FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions

• Who came up with this wonderful program?
• About KindActs
• What are the future plans for the Coin-spiracy?

• How is the Coin-spiracy being financed?
• What if you raise more funds than your costs, where will the funding go?

• What do we receive for the registration fee?
• What does it cost to register for the Coin-spiracy?
• How are some schools/youth groups raising the registration fee?
• Our school/youth group has registered, what's next?

• Can we pass on the coin within our own school/youth group?
• Do the three acts need to be performed on the same day?
• Who do we involve?
• Once we have passed on the coin, how do we keep up the excitement?
• When do we record our kindness stories?
• Where do we record our kindness stories?
• If the recipient of the kind act, for whatever reason, chooses not to participate in the Coin-spiracy, can we pass the coin on to someone else?

Coin-spiracy Concept

The seeds for this project idea have been sown many years ago (early 1980s) and have evolved and taken shape through years of involvement in the kindness movement and kindness program and event planning.

After numerous individual conversations between Nadine Marshall, Co-Founder of KindActs and kindness supporters - the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation in the States, the Canadian Kindness Movement, News for the Soul and the Extreme Kindness Team - a meeting was held with Creative Wonders Communications to explore ways of bringing more cohesion to this wonderful movement through a joint "kindness conspiracy". While no concrete plan had been established, seeds for thought had been planted...

Nadine Marshall, Co-Founder and Program Director of KindActs and Gail Smit, Board Member of KindActs and Co-Founder of Kindness is Cool , then further brainstormed ideas and crystallized them into a workable plan. Certain aspects of the plan were then further refined by Creative Wonders Communications.

From concept to reality...

While ideas are the spark of a project, it takes committed energy, intention and devotion to make a project a reality.

We wish to acknowledge:
Our Coin-spiracy Participants who exemplified leadership and kindness and who made the Coin-spiracy pilot project such a heartwarming success.
Our Investors who supported the vision through their in-kind and financial contribution.
Our Coin-spiracy Team:

• Nadine Marshall and Gail Smit for their vision, direction, financial and in-kind contribution.
• Brock Tully and the World Kindness Concert Team for supporting the Coin-spiracy through their annual concert fundraiser.
• Susan Friesen for her technical and web site expertise.
• Debbie Riopel for helping us pilot the project internationally.
• Lindsay Baker for media coordination.
• Anita Ebenezer for her support as Coordinator.
• Cheryl Moskaluk for helping us pilot the project in Alberta.
• Re: Messaging Solutions Agents for their reception and administrative support.
• Our part-time volunteers who contributed their services - from sewing the Coin-spiracy pouches to assisting with sponsorship presentations.

KindActs is a BC-based non-profit Society whose mission is to inspire human connection and activate the practice of kindness locally and globally. In1998, KindActs (formerly named the Random Acts of Kindness Fund) started with a simple 'random acts of kindness' street campaign in Vancouver and a belief in the powerful rippling effect of kindness. And ripples it created...

Within a short period of the launch of this campaign, the Vancouver Random Acts of Kindness Team was joined by the Victoria Kindness Group and the Abbotsford Kindness is Cool Team and as a result, the KindActs Network Association of B.C. was formed. In addition to participating at the provincial level, KindActs is a proud member of the World Kindness Movement.

Currently, KindActs' focus is on three feature initiatives:The Coin-spiracy, World Kindness Concert and One of a KIND Stories.

For more about KindActs, read our story here.

• Set up the infrastructure and financial foundation needed to offer the Coin-spiracy on an ongoing basis to youth locally and internationally.
• Produce Coin-spiracy Kits and support materials to facilitate and support program expansion (5-year goal):
  • Coin-spiracy Kit for Community Coordinators that includes a video and manual for promoting and championing the Coin-spiracy in the community.
  • Corporate Coin-spiracy Kit that organizations can use to start their own legacy of humanitarian action. Company branches may choose to use this program to become more connected with each other or to engage in a friendly challenge where awards are handed out to the branch whose coin traveled the longest distance, changed hands most often or had the greatest impact.
  • Storybook and activity guide that engages the reader in learning about different people's perspectives, lifestyles, cultures and landscapes as they follow the coin's adventures around the globe. (Future format could include a CD ROM.)

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Financing

The Coin-spiracy is sponsored in part through school/youth group registration fees, sponsorship/donations, and in-kind contribution of professional services.

We love your abundant thinking! Thank you. (By the way, we are looking for people like you to help us with sponsorship...)

KindActs is a BC non-profit Society whose mission is to inspire human connection and activate the practice of kindness locally and globally.

For every enquiry we receive for the Coin-spiracy, we also know that we will receive a whole new set of requests and inquiries for other kindness programming support. While we are excited about all this interest in the vision of a kinder world, servicing these requests requires a solid infrastructure and funding to cover program development, events and future Coin-spiracy launches.

Since 1998, our own team has contributed countless hours and dollars to making our vision a reality. While we have obtained some support/sponsorship - for which we are extremely grateful - we still remain a primarily volunteer-driven organization, with certain key members even foregoing income-generating work in order to have the time to service our vision.

In order to continue servicing this incredible interest in kindness programming (our colleagues at the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation experienced 300% growth in one year), our organization is working towards becoming more sustainable - with full hard costs being covered and key functions remunerated - just like any other viable organization.

There are now over 20 kindness groups from 19 countries involved in the kindness movement. Some countries' kindness organizations are sponsored by corporations, benefactors and even the government, as in the case of Singapore, where the country's President personally opens the kindness conferences and where kindness is the law!

We invite you to visit us at KindActs to see what we are all about and our amazing track record of results.

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Registering for the Coin-spiracy & Next Steps
- Schools & Youth Groups

The Coin-spiracy in a Kit (NEW as of 2006!)

In order to respond to the rapidly expanding interest in the Coin-spiracy and accommodate various schools/youth groups' budgets, we've developed the Coin-spiracy Kit. This kit provides your school/youth group with all the necessary tools to launch the Coin-spiracy.

• a promotional package including an instructional brochure, poster and video
• UNI Coin with a code specific to your school/youth group
• "pass-port" - travelling document for your UNI Coin
• Coin Adventure Journal page on this web site to track your coin's adventure stories. View the sample page for Sample School (a fictional school).

Once we have received your registration and payment, your school/youth group will be assigned a UNI Coin code unique to your organization and a Coin Adventure Journal page on this web site. Your kit will then be shipped to you by mail.

• Schools/Youth Groups in British Columbia, your total is $120.
• Schools/Youth Groups in Canada (outside British Columbia) and in the U.S.A., your total is $125.
• Schools/Youth Groups outside Canada and the U.S.A., please contact us at info@investinakinderworld.com for shipping options.

Some schools/youth groups are obtaining sponsorship from local businesses or PACs, who were more than pleased to pay the registration fee - in fact, the sponsorship was their idea!

First of all, we would like to congratulate you on your initiative and enthusiasm. You are such an inspiration.

Now that you have registered, you may want to:

• Begin thinking about the logistics of how to get your school/youth group involved. Will a committee spearhead this campaign and engage the entire organization at specific points or will everyone be involved at all stages? Who will be part of the committee?
• Brainstorm ideas for your three kind acts. View our Kind Act Ideas to get you started.
• Decide on a timeline for your kind acts.
• Create visibility for your participation in the Coin-spiracy. Let the media know of the wonderful acts your school/youth group will be performing. Choosing a few spokespeople and gathering quotes from youth is a great way to prepare for media interviews.
• Designate a section of your own school/youth group's web site or billboard for Coin-spiracy story updates.
• Create a wish list of projects that your group would like help with, so that your community and future Coinholders can get inspired. You never know...

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Coin Launch & Tracking

Absolutely! You can pass on the coin from person to person, class to class - whatever inspires you. To give you an example, St. Mary's Convent High School in Mumbai, India passed the coin on 140 times within their school and recorded a journal entry for each pass! Read UNI 071's Coin Adventure Journal for details.

It's up to you. You can spread the three kind acts over a few hours, days or months.

You may choose to engage your entire organization in the planning of the kind acts or elect a team to champion the Coin-spiracy and invite full participation along the way.

There are so many ways to build on the Coin-spiracy. It really depends on your interest area and how proactive you wish to be around it. The Coin-spiracy offers a valuable venue for putting into practice lessons learned in the classroom. The coin's travels can be an exercise in:

• Geography. As the coin travels to different parts of the country or world, students have an opportunity to learn more about these communities.
• Math if the coin changes hands often
• PR if you would like to explore ways of engaging the community and media
• Drama, videography, art and creative writing
• Constructive internet use
• Character building, social responsibility, violence prevention
• Relationship-building with the communities or people touched by your kind acts

The possibilities are endless. You may feel perfectly happy just launching the coin or you may choose to build an entire program around it. It is up to you!

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted" - Aesop

Ideally, you would record a journal entry once you have completed the three kind acts and passed on the coin. We recognize however that this may not always be feasible and therefore ask that you record a journal entry as soon as you pass on the coin so that its kindness adventures can be tracked. If you then wish to update your journal once you have completed all acts, please write info@investinakinderworld.com.

There is an on-line Coin Adventure Journal for each UNI Coin. To access this page, enter the UNI code of your coin in the search engine below or in the left-hand margin of this web site.. The school/youth group name corresponding to the UNI code will appear on a new page. Click onto the name to be linked to the Coin Adventure Journal, where you will receive further instructions.

While we expect that, for the most part, recipients of kind acts will want to join in the excitement of the Coin-spiracy, a situation may arise where participation may not be feasible. If the recipient of your kind act chooses not to participate in the Coin-spiracy, you may choose to pass your coin on to a willing individual or organization. Just make a note in the Coin Adventure Journal so that the coin's adventures can be tracked. Since you have already committed the three kind acts, you can pass on the coin to the new Coinholder, with or without committing a further three kind acts - that is up to you. Your new Coinholder is receiving a wonderful opportunity to participate in this exciting adventure and join your community of kindness.

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