Thursday, April 3, 2014

C is for... Contest and a Cause



We had guests at home since a few days and so, I hardly got time with my laptop. Today, when I sat snug in my usual place and thought of writing something on a word starting with the alphabet C for the A to Z challenge, I happened to check Indiblogger.

And guess what, results for this contest were announced and I won the first prize for THIS post! Surprisingly I was not so thrilled because I got that satisfaction when I was trying to gather funds for a good cause. Also, I was sad to see that not many people had written for the same and the contributions made were really less.

A rather blurred screen shot of the contest page

I’ve done a lot of thinking and I fail to understand why this happened. Normally, when we have contests on the same website we get anywhere from 150 to 400 entries. The prizes for this one were as awesome as any blogging activity for shampoo/oil/social application. For this particular contest we had to inspire our readers to give loan to the needy. You could give as little as Rs. 500 (for Indians) or 25$(for foreign nationals). They were not asking us to donate, nor did they tell the bloggers to contribute; they just asked us to write! And most did not. Yes, I will make you feel guilty about it! If you can write a eulogy on a particular oil without even using it, why can't you write a post on small borrowers? *Hint: You can still write about them. The contest might be over, but life goes on.*

Coming to the lenders, when I was talking to them about the firm that sponsored this contest, I faced three problems – One, people thought it could be a scam i.e. the loan will not reach the right people. Two, people pledged to contribute but conveniently forgot. Third and the only genuine reason for not lending was that people had already given loans to their house help/employees and so, they were already doing their bit. 

I was obviously ok with the third. But the fact that people thought it could be sort of a ponzi scheme was ok to start with but frustrating when they did not contribute even after explaining a lot! I mean, there are hundreds of microfinance firms in this world. How come we do not know anything about their operations? The sponsor, which is a 4-year old firm, has all its facts mentioned clearly in black and white. Normally, they connect with NGOs that choose genuine borrowers. The borrowers usually form groups. If one fails to pay back, the whole group suffers. Therefore, in almost all cases, the loan has been repaid. It is as simple as that. 

Secondly, either you don’t commit or you don’t forget! I had to send umpteen reminders to various people. A lot responded well in time and I am really grateful to them for their help. I understand that life can sometimes be very busy and I'm really, really glad that they did take out time to do this. But the ones who did not, hmm, I don’t have anything to say to them. *Hint: You can still contribute whenever you want.*

I am very happy for Blogwati G who, I think, was able to inspire a lot of people from blogosphere. Her post has reaffirmed my faith in this community. Otherwise, seeing the number of entries, my faith was somewhat dwindling.

By far, as a participant, this was the most satisfying marketing activity I have done through this blog. It actually feels useful. Although I wish everyone was as enthusiastic about it as any other challenge. This cause is close to my heart and so the quest doesn’t end here. I would try to keep encouraging people to Loan a Little and Change a Lot. You will too, won’t you? 

28 comments:

  1. Congratz ! It's even more satisfying because indirectly you have brought smiles to those faces :) Your post was indeed Informative and and and what is that word..Effective..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Enchantress! I want to encourage people to participate in this. I hope it was truly effective.

      Delete
  2. First of all congrats on winning! And secondly, way to go on taking up responsibility for issues like this...not many people go out of their way to do so! Great post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thankyou, Danny. Writing about it here is the least I can do.

      Delete
  3. It is commendable that you raised that much amount of money! And babe it is even better than you did it straight from the heart for a really good cause. I did not even know about the contest. And yes you did make me feel guilty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. See, some people don't participate in all contests. Like you don't. I am angry with those who write 10 posts to win a Malaysia ticket and yet find it hard to write for something like this. My blog is not even that famous. The ones who have a bigger reach could have made such a difference.

      Delete
  4. Wow you won an ipad Air that was truly deserved !!! Congratulations! Proud of u !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thankyou, Anita! I'm proud of this win too :)

      Delete
  5. Many many congratulations! You make all of us who did not write for this cause sound guilty.

    Ishithaa
    #AtoZChallenge

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thankyou! You can still write and publicize such causes whenever you feel like!

      Delete
  6. It's good that you did it...! I feel bad that I couldn't ...No amount of reasons seem valid...However, Congrats!

    Random Thoughts Naba

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This time I could see IndiChange happening right in front of my eyes. The amount raised was precise and so it encouraged me more than any other topic. Hope we can have something like this again with many more entries.

      Delete
  7. Nisha well done mainly on feeling strongly n doing something for this cause and also for winning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In this day and age, everyone feels strongly about something or the other. But we are so busy in our lives that we don't do the needful. I hope things like this inspire us and we can do our bit.

      Delete
  8. Yay you won!! Congrats darling, the effort you put in was commendable. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thankyou! I'm glad I could put this blog to good use.

      Delete
  9. Congrats and keep winning more :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thankyou!! I love winning! Haha :)

      Delete
  10. Anonymous4/03/2014

    Congrats. And it is a great thing to own up to the cause and talk about it responsibly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. While posting this I was a little hesitant. After all who am I to tell people what to post on their blog? But then I just pressed the publish button and let it be! Even if this motivates one person I would be very happy.

      Delete
  11. Congratulations Nisha. Wish I'd done it too but I'm so not clued into to indiblogger.. yeah I missed out the shampoos and oils too, but that hardly matters - this does. Will make it up soon. I think Corinne has something planned.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I took part in a lot of contests last year and so was keen for this one as well. But we did not see the same enthusiasm. I think Corinne is quite an inspiration for fellow bloggers; it would be great if she does come up with something like this.

      Delete
  12. Congratulations on winning. And like Tulika said above, I am not clued into many contests on Indiblogger/ Blog Adda. Perhaps I should keep an eye out in the future.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Shailaja. These contests are actually a lot of fun. You sort of go out of your comfort zone and write on random stuff. Do participate sometime.

      Delete
  13. Congratulations! You did your bit to raise awareness and you should be proud that you were able to contribute. ♥

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am, I am. And seeing so many people feeling happy for the same, I am further motivated :)

      Delete
  14. Anonymous4/04/2014

    Congratulations Nisha, for not only participating in such a good cause but also doing great at it :). Milaap is a great - transparent organisation to get involved with. Superb job done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thankyou! You are doing a great job as well... for freelancing for them. More power to us :)

      Delete

Your sweetness makes my day. Gentle criticism will be taken in the right spirit too :)