ProjectBoarders pose for the Cash For Causes “STEM Minds” challenge. (Image courtesy of ProjectBoard.)
Since last October, STEM enthusiasts from around the world have been putting their heads together for a series of fun online challenges that helps them share ideas, make the world a better place and, as an added bonus, make some money.
Cash For Causes (C4C) is a weekly challenge hosted on ProjectBoard, where participants complete timely and tangible STEM-focused activities for either a guaranteed small payout or a chance at a larger one. The purpose? Create a space where people share ideas with each other.
“We have found in conversations with our community, that there is a real and valid fear of sharing ideas, especially when those ideas are in the most early and fragile state,” says Lauren Baldesarra, Co-Founder of ProjectBoard “Cash For Causes is set-out to help start changing that mindset.”
C4C has two types of challenges: Community Building and Idea-sharing. Community-building projects—like the STEM Minds Around the World challenge—are all about creating a vibrant, friendly space for the ProjectBoarders to get to know one another. Idea-sharing projects—like the Share Your Gifts challenge—are about spotlighting the amazing ideas ProjectBoarders have!
In the few months since its launch, the C4C community has steadily grown. "I was initially contacted by a fraternity brother of mine," says Riley, who studies computer and software engineering at Queen’s University in Canada. "I wanted to get on in the early adopter phase.”
"Personally, my favorite was getting to show my face with the STEM MIND Challenge,” says Riley. That week, the challenge called for participants to pose with a sign containing the declaration that “this is what a STEM mind looks like” to showcase the diversity of ProjectBoarders around the world. According to Riley, participants got into a bit of friendly one-upmanship over who could have the coolest photo: "I was thinking, ‘what's the most science-y place I could go to right now,' so I explored my girlfriend's grad facilities [at the university] and got into the nuclear reactor.”
For longtime ProjectBoarders like Riley and Fabian, an electrical engineering student from Venezuela, a big draw is the variety in other participants. The STEM Minds Around the World asked participants to label where they were located on a communal World map using ProjectBoard’s Whiteboard “Remix tool”. By the end of the challenge, the map showed ProjectBoarders from North and Central American, Africa, and Europe. Fabian enjoyed the challenge because of his “feeling of being in one space with people from other places, culture and ages.”
C4C challenge Week 6 asked participants to share where they’re from on a map of the world. (Image courtesy of ProjectBoard.)
Afterwards, users started chatting with one another more frequently over on ProjectBoard’s Community Chat. "It was really cool because the chat started firing up, and people are just asking questions like "hey, what should I flow 40% HCl through as to not dissolve the material?”’ says Riley. “That got me out of field a little because I actually did research for this random dude I didn't know.”
For Baldesarra and the rest of the team, that sense of community continues to be the most valuable thing to come out of the challenges. “It’s less about the feasibility of any given idea, and more about creating a safe environment to share those ideas, even in their rawest form,” Baldesarra says. “When you see others share, and you see the positive interactions that come from it, you start to realize that you can do it too!”
Interested in becoming a ProjectBoarder and participating in the next C4C challenge? Check out this week’s “WhiteBoard Draw-Off” or stay up-to-date with all future challenges here!