Making 7 Cups Sustainable
7 Cups is a very unique organization. We dont necessarily do things in what might be considered normal or typical ways. Instead, we tend to stay close to our community, keep our options open, learn, and evolve as we grow. We believe that this model allows us to discover the path that will most directly lead to us fulfilling our mission.
Some companies would have started with revenue right at the beginning. We didnt because we thought that focusing on income at the start would force us down the wrong path. Our vision is to be the emotional support system for the Internet. This is a hard goal. Focusing on money right out of the gates would have made it an impossible goal. We knew that and instead poured our energy into figuring out more important things.
Well, now that weve been on this journey for 2 years, it is now time to address the revenue issue. We have to take steps to make sure that 7 Cups cups exists and, indeed, thrives for years and years to come. This is not something novel to 7 Cups. Every organization has to address the income issue. It doesnt matter if you are a for-profit or a non-profit. Regardless, you have to generate income one way or another if you want to continue to survive and grow.
Fortunately, we are not recreating the wheel here. I wrote in another post that the organizations I feel that we have the most in common with are the Samaritans and Alcoholics Anonymous. We share many similarities, including: we are volunteer organizations, we help millions of people, and people get help and then give back as listeners/counselors/sponsors. These organizations have had unparalleled success in reaching people and accomplishing a tremendous amount of good with very little resources. Theyve also been around for decades. In the future, Id love for someone to be able to say the same thing about 7 Cups. However, in order to be counted in their company, we have to make sure that 7 Cups is sustainable.
We can look further to these organizational models for guidance. The Samaritans are sustainable because they raise $11,000,000 in donations each and every year. That sounds like a lot, but I actually believe it is pretty minimal considering all the good that they accomplish. We can learn from them here and create our own ways for people to donate to 7 Cups. We are still fleshing out the details. Itll be 100% optional. If people believe in our mission/vision and want to support what we are doing, then well give them the option of making a recurring monthly donation.
We can also look to for for-profit models for guidance. Software companies generate income by selling products to consumers or selling products to organizations. At this point in time it makes more sense for us to sell products to non-profits, companies, universities, and health systems. One product weve been working on is the student support system. In this model, we create a little 7 Cups island that a university can use to scale support for their students. They brand it and recruit listeners from their school to listen to other students at their school that are going through a hard time. The plan is to have a free version and a premium version. The premium version would include things like access to data/reporting, single sign-on, paths for specific issues, and custom branding. This same model works for health systems and nonprofits. We havent walked too far down this path, but there are some positive signs and some indication that we can use this as one stream of revenue to keep 7 Cups sustainable. Ill write more on this in a separate post this week.
Im not at all interested in advertising or any other options that would tax the system or make it harder for people to seek help. Streams of revenue will always be evaluated in the context of our mission. If it inhibits us or makes it harder to reach our mission, then we will not consider it as a viable option. If it helps make us sustainable and helps us reach our mission, then well consider it a viable option. To be clear, 7 Cups will always be free and accessible to all.
In reviewing the above, we see that we can learn from and incorporate elements from both the non-profit and for-profit worlds. 7 Cups as a social enterprise for-profit straddles both worlds. I set 7 Cups up this way intentionally, because I want us to be robust and antifragile. If your organization only accepts donations, then you can be significantly impacted when there is an economic downturn like a recession or depression. People simply give less during these times. If we were 100% dependent on donations, then that would threaten our organization if we were unable to keep donations coming in at a reliable rate. On the other hand, if your organization only sells products, then you can only survive as long as people continue to buy your products. If 7 Cups were 100% dependent on selling products, then our organization would come under threat if we were unable to sell enough products. The model I have outlined here incorporates both elements to increase the chances of 7 Cups surviving and thriving in both good and bad times.
We will be releasing the new design very soon. Once that is live and working well, well roll out some of the above options that Ive discussed. Look for another post soon on the white label version I discussed where any organization can launch their own support system. Thanks!
All, thanks for the helpful feedback and willingness to further help spread the word when we release the stand alone support systems. We plan to get the new design released in the next couple of days and then focus on a number of other smaller items. I'm hoping we have the independent support systems live in the next two weeks. I'll keep you updated!
Will you work on the phone app as well? It's kind of...bad compared to the actual 7cups site...
To be honest, the mobile app isn't that bad compared to what it could of been, the fact it's optimized for mobile devices is good, sure there is a few issues with it, and the UI needs a good update, but you have to understand you need a good UX for mobile, and it's expensive. So for what it's worth, it's rather good as it is.
Hey Glen, if it's not too much trouble, could you have it made so moderators if they're lurking they appear in the participants list, so when they join chat they're automatically appearing in list? otherwise some mods just lurk and warn without saying anything.
Thanks :)
launch it in the most 10 popular languages
I dont get sound with nofications
I am just catching up with this thread. I am an older listener, I have never had someone younger say I was not relating to them. I believe, in the same way a doctor does not have to have had your illness to treat you, so listeners do not need to have had the same life experiences to be relevant in their comments. Hopefully, people can set aside their own needs and opinions and be emotionally available. However, I do see one potential issue. If you offer a set level of response to a vulnerable group, as on a university campus, you may need liability insurance, I would not think without referencing who the listeners are, degrees, licenses, affiliations, etc, you could find insurance. This seems to defeat the idea of anonymous responders. Something to ponder, perhaps. I personally would like to see the service get some publicity as an alternative. A counseling center, mental health clinic, private therapist, are all good sources. I am comfortable being among them, but not in competition with them. They serve a very real and needed function. Our function is different and I would hope we maintain that difference,
Eh, of you mean have it linked in then no. I definitely think there should be an option to connect elsewhere though
Update: I consulted with an expert on this and she had a very good idea and helped me see a middle ground here. This is what she recommended. Instead of using the word donate use the word back - so instead of donate to 7 cups it'd be Back 7 Cups. I really like that idea and think it is more consistent. Additionally, before, I was struggling with balancing the right perks for backing 7 cups. I didn't want to add items that would limit the amount of good we can do for everyone. I believe we came up with a good compromise that will help us reach sustainability. Here is how it works, when a person backs 7 cups they also upgrade their account. When they upgrade they get the following:
-Access to personalized growth paths. These will start with basic skill development and then they'll move into things like mastering stress, building stronger relationships, becoming more resilient etc. There will be around 20 customized paths that a person will be able to take. Upgrading gets you access to all of them.
-An optional sustainability icon that can be displayed on profile pic or under messages. This can also be shared with one other person on 7 cups to indicate that it is a shared gift.
-A monthly email from me sharing my top of mind thoughts and new 7 Cups developments.
The growth path as we know it now and the rest of the site would function as it does now. We'd just add these extra perks for those who back 7 cups.
How does this update sound?
@GlenM sounds so exciting!
And I will take the path for learn to become my own best friend !
No offence glen but it doesn't sound too good. It's pretty much a blank check. It's like saying "if you give me $1 I'll give you $1" - your best bet is to do a kickstarter or a gofundme to raise the money to enhance 7cups.
@GlenM
I think back is really good. It makes it sound more like a community goal- we're here to support, just as 7cups is here to support. I like it. Anyway, if I was going to back something, those are probably some things I'd want. Now, I'd back 7cups with just this, but honestly if I was going to back something, I'd want a bit more than paths and a letter (although I know it's limited what you can do and I understand that).
What about the ability to edit our own forum posts? I don't know if that's a forthcoming feature, but I know if I didn't have that option, I'd want it. Or, maybe a free swag gift after a certain amount donated? Once we start doing merch if that is a thing you decide to do. As for the updates about 7cups, perhaps people who donate would learn about potential new things before others? These are just suggestions, as again I don't really have marketing experience.
Would there be a minimum for backing or just whatever you can give?
Hi! I love the ideas and I'd love to help! I've done it small scale for my hospital radio station! In uk we have site like just giving! People can do runs or sponsored anything and people donate online then all the money goes to that charity! In uk we have gift aid! What if uk 7 cud became a registered chairy then when people donate if they pay tax our government pays an extra 20% on top! It's small thing like that which make a huge difference! Also if your doing this maybe setting up a fundraising team who have no other commitments so they can focus ( don't want to add to others workload), then the can campaign for donations on Facebook etc!
Maybe be what we need is an "ice bucket challenge" something that creates awareness of us! It might get people in who don't know we here but also by creating awareness we can let people know we need support too!
When people signed up to monthly donation! What if they got an email letting them know how many people we helped that month, stories about what we doing, and done and then all the things we still hope to do! It's cheaper than post and that way people don't forget why the donating in the first place! Getting donations regular donations will be hard, getting people to carry on donating will be harder!
the training you offer volounteers is amazing would you asking listeners to donate to help pay for everything we get, be an option?
Wanted to update you all on this front. We had a great mentor call yesterday where we talked about a range of subjects - 7 cups for organizations, research, wellness tests etc. We also talked about how we can make 7 cups sustainable. As always, the mentors helped me think through some things and provided me with a lot of helpful feedback. I wanted to share some of that discussion with you all.
We'll be launching the ability to back 7 cups or upgrade your account towards the end of next week or the start of the following week. Our mission - to be the emotional support system for the Internet or to provide a free mental health system - is always front and center. As outlined at the top of this thread, however, we also need to find ways to generate revenue so we can ensure that 7 Cups last not for years, but for decades. Our plan is to roll this out and do lots and lots of testing. If we find that the measures outlined above cover us, or come close to covering us, then we'll be in great shape. I can't disclose too many details here, but I can keep you updated on how things are progressing and what the data looks like. So we'll plan to test the above backing/upgrading piece out over a 2-4 week process. If the initial data looks good, then we are in great shape. If it doesn't look as strong as we need it to be, then we'll need to revisit the process and find new ways of tweaking it. Again, just to be clear, 7 Cups will always be 100% free and the core experience will always remain that way. The things we may need to add will be "value add" items and will not take away from any of the central experience that all enjoy today at no cost.
@GlenM Hi, I've now read to the bottom of this thread and I have an idea that might help you with the one-time vs. recurring revenue issue. In addition to offering a monthly option, you could offer an option for X amount a month, but paid in a lump sum for a year (or each quarter), so that someone who wants to make a one-time contribution could do so, and you could then annualize it. I understand the need for predictability, and I just don't want to see you lose out on revenue that could come your way but be structured differently. I know also just as a human who donates, there are some charities to which I give monthly, and some to which I give one-time. It depends on what is happening with them, and with me, and with me with them. I know that's all clear as mud but giving back (or backing or whatever you decide to call it) is often as varied as the givers themselves and their experiences with your service. It could be both/and when it comes to one-time and recurring contributions, and you could still build in some predictability. I've very much appreciated your work here and have recommended the site to others. It's a worthy endeavor that deserves support. I wish you the best.
@MissAnn007
i think we will be offering an annual option that is paid in a lump sum and equates to a lower amount per month.
