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Nikela Connects to WESSA

Today is the beginning of a great collaborative effort. A step forward in NIKELA's contribution to helping people and saving wildlife in South Africa.

We connected with one of wildlife’s greatest and longstanding allies, the Wildlife Society of Southern Africa (WESSA). Now that’s exciting wouldn’t you agree?

“I’m not sure about this social media marketing!” was Russ’ response when I first introduced him to the work of Michael from M3NewMedia.

Now six months later Russ is a believer!

This connection all started with Michael sending out a tweet with a request for a contact in conservation academia. Craig, a senior lecturer at the University of Kwazulu Natal, KZN South Africa responded and introduced us via cyberspace to Dr Jim Taylor.

Imagine how surprised we were to find Dr. Taylor’s comment about the Celebrate Wildlife curriculum, “What you’re doing sounds brilliant”, in our inbox.

Dr Taylor is a world expert on environmental education (EE), curriculum development and development of environmental educational materials. He works for WESSA, and heads up ShareNet.

This joint effort will greatly enhance the efforts of the Celebrate Wildlife curriculum to be piloted in Imbali. The goal of Celebrate Wildlife is to save wildlife by inspiring high schoolers to pursue careers in wildlife conservation, eco tourism and other related and wildlife friendly careers.

Visit our website, and please post your comments on the blog there, www.Nikela.org/blog

Nikela: Looking Back - Looking Forward

LOOKING BACK at 2010

NIKELA was born in April 2010 after I asked myself the question, “What would I regret most if I died tomorrow?” And the surprising answer was not having done anything for the wildlife of South Africa. It wasn’t long after getting started that Russ also joined NIKELA’s ranks fulltime. He couldn't resist developing the "educating kids" part of our mission. 

NIKELA’s Mission:

To find and qualify experts, certifying their wildlife conservation and education projects.

To invite donors to choose and give monthly to the projects that appeal to them most.

To fund the experts who protect the wildlife and educate the children to find their place in wildlife conservation or ecotourism .

2010 was a blur of getting organized and rolling: 

From deciding on a unique name to filing as a nonprofit

From researching what’s happening to the wildlife to outlining our vision and mission

From setting aside initial funding to identifying a business model

The highlight of NIKELA’s first year:

Our wildlife conservation tour in South Africa to meet with amazing, dedicated and tenacious people like: 

• Ian and Michelle who run a bush school worth duplicating
• Will and his team of leopard research specialists
• Karin absolutely immersed in the expert on human primate conflict resolution
• Ben and Shannon who operate Africa’s primary raptor rescue and sanctuary.
• Tony a unique combination of conservationist and businessman
• Rodger and Natasha zealous aboutt setting aside wilderness areas in South Africa
• And the list goes on.

All in all we chatted with close to 100 people in the conservation, education and ordinary citizen community. We learned about wildlife conservation from so many different points of view: rescue, rehab, research, habitat and sanctuary.

We learned that two primary things are needed:

1. Funding so people like the experts we met can expand their reach to protect the wildlife
2. Funding to formalize the ideas and experience into effective education programs nationwide to inspire the next generation to take their place in wildlife conservation

On coming home in late October we faced more than expected challenges with the website and IRS tax exempt filing. After hiring a new web guy things got rolling and we got some projects posted a few days before Christmas. We ended the year financially disappointed, but not dissuaded.

A small success is snow balling:

One excellent academic contact led to an entire Enviro Club experiencing Shannon’s Raptor Flight demonstration and tour of the Sanctuary. This small project led to the Superintendent of the Imbali schools inviting us to present a proposal to introduce our Celebrate Wildlife curriculum in the schools.

Though skeptical at first, we are now believers in Social Media Marketing:

We ended the year with a very satisfactory social media presence, especially on Twitter, reaching 3,000 followers on December 24th.

  

      Via social media we:

• Found Frank our photographer from the Netherlands
• Got introduced to two professors in KZN (South Africa) willing to help with our educational efforts
• Made a direct connection to a large retailer in the USA,
• Got invited to participate in a huge across Africa expedition, “In the Tracks of Giants”.

As you can see NIKELA is a real team effort, growing towards the community of people who care we envision it to be.

For 2010 special thanks must go to our partners who donate their time or reduce their fees because they believe in NIKELA:

• Michael with M3NewMedia is our social media marketing wizard
• Jim with Blue Dove Designs is our WordPress expert driving the website
• Sand with Capture Ur Life Photography creates our eye catching videos
• Frank from Frank Van Egmond Photography gets great shots at some of our projects
• Noah with DonationPay provides our donation solution so your gift is processed securely
• Mihai is our online fundraising consultant whose expertise we’re just starting to tap into
• Liz Williams is our trusty CPA
• Robert Harris our IT expert with Austin Digital
• Joi with Zappy Springs Photography donated our headshots used for the web and promotions

LOOKING AHEAD at 2011

Based on the ups and downs of our first few months we are calibrating and scheming. Here are our plans thus far:

• Stay the course with our social media marketing
• Get an on the ground fundraiser and grant writer involved
• Step up our online fundraising with the help of an online fundraising expert
• Limit our project offerings for the first half of the year to 5 or 6 so that we can go into much greater depth to promote each one...  

They include: 

• Leopard research
• Rescue / rehab
• Bush school sponsorship
• Celebrate Wildlife pilot
• Community outreach
• Anti-Poaching (rhino in particular)

• Focus heavily on getting the Celebrate Wildlife curriculum in place with the help of the rapidly expanding team on the ground in KZN. Funding the pilot will be a crucial focus (more details of this coming soon)
• Find academia experts to endorse our work
• Find celebrity who can get excited about our cause
• Increase number of “Stories from Africa” presentations to groups, clubs, associations (feel free to refer us to friends or colleagues in the Central Texas area)
• Plan our ‘annual’ SA wildlife conservation sites tour for later this year or early 2012
• Invite people like you to Get Involved via donating time, expertise, money and in any creative way you’d like to help the African wildlife and the kids learn to do their part.

visit http://www.nikela.org/ our official website 



Photo by Frank http://www.fvemedia.com/





New Year’s Resolutions… Revolutions?

Have you set your New Years resolutions yet? Or have they fallen by the wayside before January is over as mine so often do?

In my experience when making real changes in my own life it requires a REVOLUTION not merely a resolution. What? A “resolution” is a degree, declaration, promise, or pledge to do something. While a “revolution” is a rebellion, revolt, mutiny, or riot.

While going to grad school I learned that social change happens in several ways, it can happen fast or gradually. In the western world change is general quite gradual as it is brought about by peaceful, mostly democratic means using resolutions. Radical or almost immediate change on the other hand requires a revolution.

For most of us the word “revolution” has real negative implications. It’s associated with conflict, war, bloodshed and misery. On a personal level it may imply a cleansing of the body, a 360 change in attitude or behavior, or a dramatic spiritual renewal.

This year I’ve made New Year’s Revolutions. For I have found this to be essential if I am to be the person NIKELA needs to assure her success, and failure is not an option.

Please visit our website at http://www.nikela.org/

Where Exactly Does Your Donation Go?

"So how do you get paid?" asked a new friend this last weekend.
With 100% of your donation going to the project and expert of your choice that is a very valid question.  As a public charity we're not a private foundation with a huge pile of money from some money tree.

A public charity is a community effort and relies primarily on the support of people like you.  However, as this image of our DONATION page shows it clearly indicates that 100% of your donation goes to your project.

Of course, it gives you the option to donate separately to the Nikela Operations Fund if you want to assist with administrative costs, website maintenance, not to mention keep gas in our old Explorer.

If you haven't already found a project to support visit the website today at http://www.nikela.org/
Giving what you can to the Nikela Operations Fund will also be greatly appreciated.

308 Rhino Lost… What Nikela’s Doing About It

2010 turned out to be the deadliest year for the rhino’s living in South Africa. Only a couple of weeks before we met with Will and Carol in early October one of their four rhino was savagely dehorned and left to die.

According to, Robin, my young anti-poaching friend in South Africa the final death toll for 2010 stands at 308. A staggering loss, almost triple of the number from the previous year, and that’s not counting the orphaned calves that died from personal injuries, starvation or trauma.

Amongst all this tragedy there are glimmers of hope for the rhino’s survival as locals band together to ward of poachers and trained anti-poaching professionals are brought in.

Les, is one such anti-poaching professional. This coming February he is travelling to the USA to strategize with us. Together we plan to launch an awareness and fund raising campaign to assist anti-poaching efforts to do our part to make 2011 a much safer year for the rhino.

One way you can help right now is put me in touch with the person who can introduce me to Marc Ecko. Marc is the founder of the Ecko clothing retail stores head quartered in New York. What does Marc have to do with rhinos? The rhino is the clothier’s mascot or logo. Why? Because, according to the young store clerk I spoke to at Grapevine Mills in Dallas, the rhino is the only animal that runs only forward. Marc sees only one direction for his company… forward.

So, if you know someone who knows someone who knows Marc, please email me as I’d love to invite Marc to meet with Les while he is here.

Animal and Human Behavior

"It's the IRS!" I whisper to Russ as I almost drop my cell phone with excitement.

Here we are with our daughter and husband walking along a brushy creek looking for another blue heron when my almost out of battery phone rings.

Now, not too many people get excited by a call from the IRS, neither do I, normally, but this was about our pending 501 (c)(3) tax exempt status. It was mid July when we sent off our huge application packet to the IRS. It was two months later that we got an acknowledgement of receipt letter. Since late October Russ has called twice for an update. "It's waiting to be assigned an agent" was the reply both times. Just before Christmas they had gotten to the June submittals... we were getting closer!

The herons are forgotten and I literally skipped along the path like a young school girl. Only four relatively simple matters needed to be addressed, all to be clearly outlined in Karen's communiqué due to be mailed right away. That coveted letter is almost within our grasp! Whoooopeeeee!

What's that bird doing in the zebra's ear?

Then, later that same day Frank emailed me that a CD with the great photos he took at the Bird of Prey Sanctuary were on their way. Now Frank lives in the Netherlands, we connected via LinkedIn. We both love wildlife and are dedicated to its protection and conservation, so he totally donated his time and expertise to Nikela, for which we are very grateful.

Soon we'll have a slideshow of his fabulous photos depicting Shannon at work, her amazing birds of prey, and the kids who are privileged to visit the sanctuary. In the meantime please take a look at this short animal behavior slide show of Frank's.

Oh and do visit our new website at http://www.nikela.org/