Business Writing
PROJECT
The project will consist of a specific topic for which you will prepare a variety of business correspondence media. You may begin working on the project immediately, but you must hand in ALL of your documents at the same time at the end of the term.
SITUATION:
You have decided to offer your services to teach recently-arrived refugees and immigrants – many of whom never had much money and know nothing about handling money – how use American money, how to create and manage budgets, and how to establish and use credit responsibly. [NOTE: Many of the refugees who need help are widows with young children and elderly widows, and most of them have escaped from war zones. Many have never held a job or handled their own money.]
PARTNERSHIPS:
To eliminate the need to find and pay for teaching space and recruit qualified students, you are going to propose your program as an add-on to the programs that are already in place at the International Rescue Committee of Atlanta. Their website is https://www.rescue.org/united-states/atlanta-ga. They currently teach ESL classes and other courses, but no one is offering the type of course that you want to offer. You must use your business writing skills to convince them to meet with you to discuss your plan, and to follow up with them after the meeting.
DONATIONS:
Although you are happy to donate your time, it would be very helpful to you if you could find some people willing to donate materials for the classes (books, DVDs, notebooks, etc.) or money to buy the materials. You know that the people taking the classes don’t have enough money to pay for these things, and it could get very expensive for you to buy these things for a group of students. You will also have to write to people who you think might be willing to donate money or materials for your class.
PRIMARY DECISIONS:
You will need to decide the following before you put together the documents for this project:
1. How many hours per week you can dedicate to this volunteer project
2. Which days/times you will be available (evenings, weekends, etc.)
3. How many people you can handle in a class
4. How long a ‘course’ will last (2 weeks, 1 month, 6 weeks, etc.)
5. Exactly what content will be in a course
6. If this will be an on-going project or a one-time effort
7. What materials you will need, both in general (whiteboard, markers, projector, DVDs) and per student (books, notebooks, pencils, etc.)
8. If you want to recruit other volunteers to help you
PROJECT DOCUMENTS:
1. Outline sheet showing your basic plan (answers to the Primary Decisions), including how much money you think you’ll need to cover the cost of the course materials
2. Letter/proposal to the IRC with the details of your plan and a request to meet to discuss it
3. Résumé tailored to this particular task, to be sent with the letter/proposal
4. Email/memo to your contact person at IRC to set up a face-to-face meeting on-site to discuss details and look at the facilities you will have available (room, whiteboard, projectors, etc.) at the facility
5. Memo to your contact at the IRC confirming which materials they would be willing to provide (whiteboard, markers, paper, copy machine, books) and which you or the students would have to provide (books, notebooks, pencils, markers, etc.)
6. Letters to individuals or groups requesting donation of materials or money for the program. (Include specifics about the IRC and details about which materials you will need to provide)
7. Thank you letter to one of the donors who responded with a donation (of either money or materials)
8. “Good news” letter to your IRC contact with information on all of the donations (money & materials) that you have received for this project as a result of your solicitation letter
9. “Bad news” letter denying a request from a new agency asking for you to do a different kind of project at a different agency
10. Final report to the agency and to your donors with the final results of your program, including “lessons learned,” what you would do differently in the future and why, and suggestions for how a similar program might be set up in the future – this is a more formal report
