Volanity

Provides structured non-academic learning to foster a holistic development amongst differently privileged students at Institutions through a streamlined volunteering gateway across India.

How many students from low-income families have access to holistic education? How many of them are well aware of all the potential career opportunities that are available to them?  How many of them are engaged in holistic education inside or outside of school? How many of them are equipped with the skills required to stand shoulder-to-shoulder as global citizens in this century?

An ideal citizen, I believe, is one that is educated—not only through what is taught in textbooks, but also through a holistic combination of street skills, general knowledge, and artistic development. Schools and Non-Governmental Organizations are severely understaffed and have teachers merely for core academic subjects (usually STEM-oriented), which restricts intellectual growth for students. With limited access to extracurricular education and life skills, their decision-making and critical thinking skills are underdeveloped,  and they’re forced instead to fall into the trap of rote learning. 

With Volanity, we aspire to build a community of thinkers open to understanding and processing information before coming to their conclusions.

Schools are not the great equalizers they were expected to be, and the socioeconomic gradient still exists despite the widespread attainment of education. Holistic development requires more than standardized formal education. This includes physical well-being and appropriate motor development, emotional health and a positive approach to new experiences, and age-appropriate social knowledge, competence, language skills, general knowledge, and cognitive skills. School readiness reflects a child’s ability to succeed both academically and socially in a school environment.

A Paediatr report concluded that children from lower-income households score significantly lower on measures of vocabulary and communication skills, knowledge of numbers, copying and symbol use, ability to concentrate, and cooperative play with other children than those from higher-income households. In my time volunteering with low-income school students in my city, I understood the implications of this study. Students were shy, in turmoil, unable to cope academically, and lacked enriching learning.

The extant process for volunteering, moreover, is riddled with a lack of structure and coordination; its ambiguity and pressure cause uncertainties amongst volunteers, deterring their ability to help even if they wish to. This issue was often neglected, so streamlining the process required a lot of on-ground research.

With nearly 45% of all schools across India being government or low-income schools—with 180 such schools in my home city—I estimated that over forty million students across the country could barely access education beyond their books. I would strive until I was able to do everything in my capacity to level the playing field.

The rural youth, I believe, need to be educated such that they can take pride in their histories and cultures, be capable of making their judgments and stand by their reasonings—their education needs to be decolonized.

My solution is Volanity–a social organization that imparts non-academic holistic learning amongst students at lower-income schools across India. Focusing on social, emotional, and ethical development through a comprehensive framework, we help develop a variety of soft skills among our students to enable them to be well-rounded global citizens, and expose them to a larger world of opportunities. Volanity’s main offerings are its volunteer-driven, personalized learning and digital content creation. 

With us students find their horizons broadened and become more confident in pursuing bigger ambitions, no longer limited now by their lack of knowledge or opportunities - and especially not by their demographic. 

We approached the volunteering process in a novel manner. The interface for applications through Volanity’s website is simpler and more accessible. Offering more than fifty 1-hour time slots, Volunteers can now align their interests, locations, and times—that too almost 40 times faster (54 seconds compared to 37 minutes). It allows bookings up to 6 months in advance, with email reminders that link to their Google/Apple calendars. A 72-Hour cancellation window is made available to both the users and organizations. We track their hours volunteered using a regulated check-in system. The primary focus is on teaching subjects beyond those found in textbooks—like art, music theory, and confidence development among others—while providing career-based exposure to students in non-traditional fields. Volanity is now a family of 156 volunteers and over 2700 students under direct impact at our 14 partner NGO schools. More than 17000 students will access our digital resources by March 2023. Since its inception, conversion rates have increased from 14% to 78% (mostly student volunteers between the ages of 13-24). Although we function primarily in Delhi, we have reached out to Mumbai and Bangalore, and we have had remote volunteers across India and even the UAE!

Volanity has 2 primary stakeholders: Students and volunteers.

Students

 Volanity is presently host to 2700+ students, most of whom come from low-income families (with an annual income below 820,000 INR or 10,000 USD) and reside in metropolitan cities with parents who migrated from their rural towns in search of a higher standard of living. Within this group, the number of children left unsupervised after school is increasing, both for single-parent households and dual-earner families. We aim to create a difference for each of them by resonating with their wonderous curiosity and broadening their horizons. 

These students are curious and imaginative; and while they are excited to learn, they have a limited understanding of the opportunities beyond the traditionally accepted aspirations of engineering and the medical sciences. 

It is up to us as their peers, then, to ensure they have equal access to resources, so that they have the opportunities to alternative professional trajectories than those forcibly promoted by Indian families, while also indicating what learning these skills will lead them to. 

The students would often be hesitant to communicate with our volunteers,  under-confident in their grasp of the English language. We empower them with sessions on communication skills and ensure continuous progress. The organizations and I wanted to invoke a feeling of self-awareness for the students so that they can chart their personal growth and invoke their critical-thinking skills so that they can assess, explore and grow. 

We work in tandem with NGO schools across India. As a volunteer, I was devastated that they laid such little stress on non-academic education,  barely able to make ends meet with the limited capital they had through donations. When I requested the trustees to hire extracurricular educators, the most common response was, ‘All of this is only for well-funded schools, not us’. Knowing the importance of non-academic education in the holistic development of adolescents and pre-teens, I was taken aback. During the pandemic, such low-income schools had to dive further into their remnant CSR Funds to keep the students in school by providing them with education at a nominal cost.  Even the institutions that considered my plea ultimately dismissed it due to this shortage. It was on me now to educate the students and organizations, and also develop a free solution to ensure that the student’s extracurricular learning was not hampered. I held workshops, explaining how extracurricular activities not only help kids hone their "soft skills" and other abilities integral to successful careers in their adult lives but can also help boost academic performance. We sat down and brainstormed ways in which Volanity could help the students without tampering with their current schooling, to not cause a burden on the organizations themselves. We structured the list of requirements to execute Volanity’s vision and conducted crowdfunding campaigns for them, gathering funds for equipment like guitars, art supplies, mics, gavels, projector screens, and more.

At present, I am developing a curriculum for Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Traditional Skills required for young adults to thrive in the 21st Century’s evolving digital economy. These skills would be disseminated through interactive video lectures, and the process kept on track by way of well-defined learning objectives.

I aim to propagate this content amongst Volanity’s partner NGOs and Government Institutions, as also to ensure the presence of infrastructure to consume this content.

Volunteers

As I mentioned in the previous section, Volanity’s premier task was to improve the system in place for volunteering applications. By organizing the slots according to one’s timing and interest preferences–and reducing the time it took to confirm their preferred slot–we found that candidates increasingly appreciated the convenience. We made it possible for them to plan ahead by offering bookings in advance, as also to meet unexpected emergencies with a cancellation window. 

In other words, we untangle an otherwise uncertain process to make it easier for all our stakeholders

During my very first pitch, I was asked, ‘Why are you doing this?’

I was baffled, unsure how to answer. I told the lady I would get back to her the next day. As soon as the Zoom call dropped, I sat back and reflected upon my Whys: Why do I want to help people? 

Why do I want to work in this particular field? 

And the most pressing of them all–Why me? 

Little did I realize, I didn’t need to foster a glamourous backstory–just the truth.

Exiting the grand facades of wealth in my city, I was made astutely aware of the disparities of luxuries as we passed by the slums. A whole other world, barely five kilometers apart.

As a curious nine-year-old, I would ask myself,  ‘What about their children?’, ‘Where do they go to school?’ ‘Does it look anything like mine?’ ‘Are they given art lessons?’ I got my answers from our household helper who told me about her five children.

She told me about her children’s passions, and how they loved subjects like astronomy, literature, mathematics, fashion, and politics; but owing to the lack of facilities at the schools they went to, they would be confined to their school curriculum to prepare themselves for the entrance examinations–a rat race that silenced passions along the way. That’s when I realized that  I wanted to do something about this.

So, with nothing but my backpack I set out to understand what volunteering entailed. I began by teaching art and the fundamentals of design.

I understood, over time, that the tardy and often vague application process thwarted many from lending their expertise,  no matter how eager they were. Moreover, I understood the issue from a student’s perspective rather than that of an adult, which in turn gave me lucid clarity on their pain points. During lockdown particularly, I could empathize with the issues that the students faced which formal educators could not see. Seeing the schools, I could tell that the shortage of resources limited the visions and ambitions of the students–often the same as mine, I found over time–and their passions and individuality were silenced. I wanted to find a solution because I was angry at the disparity in exposure that followed the disparity of wealth. With a heart set on finding a solution, I started Volanity.

I’ve been a volunteer ever since. In those six years, I’ve had what I can only describe as a humbling experience. Working with over 8 NGOs and conducting multiple fundraisers, I loved how happy these children would become (and how happy that made me). Along the way, I worked with people who resonated with that passion and understood my concerns. They knew how exciting it was to wake up on a Saturday morning and be greeted with broad smiles and the sweetest ‘Namaste!’, knowing you are making a difference. 

I strongly believe my team has made an impact: leveraging their contacts, volunteering to further their understanding, giving new perspectives, and taking care of various aspects. Sidharth, my teammate, volunteered extensively to teach students Coding during the pressing times of Covid-19. We would discuss the problems with online volunteering and the amount of patience required to ensure that every child benefited–despite the limited equipment and internet access for the students. 

Over time, of course, we built that resilience to deal with the difficulties during volunteering; and, as soon as we saw Covid-19 restrictions relax, we did not wait for a moment before moving forward with our user research. Being a fine artist for over 12 years, I have known the importance of fine detailing, as well as stepping back to see the big picture. I have been a problem solver by heart. I cannot rest until I can ideate a better way to do ‘traditionally accepted’ activities. Sidharth, on the other hand, is extremely technical and has over 7 years of experience in coding and digital development. Together we utilized our school's and parents’ resources to expand our reach of NGOs in our network.

The Team

The Founder and CEO, Taarush Grover (yours truly), is an experienced volunteer who set out to simplify the volunteering process after having experienced the ins and outs of volunteering with Nonprofits. He has deep business acumen and has spearheaded 3 startup ventures. He has leadership experience from leading his house–with about 500 people–in school. He is also the principal spokesperson as he has sufficient experience delivering speeches to crowds of over 2000 people. He is a skilled fine artist of 12 years and utilizes the same design thinking methodologies to help Volanity grow. 

Our CTO, Sidharth Roy, works on interface development and maintenance, along with leading a tech team for Volanity. He is certified in Python and Java with deep knowledge and understanding of front-end development. He co-leads the volunteer outreach program and technical integration with new tech-based solutions. He has held leadership positions in music including 11 band performances and being the captain of the sports teams repeatedly. He has represented Volanity in front of crowds of 1800 people. 

Chief Operations Officer Naina Dhawan spearheads the smooth functioning and rubrics of the organization. Tracking organization needs and unique volunteering cases and more. She has been an active volunteer with the Yatan foundation for 6 years while holding leadership positions in school and projects.

With nothing but my backpack, I set out to understand what volunteering meant. Over the years, I worked at organizations such as The Sanshil Foundation, Pragati School, SRF Foundation, Dream Girl Foundation, and Harmony House, among others. I volunteered extensively during Covid, trying my level best to conduct the online sessions whenever possible. As my passion evolved, so did the topics I taught. I started with sketching, watercolors, and the fundamentals of design; and as time passed, students learned the technical aspects of drawing, the width of the ideation process, developing products for social good, and even the creativity involved in engineering.

Having experienced first-hand the issues faced by the volunteers, I understood the complexity of the process. One would spend so many hours drafting cold emails, planning mutual schedules, and creating course content and technical details that by the time it came to the act itself most would be exhausted by the elaborate and intricate process. The idea of Volanity came from the tedious nature of the volunteering process and how it limited one from extending help to NGO Schools, no matter how eager they were This, alongside the lack of resources and infrastructure at the NGO schools, was harming the growth of students. In conversation with the director of a school, I was told, ‘Son, we have only 3 teachers–Mathematics, Science, and English, it is impossible to earn funds for co/extra-curricular teachers’. This deeply affected me, as I understood the impact of extracurricular education on my own personal development and skill building, and how it was vital for students to develop those skills to become future-ready citizens.

In November 2021, I started on-ground research to understand and pinpoint these issues in depth, in an attempt to generate a satisfactory solution. I interviewed Founders of 43 Government and Non-Governmental Organizations, 132 students at the NGO Schools, and 97 independent student volunteers to understand their dissatisfaction and work on their pain points. Students would either be extremely interested in volunteering but lacked a formal structure to adhere to, too overwhelmed by the process, or uninterested.

It was on me to create a solution that would ensure that potential volunteers would follow through on their desire to help, and build a solution that would bridge the gap between both beneficiaries, making the interaction simple and streamlined. Over 6 months, I developed a prototype of the interface using this research, refining it along the way. In March 2022, I started the user-testing rounds to streamline the process even further. Three months and 7 rounds of tests involving 41 volunteers later, I officially launched Volanity.

As the volunteer traffic increased, I understood that we were limiting the number of students we impacted to low-income students in metropolitan cities only. I reached out to government school teachers and Principals in parts of Hisar–a tier 3 city in Haryana–and understood that my solution had the potential to benefit students in smaller towns and remote villages across India. After extensive discussion and deliberation with NGO directors at institutions of learning, we were able to identify potential subjects such as creative thinking, negotiation, and problem-solving amongst others, which would benefit students’ holistic development.

With subsequent research, we found that students who received Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) instruction had achievement scores that averaged 11 percentile points higher than those who did not, along with higher rates of employment, and educational fulfillment in the future. With the help of an eager team of volunteers, I initiated the process of creating the path to develop digital content for SEL and Traditional Skills required for young adults to thrive in the 21st century’s evolving digital economy. I dove into the research to curate digital content for students in 3 different age groups–5-8 years, 9-12 years, and 13-18 years, with domain-specific content hosted by our diverse network of corporate volunteers as guest speakers.

A large part of the idea was to form an organization that could work around the preexisting institutions for learning. Volanity is going to be a platform that will squeeze into the gaps left by NGOs and Education centers without hampering their own functioning and methods, yet helping them work more efficiently. Automation is the key to building a platform, and I too work on that principle.

A lack of structure has plagued the present volunteering process in India, so I approached the problem in a novel manner. The interface for applications through Volanity is simpler and more accessible for volunteers (who range between ages 7-90). It takes an average of 54 seconds to book compared to at least 37 minutes by the erstwhile process. Volunteers choose from more than 50 1-hour time slots offered on the website, with options to match a variety of preferred interests, locations, and times. It allows bookings up to 6 months in advance, with email reminders that link to their Google/Apple calendars. A 72-Hour cancellation window is made available to both the users and organizations. We track the hours volunteered using a Check-In system approved by an on-site stakeholder. We teach subjects beyond that which is found in regular textbooks, like art applications, music theory, confidence development, etc, while providing career-based exposure to students in non-traditional fields.

We also focus on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Traditional Skills required for young adults to thrive in the 21st Century’s evolving digital economy. These skills would be disseminated through interactive video lectures, and the process kept on track by way of well-defined learning objectives.

As a not-for-profit organization run by proactive students, our partners trust us and that helps maintain the longevity of our relationships. With Volanity, we aspire to build a community of thinkers who are open to understanding and processing information before coming to their own conclusions. We are best known for our “Ground-up” approach to teaching keeping each student in mind and creating content and finalizing volunteer engagement.

I aim to take Volanity ahead and set up an international sphere where-in students from around the globe will have access to holistic education and development. I will fill in the gaps in traditional education after finding the intersection of where problems overlap. I hope to make Volanity an international platform to level the playing field for students and also to broaden the horizon and introduce students to activities performed on the other side of the globe. I hope to empower students to become more confident global citizens who are not limited by their lack of knowledge or opportunities. I wish to host events with leaders from varied spheres who will talk to students about their sectors and understand the future prospects for the same. All efforts will be made keeping in mind the goal to prepare students of varied demographics to face global challenges and enable them to strive for sustainability in their respective domains.

To achieve my goals by January 2024 I plan to:

1. understand education laws in-depth to identify their shortcomings.

2. Develop an AI-based user profiling system that recommends volunteers to their top concepts to which they can impart education. Based on: Their resources, their knowledge index, their non-traditional skills, and the Level of the uniqueness of their skills, technical parameters amongst many more through a series of short questionnaires for which I have already started research. 

3. Host volunteer drives in schools not only in my region but across India. I have conducted many webinars with student volunteers across continents and hope to empower the volunteers to take the initiative and further expand their on-ground reach by fostering ‘Chapters’ in their local communities

4. Bring cultural and regional education front and center. Example: Conducting workshops with native Kuchipudi Volunteers to teach their craft to learners across the globe to prevent it from perishing.

We operate on an automation-based system. I have listed our user flow below:

Using Login portal with password
1. Name 
2. Age
3. Phone Number 
5. Institution (school/college/company)
6. What are your skills? (Multiple Choice Question) example - Graphic Design, Javascript, Python, French, App Development 7. Upload your CV/resume/any credentials you have 
8. Do you have any previous volunteer experience? If Yes - How many hours?
9. Languages (preferential question) 
10. Timings that usually work for you/ potential timings that work for you (example 4 pm on Thursday) -  This can be a calendar slot type question
11. Acknowledge the volunteer code of conduct 

https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1Jzs_vRtEnAvp7QoRFA6i2pnqUDsW4wjnP6QKA82WaSw/mobilebasic

After the user profile has been created- Stay logged in 

Every time I open the website now,
I will see the booking page right up front - 
1. Pick your time slot (for example - similar to the calendar on the current home page (refer to https://www.volanity.com/)
2. At a given time slot (for example 4 pm on Thursday) - Pick the NGO you want to work with 
3. The location + photo + contact details of the organization should come up 
4. Would you like to volunteer online / offline (select) 
4. Show booking summary 
5. Confirm Booking Request

After the booking request was sent-
1. The confirmation email is sent to the USER and the NGO 
2. NGO email confirms the NGO students' availability at that time. 
3. NGO Email mentions the volunteer details 
3. If approved by NGO, for that date and time, send a confirmation email to Volunteer
4. The NGO and Volunteer can cancel the booking at any time (similar to uber) up to 24 hours before the session. 

When a volunteer logs in/reaches the NGO, 
1. the NGO has a WAY to confirm that the volunteer has reached (like UBER) 
2. After the volunteering session is over -  the NGO confirms that the Volunteer was good
3. Data of volunteering sessions should be automated and backed up in an excel sheet so that hours of volunteers can be tracked for certificates. 

Volanity has positively impacted Primary school students in 10 Local Institutions of learning (NGO Schools) and high school students in 14 Local Institutions of learning (NGO Schools) by providing them exposure to develop and foster their key skills and passions

• Enabled 2500+ students under direct impact to become future-ready global citizens who will empathize and help developments around the globe

• Financially and socially support the development of extra-curricular facilities in 5+ institutions of learning

• Provided socially-responsible and empathizing volunteers opportunities to support their local institutions of learning to make a quantifiable impact

• Collected funding and developed extracurricular facilities in 5+ institutions of learning

Over the next 3 months:

• We will phase our second range of expansion to imbibe more volunteers, hence targeting metropolitan cities. 

• We will be present in 23-24 Institutions of learning - with more public-private partnerships to be established across Delhi, Gurgram, Pune, Hyderabad, Ranchi, Vadodara, Mumbai, Chennai, Banaras, and Chandighar. 

Our next phase (3 to 9 months) includes:

• Expansion from a ground-up approach, setting up cost-friendly maker-space inspired education centers in remote villages for easy access to our learning resources and content. These will be promoted to be in a private partnership with Pre-existing Institutions of learning. 

• We will also be setting up learning centers across northern India. Currently, I have identified and spoken to the municipality at Gorakpur and am in conversation with three other tier-4 towns’ rural governments. 

Our next phase (9 to 12 months) includes:

• I will pitch Volanity to be integrated into the education system of India through the Honourable Education Minister of India along with the CBSE and ICSE boards. 

• Further develop and build a community by sensitization, ushering ‘New-age’ education across India.

The aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Pandemic causes innumerable tangible and intangible hindrances to our operation. Prior to the pandemic, our volunteers used to go in person to the organizations. Mid-march 2020, all our partner Organisations barred their doors, and students were left stranded at home, they felt claustrophobic, lacking any of the freedom they had in school. In the moment of crisis, close to 30% of low-income students dropped out of school. While analyzing the cause in depth, I understood that those who persevered to ensure they could continue their education faced innumerable challenges. Households of three to five children were restricted to one smartphone for their online classes. In such situations, the biases prevailed and we saw gender discrimination, age prioritization, and overruling parental control which further curbed the students’ potential for education. I feel that the bias regarding the prioritization in education is vital to be addressed and being able to voice my opinions on a larger platform will have a much more profound impact on the stakeholders and those related to them. 

• Being a student myself, I have always felt undervalued by the organizations I have partnered with. Due to a lack of formal education in the social-service sector, I have personally faced discrimination which has hindered my dream of promoting peer-to-peer education. 

• The lack of exposure to Volanity has also limited our reach to students. I have to often cold call students around the globe to ask them to promote volunteering in their schools, however, lack of exposure has limited our reach even amongst the broad market of the student volunteer community.

• Volunteer incentivization is difficult as often student volunteers back down due to the lack of benefits that Volanity is able to offer them due to our limited resources. Student volunteers often demand Letters of Recommendation amongst other incentives which we are unable to provide, being a student-led organization. 

• We have often faced financial constraints while developing ideas. For example, the prototype which I intended to make for the makers-lab was cut short because of the lack of funds to finish the project (estimated to cost 400-700 USD)

Volanity currently has two groups of partners, 

Our registered partner Non-government organizations include: 

- Dream Girl Foundation 

- Sanshil foundation (Bagiya school) 

- Vidya Foundation - All three schools 

- Pragati Foundation School

- Saath Saath Foundation - they are a moderator to nine of our partner non-government organizations

- Harmony House 

- Dream Girl Foundation 

- Lotus Petal Foundation 

- Many More. 

Our Volunteers are at institutions such as: 

- The Shri Ram School - Aravali 

- Shiv Nadar School 

- Shikshatar School

- The Shri Ram School - Maulsari 

- DLF Private Limited 

- Delhi Public School 

- Scottish High International School 

- Soon to be joined by Shoolini University. 

Stakeholders: Students and Volunteers

Format of reception: Digital interface through pre-recorded sessions or live streams (including webinars). Physical volunteering activities as well. 

Cost structure: Website maintenance, database maintenance, transportation cost for sessions outside of my region. Development of mobile Application, development of AI/integration of existing AI

We provide an easy-to-use interface, ease of volunteering, and simplicity in the process to our volunteers. Our calendar automation system has been highly appreciated by many corporate volunteers to ensure that their sessions are on time and productive. Our students have a simple interface that is translatable into any regional language and can work on any electronic device with a screen. Our offline lectures also enable our rural students to work without wifi availability.  

We will be following a Social Enterprise Business Model. We aim to continue functioning as a non-profit organization in a Public-private partnership.

Our Business model includes two key elements:

1. Our operating strategy includes a continued interest in hiring students/interns/volunteers for the operations at Volanity. We currently have a team of students (below 18 years of age) to keep the peer-to-peer aim front and center. 
2. Our resource strategy is to raise capital we will work with DLF Foundation, The Shri Ram Foundation, Benori Capital, BharatPe, OfficeBana.com, and Zomato India amongst other private companies that keep a 2% margin from their profits as their corporate social responsibility (CSR wings). 

Our social enterprise is Integrated. i.e. Volanity's activities overlap with the social programs and are created as a resource and value-providing mechanisms to expand/enhance the mission of the organizations 

We have a market Intermediary model clubbed with a Low-income client model: 

We provide services to clients to help them access markets. With Low start-up costs and marketing costs, Creative distribution systems, and high operating efficiencies. We cater to low-income clientele offering services to clients but focusing on providing access to those who couldn’t otherwise afford it.