
Maintain list of donors
Maintain list of beneficiaries
Manage books exchange set-ups at different places
Communicate the concept to people visiting the books exchange set-ups
Fulfill other responsibilities as and when needed.



RESOURCES/BUDGET: (22
nd
September 15
th
December)
EXPENSE DESCRIPTION FUNDING SOURCES EXPENSE
Organizations SIM Contribution by Founder Rs. 300
Graphic Designing Donation + Contribution by Founder Rs. 20, 000
Printing Donation Rs. 5000
Transport Contributions + Donation Rs. 5000
Advertising Donations Rs. 5000
Supplies Donations Rs. 4000
Rentals for books set-ups Donations Rs. 5000
Other miscellaneous expenses Contributions Rs. 2000
TOTAL Rs. 46, 300


CHALLENGES:
Following are the challenges that the project may face:
People may not understand the concept behind the out-of-the-box initiative.
People may fail to understand the benefits of it.
People may prefer to give books to libraries or other institutions.
Give Out Today A Book may lag behind in soliciting donations to keep it running.
Political and unforeseen circumstances may slow down the operations
It may be difficult to get permission from different officials for books exchange set-ups in different places.
Lack of resources may occur which includes human resources, financial resources and books.
Organizations may not approve sponsorships.





PUBLICITY:
Following measures will be taken for the publicity of the project:
Flyers and pamphlets will be posted on different universitys bulletin boards.
Flyers will be distributed to general public at different places.
Social media such as Twitter and Facebook will be employed to spread awareness and share success of the
project.
Members and volunteers will help spreading the word about Give Out Today A Book
Stickers of Give Out Today A Book will be placed on every book circulated so that everybody who gets
the book gets to know about it.
Different blogs and articles will be shared regarding this project.
We will place books exchange set-ups in different places and fun fairs to create awareness.