ACCRA SOUP EVENT SLATED FOR FEB, 27TH
PROFILE OF ACCRA SOUP
Accra SOUP is a micro-granting dinner to fund, celebrate and support creative social projects in Accra. It is Accra’s response to the global SOUP movement started in Detroit. It’s a simple concept: people turn up to the dinner, pay 5 Ghana cedis (minimum donation) at the door and they get soup and a vote.
WHAT ARE THEY VOTING FOR?
Attendees listen to four people pitch an idea to improve Accra. Pitchers cannot talk for more than four minutes and cannot use PowerPoint. The presentations are followed by four questions from the audience.
The ideas that are presented range from art, urban agriculture, social justice, social work, education, technology and more. In fact, any brilliant idea that can change Accra.
After the presentations, delicious soup (light soup) is served; Ghana style. The audience is encouraged to come along with their own foods as well to add to it and share with others; i.e. Potluck style. But this is optional.
At SOUP, attendees eat, meet, talk, share resources, enjoy art and most importantly; VOTE for the idea they think benefits Accra the most.
At the end of the night, the money and the votes are counted. The idea with the most votes gets to take home all the 5 cedis donations taken at the door and use it to fund their plan, with the promise that, they will come back in three months to report on their progress.
No agreements are signed and winners do not need to possess grade (A) financial knowledge.
They just tell the public what they want to do and then it is the public that determines whose project they like the most in a truly democratic process and they back it up with their 5 cedis. If you get to the door and you would like to give more than 5 cedis that would also be absolutely fantastic.
Accra SOUP’s organizers are independently funded and do not take a percentage of any of the money collected at the door. The pot of cash goes directly to the winning project to carry out their project.
The first SOUP dinner was in August 2015 while the second was in November. The winners for August, Action Accra have since gone ahead to complete its construction of a playground for Jaynii Orphanage (behind the lighthouse in Jamestown). November’s Kids and Math team are continuing their campaign of making mathematics creative and fun for young kids. The team recently donated tens of books to the Ashaiman Presbyterian School; all with the help of SOUP funding.
The next Accra SOUP dinner will be held on Saturday February 27, 2016 at the Ghana Institute of Journalism from 5pm to 7pm.
We have helped raise a total of about 600 cedis after two dinners for these small projects. The saying; put your money where your mouth could not have been any clearer.
Contact Accra SOUP
Facebook: Accra SOUP Twitter: @AccraSOUP
accrasoup@gmail.com 050 002 5247/ 020 788 0302
