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Mind the Journey

Explore the world through unique perspectives

💰 Sustainability Model

How Mind the Journey intends to sustain itself economically

🎯 Our Philosophy

Mind the Journey is a sustainable educational project, not a profit-maximizing startup.

Sustainability means:

  • ✅ Covering operational costs (servers, tools, potential team)
  • ✅ Fairly compensating quality work (when possible)
  • ✅ Reinvesting surplus into growth and impact

📊 Current Phase: Pre-Revenue (Spring 2026)

Honest Status:

💸 Revenue: €0
💼 Operational Costs: ~€150/month (domain, hosting, basic tools)
👥 Team: Volunteer-based (founders invest time, no compensation)

How we sustain ourselves now:

  • Founders personally cover costs
  • Time invested = “sweat equity”
  • No loans, no debt

This phase is temporary. We aim to move toward operational sustainability within the next 12 months.

🌱 Sustainability Model (Roadmap)

How we aim to fund the project over the next 12–24 months:

🇪🇺 European Grants (60%) ↓ 🎓 Certified Training (25%) ↓ 🤝 Institutional Partnerships (10%) ↓ ❤️ Donations (5%)

🇪🇺 Source 1: European Grants (60% target revenue)

Programs we plan to apply for:

Erasmus+ (KA1, KA2, KA3)

  • What it funds: Student mobility, strategic partnerships, educational innovation
  • Typical budget: €50K–300K per project (2–3 years)
  • Potential coverage: Content production, teacher training, tech platform, coordination

Creative Europe

  • What it funds: Transnational cultural projects, territorial storytelling
  • Typical budget: €100K–500K per project
  • Potential coverage: Video/photo productions, cultural events, multilingual publications
  • Status: Preliminary exploration

Horizon Europe

  • What it funds: Research on sustainability, cultural heritage, social innovation
  • Typical budget: €200K–2M (large, complex projects)
  • Potential coverage: Applied research, database development, scientific platforms
  • Status: Feasibility assessment (requires strong academic partners)

EU Regional Funds (ERDF, ESF+)

  • What they fund: Territorial development, training, digital innovation
  • Typical budget: €20K–100K
  • Potential coverage: Specific countries/regions, local pilot projects
  • Status: To be explored depending on regional partnerships

Transparency on EU grants:

✅ What we intend to publish (subject to consortium agreements and confidentiality requirements):

  • Applications submitted (title, program, requested budget range, partners where permitted)
  • Outcome (approved/rejected + evaluation summary when shareable)
  • General budget allocation principles

🎓 Source 2: Certified Training (25% target revenue)

Ethical Training Services:

Workshops for Schools

  • What: Teacher training on educational use of MtJ, responsible tourism, AI in education
  • Target: Partner schools, teacher networks
  • Pricing: €500–1500 per workshop (4–8 hours)
  • Expected volume: Progressive growth depending on demand and operational capacity

Certified Online Courses

  • What: EU grant writing, territorial storytelling, AI for cultural research
  • Target: Content creators, researchers, tourism professionals
  • Pricing: €150–500 per course (20–40 training hours)
  • Expected volume: Scalable depending on team capacity

EU Project Consultancy

  • What: Support for Erasmus+, Creative Europe applications
  • Target: Schools, universities, cultural organizations
  • Pricing: €1000–3000 per project (preparation + review)
  • Volume: Limited, based on internal availability

FSL/PCTO Certifications

  • What: Administrative certification of student participation hours
  • Target: Schools using MtJ for experiential learning
  • Pricing: €5–10 per certified student
  • Volume: Demand-based

Why this is ethical:

✅ Real educational value
✅ Accessible pricing focused on sustainability
✅ Surplus reinvested into platform improvement
✅ Public pricing — no opaque “price on request”

🤝 Source 3: Institutional Partnerships (10% target revenue)

Paid collaborations with public/non-profit entities:

Universities (Commissioned Research)

  • Academic research on responsible tourism, heritage mapping
  • Results remain open access

Cultural Institutions (Co-Production)

  • Museums, parks, foundations co-financing territorial content
  • Editorial independence guaranteed
  • Funding clearly disclosed

Foundations (Private Grants)

  • Support for specific thematic projects
  • No editorial control

Territorial Projects (EU co-funded)

  • Ethical DMOs integrating MtJ in sustainability strategies
  • Only certified sustainable operators considered

❤️ Source 4: Donations (5% target revenue)

Support from those who believe in the project:

Individual Donations

  • Platforms: Open Collective / Liberapay
  • Optional public recognition

Project-Based Crowdfunding

  • For specific initiatives
  • Public budget breakdown and reporting

Corporate Matching

  • Company donation matching programs
  • No corporate editorial influence

Donation Transparency:

✅ Public dashboard
✅ Periodic reporting
✅ No intrusive donor obligations

💸 Budget Projection (12 Months)

Conservative Scenario

📥 Expected Revenue
European Grants: 1 approved (if successful)
Training services: moderate uptake
Partnerships: limited
Donations: early-stage support

📤 Expected Costs
Tech infrastructure
Limited part-time team (activated only if revenue allows)
Essential content production
Administrative and legal compliance

📊 Result: Targeting operational break-even. Any surplus is reinvested.

Optimistic Scenario

Higher grant success and expanded training → structured growth and team strengthening.

Pessimistic Scenario

No grants approved → lean structure, volunteer-driven continuity, reduced expansion pace.

Actual scenario will be communicated periodically (at least annually).

🚫 What We Will NOT Do (Red Lines)

❌ Display advertising (banners, pop-ups, pre-roll ads)
❌ Affiliate marketing (booking, flights, hotels)
❌ Sponsored content disguised as editorial
❌ Selling user data
❌ Paywall for core educational content
❌ Undisclosed partnerships
❌ Greenwashing collaborations

The educational mission is non-negotiable.

📊 Financial Transparency (Public Reporting)

What we intend to publish:

Periodically (at least annually):

  • Revenue breakdown
  • Expense breakdown
  • Grant status overview

When scale justifies it:

  • Financial summary
  • Independent audit (if legally required or financially sustainable)
  • Impact vs. investment analysis

Real-time transparency where platforms allow.

🏢 Legal Structure (Future)

Options under evaluation:

Current: Pre-incorporation project

Next 12 months (subject to resources and funding):

  • Non-profit association
  • Benefit corporation
  • Foundation (if growth requires it)

Decision criteria:

  • Fiscal transparency
  • EU grant compatibility
  • Mission protection
  • Administrative sustainability

Decision and rationale will be published when finalized.

💬 Feedback & Suggestions

Do you have ideas on how to strengthen MtJ’s sustainability without compromising ethics?

→ sustainability@mindthejourney.org

Radical transparency. Ethical sustainability. Mission first.

Mind the Journey — Education that sustains itself without selling out.

Last update: February 2026
Next update: To be defined