The Ultimate Social and Support Network for Those Who Served: For Veterans and By Veterans 1. Short Summary My name is Jinger Jarrett. I am a former US Army soldier, as well as a former member of the Michigan Army National Guard. I am an honorably discharged veteran. I earned my degree on the GI Bill, and I believe that the skills I learned in both the military, college, marketing and life make me uniquely qualified to make this project a success. I have a gift for communicating with fellow veterans that encourages them. Veterans, because of our experiences, struggle. We need help. I want to build a social network that includes those who served in the armed forces of their countries from all over the world who have not been previously recognized by their countries for various reasons. Although this social network will be available to all who are classified by their countries as veterans, I will place a particular emphasis on recruiting veterans who have not previously been allowed membership to veterans organizations like the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. This will be far more than just a social network. I am a socialpreneur and building this business will allow me to combine my business with meeting the needs of veterans. It will allow me the time to properly address the issues and find effective solutions. My mission is simple: to unite veterans worldwide for social networking both online and offline and to give them a home. This will be a one stop shop for all the resources veterans need to succeed, and it will give recognition and support to those who need it. This includes meeting the needs of those veterans at the individual level whether it's money to pay a bill to keep the lights on, treatment for PTSD or any of the other issues veterans face. Our strength is in numbers and in understanding the unique issues veterans face and then developing solutions to solve those problems. It also gives us a safe and secure environment to solve those problems together and socialize too. No veteran deserves to be hungry or homeless or unloved because of his status as a veteran. The moment you sign that contract, your life is on the line. During the period of the 1980s, the United States lost over 20,000+ service members during peacetime. It is a dangerous job regardless of whether you serve in combat or not, and that willingness to take those risks deserves to be recognized, and those who did it deserve to be cared for. By helping me with this project, you will allow me to have a global reach. You will allow me to reach those from all over the world that served to help them solve their problems and get the help they deserve. You will help me organize the veterans community in a way that instead of being exclusive,
because of the jobs they did or the places they served, I can unite us in one common cause: meeting the needs of those who need us now and because we served we understand what needs to be done. Give us the resources we need to make this happen, and we veterans will solve our problems together because we understand each other, and we understand the unique problems we face. 2. What We Need & What You Get The money I am asking for here is seed money. Once I have the site up and running, we will collect yearly membership dues. There will also be a marketplace, as well as advertising opportunities for outside companies. The money earned will be used to finance the various projects we do to meet the needs of veterans. We will also organize outside events to give us the opportunity to connect and help one another. 1. Dedicated Web Hosting for 1 year: Low end package is $119 per month. Top end package is $569 a month. We will start at the low end and upgrade as the site grows. $2000 is enough to cover the first six to 12 months as we grow. 2. Script - I will be using Social Engine to power the site as it is the most flexible script I have found. With the mods, themes and plug ins I need to build the site I want to build, it will cost about $1,500. 3. Premiums for members - We will print membership cards and t-shirts for those who join the site. I expect the site to grow quickly, and dues will cover most of the production here. To provide t-shirts and membership cards for the first 1000 members will cost about $2,500. 4. Premiums for those who contribute to the campaign. The biggest cost will be t-shirts. Depending on the number and size of the contributions, this expense will run about $2,500 to $4,000. Additional premiums, like advertising, will come through the site. 5. Advertising - This will be the largest expense because I have planned a marketing blitz to include Facebook, Google Adwords, and Bing Ads. I will also send out press releases worldwide to as many places as I can. I am fully trained in marketing and so much of the writing will be done by me in order to save on the expenses. I estimate that $15,000 will be enough to cover this expense. Once we start getting the word out, I believe this campaign will go viral. I also have extensive resources within the veterans community, and we will also use viral marketing to help get the word out. 6. Domain Names - $120 7. Incorporation - $500 - $1000. A sustainable business model will provide more flexibility than a non profit to do what we want to do. I will build a board of trusted advisors from within the veterans community to help me keep our mission on track. Total cost for seed money: Approximately $25,000 Even if I don't reach my goal, I will still continue to work on this. I will do whatever it takes to make this project a success because those who served need and want this. Caring for, and meeting the needs of of those who served is my passion. These are people I would gladly and willingly give my life for, and they are my friends, my family, my blood and my Brothers. Brotherhood is Brotherhood no matter where you go, and I would not be here today if it were not for them, and now I have found a way to be
there for them that will help us all. Premiums 1. $50 Contribution. Will receive a t-shirt that shows your support. If you are a veteran, you will receive a veterans' t-shirt. 2. $100 Contribution - A Hoodie. 3. $500 - Lifetime membership to the site in the auxiliary if you are a supporter and lifetime membership if you are a veteran. You will also receive your choice of t-shirt or hoodie. 4. $1000 - All the benefits included at the $500 level plus you will receive featured advertising on the site for one year. 5. $5,000 - All the benefits of the $500 level plus you will have a permanent page on the site and lifetime advertising in a featured position. (There is a limit of 5 here.) 3. The Impact I am a veteran, and I know what it feels like to be homeless, depressed and left with the feelings of hopelessness that come with it. In 2005 I suffered several losses including the deaths of two of my grand kids in six weeks. I never quite recovered. Over those years I have struggled with depression, homelessness and health problems. Most of my life I have struggled with self esteem issues and depression. Although I overcame welfare, disability and a host of other problems I had over the years, somehow I always managed to get knocked down again, and I finally gave up. About a year ago it was like I woke up from a coma. I realized that I wanted to live. I realized that I wanted to have a life, and I wanted to help veterans in similar situations to mine. I got to work, started rebuilding my business and started helping veterans. I wasn't over my issues. I was getting better. What I discovered along the way is that in order for me to be successful in what I was doing, I needed the psychological and physical resources in order to make this happen. I changed my outlook, I overcame the adversities of a female veteran in a mostly male community and I began to develop the financial resources I needed to help me do what I wanted to do. Then the bottom fell out. My income dried up. I have been struggling to rebuild it ever since. So now I am asking for help because I have a dream. I have a dream to help veterans, and I believe I can help veterans to get jobs, to find transient housing, to build businesses, to get back on their feet, to heal from their PTSD. Most importantly, to connect. To know they are not alone and to surround them with those who understand. Billions of dollars are spent worldwide on veterans' programs and yet there are so many things veterans need and don't have that are basics: transitional housing, permanent housing, jobs leading to self sufficiency, vital medicines and health care they need in order to function. Some of this is the result of government bureaucracy. For some, like the 2,000 California National
Guardsmen actively serving who are homeless, it's a matter of status. They have been denied status as veterans because of the law. These are people that are serving their country and yet when they go home after drill weekend, they don't go home. They go back onto the street. This is only one example. There are many. There are no organizations outside of our communities that even offer help with the basics. Even when they do, we as veterans must compete against the general population for these funds, and many get discouraged and just give up. 22 American veterans will commit suicide each day and five of those were under the care of the Veterans Administration. They are not getting the help they need. Many who served their country in Australia are not even considered veterans because they didn't deploy to a war zone. Peace time is no safer than war time though, since over 20,000 active American service members died during the period of the 1980s. These who served, although not recognized as veterans, deserve recognition. South African veterans are not just fighting to get the benefits they earned, they are also fighting to even be recognized as veterans. These are men that were sent out as children to fight against the Communists on the front lines of the Cold War in Africa, and now they are being told that as veterans they do not exist. We ask our children to fight these wars and then we want to deny them the care and compassion they deserve for their suffering. They did what their country asked of them in good faith. Now they are being told what they did was wrong. British veterans form another diverse group of veterans that are being denied health care and basic assistance simply because there are not enough resources available. Many British veterans are suffering and struggling alone because they simply do not know where to turn. Many veterans, even when there are resources available, may not be qualified for the benefits that are there. Many don't know what's available, and even when they do, they don't know how to access those benefits. By bringing all the resources together in one place, we can educate veterans to help them access what they need and develop individual solutions that work. When what they need isn't available, we will create those resources for them, and the business model I am creating will make the funding sustainable. The biggest impact will come from having a place where all who served can get together, be recognized and feel safe. They need an organization specifically tailored to them that provides a safe and secure environment to get together and just talk. Too many veterans organizations are behind on their technology, and because of it, veterans don't really get to connect. For the millions of veterans that aren't even recognized by these organizations, they have nowhere to go. I want to give them a place to go to connect, discuss their problems and develop solutions. I want to give them a place where they are recognized and heard and heard by those who understand. For too many years the solution has been to throw money at the problem. The only problem is that this doesn't work. Veterans need to be heard, and they need to be heard by those who understand. For the walking wounded, this may just be enough to help them heal. I know it has been for me. They need
solutions that actually address their problems. I want to make one final point here: yes, this is a for profit enterprise, and it will be run like a business. There is a reason for this. It will allow me to get the money needed where it is needed in the fastest amount of time so that it does the most good. Sometimes it will be something as simple as signing a check. Other times it will mean me rolling up my sleeves and getting in the trenches and getting dirty to talk someone down who is ready to pull the trigger. I am not afraid to do what it takes to get the job done, and my Brothers know me. They trust me, and they know that there is nothing I will not do to make sure they are taken care of, and no matter the obstacles, I will get the job done. 4. Other Ways You Can Help Even if you cannot help, please like and share this campaign. We need to get the word out, and we need to get it out to as many people as possible. Veterans need to know what is being created for them, and then they will get involved and help promote this too. Our supporters need to know. The more people we reach, the more we can do. Thank you so much for your support. Civilians are the reason we do what we do. It is the families, the friends, the countries we have to leave behind to do our jobs, that we do what we do. We do for you out of love, to see you safe, protected and that you have the dream we have fought so hard for, bled for, and even died for. Now help us learn how to live that dream too. To support my Indiegogo campaign, click here: The Ultimate Social Network and Resource Center for Those Who Served