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Giving in More Ways Than One

We need a better world. And to have that better world, we will need better models. Ned may be the brand behind better worlding to come.

Mark Grimes, founder and serial enterpreneur committed to doing good, describes Ned:

Ned (a philanthropic franchise) is a small retail location in Portland, Oregon that is part better world membership group, part community center, part retail, part office space, part Starbucks, part 10,000 Villages, part Grameen bank, part Ashoka, and very interactive...all aimed at creating a better world experience. It exists in both the real world physical location...and online. The brand of doing good things. This effort has been bootstrapped, meaning being done with a budget of near zero and tons of sweat equity.

Ned will have weekly and monthly meetings on better world topics ranging from Millennium Development Goals, poverty, trafficking, HIV/AIDS, education, art and much more. There will be group documentary screenings, speakers, and various ways to people to connect with their community (and globally). Space will be given for free to local nonprofits for members meetings, board meetings, and fundraising events.

Product sales information "goes beyond" traditional fair trade in that it will be (and buy from organizations that are) 100% transparent (open) about finance, governance and operations. Ned truly desires that each and every transaction (financial and social) make the world a little better place in some small way. A percentage of gross and net sales will be distributed to grassroots local, regional, national and global nonprofit, nongovernmental and community based organizations. The Ned Giving Project members (invitation only based on personal friendship, reputation, and trust) who pay a $31 monthly membership fee (90% going to the orgs) decide the monthly categories of giving, and the groups that receive the funds.

Mark is certainly meeting my criteria for doing good in the world. I look forward to seeing Ned grow and replicate.

I am not the only one noticing. There is already a review on Tribe.

Jean's idea of The World We Want

The question has been asked: What is your idea of The World We Want?

I have chosen to answer.

I have been reflecting on this question for a long time now. And while my answers are not yet complete, I am ready to share my first draft with you...

What is your vision of a better world?

A world in which many revolutions converge to change this world into a world with more honor, respect, and ecological awareness.

What converges?

The eradication of major diseases. Small Pox down, Polio close, Measles next, then each one or even many simultaneously. And more and more of this being achieved by organizations working together as a global health community using more and more complex and responsive information tools. More safe drinking water made available through coordinated efforts using community-labor and resources along with global data tracking and local/global teams which share and transfer expertise. We begin to take care of the bottom of the Maslow pyramid for all people. Put a bottom under it so all people do really and truly have a chance to have dignity and health.

WEB 2.0—mass communication centered on user-experience. The many edges all empowered by mediums of information conveyance to speak across traditional boundaries and be honored in a customized user-driven fashion. Power to the edges, baby!

Increased transparency of our resources above and beyond money including:

Social Network Analysis—beginning to map and value the actual relationships that exist between us rather than the relationships placed on us by org charts.

Community Asset Mapping—tapping into the greater wealth of our communities—our connections, the resources we can bring to bear. Going beyond money to do more and see clearly, visually, what is available so making intentional choices is easier.

Open Source—community working together producing property for the commons and changing the model for developing intellectual material.

Volunteerism on the rise as more and more boomers get back to their ideals. Retirement moves from retiring/resting from work and community for an extended vacation to giving/contributing supported by financial independence and allowing the vast intellectual and social wealth of the Boomers to be reused and shared through extensive volunteer and community efforts. (Get that writer a decent editor!)

The Organic Movement and other ecologically sensitive movements growing in popularity. People more and more realize the cause and effect relationships of their consumption and for their own health and the health of the world make different more sustainable choices.

The rise and flourishing of our neglected gift economy via increased information sharing, matchmaking of needs with resources, and spiritual sense of oneness promoted by globalization in the best sense.

What are the conditions needed to realize it?

That the converging efforts find support and common cause and so unite and reinforce each other bringing together multiple upward spirals to change the overall flow of our culture.

What are the obstacles?

•  Old thinking which focuses too much on immediate needs, get me mine thinking.
• Fear and scarcity thinking.
• Old established systems slow to change.
•  Over-focus on band-aid efforts like micro-lending or over-glorification of system-reinforcing work that plays itself like change such as the Grameen Bank (which perpetuates debt-based systems).

Based on your experience, what parts of the vision are realistic and what ideas, strategies and plans can make it so?

My vision is not only realistic; it is already in motion. The main question is about timing. How soon will we change? How many of us need to have an awakening in order to tip the change?

I partner, as I can, with those who are doing everything they can to enable the dawning of a new age of sustainability, respect, honor, and ecological awareness. I spread the word to you, and you pass it on. If it is a message people are ready for, it will spread virally far and wide. If not, we re-work the message, lay more groundwork, develop more tools, share more information, and reach out to more hearts.

 

I believe...
I have a dream...
I hope.

Gigantic Gift

Buffet gives $37bn to Gates Foundation

What will this mean for Africa? What will this mean for the field of philanthropy? And can someone talk to these folks about mission-related investing and socially responsible investing? It could change the field dramatically.

Looks like the gifts start now and continue beyond the life of Warren Buffett. Give now and later.

Caught Red-Handed “Rally for an Oil-Free Congress”

At Normal Gas StationLocal Residents To Expose Rep. Weller as “Caught Red Handed” Taking Big Oil Money, Doing Big Oil’s Bidding

As Gas Prices Rise, National Day of Action Will Pressure House Republicans To Stand With Constituents & Stop Taking Campaign Money From Big Oil

In 250 Locations, Voters Will Call For Clean Energy Policy & Change In Congress

Normal

– On Wednesday, June 28, residents of the Bloomington/Normal area will hold a Rally For An Oil-Free Congress at a local gas station, where they will expose Rep. Jerry Weller and other Republicans in Congress as “caught red-handed” accepting campaign contributions from Big Oil companies and then doing their bidding.

This is part of a National Day of Action that will feature events in over 250 locations around the country. As families across the country prepare to travel for July 4, rising gas prices are a big concern.

Big Oil companies have spent millions in campaign contributions to get Rep. Weller and other Republicans to hand over billions in taxpayer subsidies. Republicans have consistently rejected Democratic attempts to move toward energy independence and a national clean energy policy – instead voting to keep

America dependent on the Middle East oil and subsidize Big Oil at a time of record profits.

“Gas prices are soaring out of control, and that affects family budgets in a big way,” said Linda Unterman. “One big reason we haven’t moved toward energy independence is that Rep. Weller and Republicans in Congress are in the pockets of Big Oil – taking millions in campaign contributions, then giving billions in favors. It’s time for change in Congress.”

Since 1990, Big Oil has given more than $190 million to members of Congress – 75% of which ($142,635,314) has gone to Republicans. Rep. Weller has personally accepted $176,713 from Big Oil. Republicans have then consistently done the bidding of Big Oil, rejecting Democratic proposals for clean energy.

Caught Red-Handed “Rally for an Oil-Free Congress” Details:

Who: MoveOn members in Bloomington/Normal

Where: Shell Oil , Raab and Main, Normal

When: Wednesday, June 28, 2006, 6:00PM

What: Local residents demand Rep. Weller stop taking campaign contributions from Big Oil companies.

Sign up for the event in Normal, Illinois at http://political.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=9428

Open Space Onet

Discovering our power to make good things happen

Please join us for a three-day event of, by and for the omidyar.net community and friends -- to build our capacity to make good things happen.

What:	Discovering Our Power to Make Good Things Happen
When:	July 14-16, 2006 pre-set schedule
Where:	Carleton Hotel, Oak Park, IL (http://www.carletonhotel.com and DirectionsToConference

You're Invited: This conference is for omidyar.net members, friends and anyone else to come together, make connections, have fun, do as much good work as each and every one of us can... and then go home, more connected, energized and capable of doing more and more of whatever we call good in the world. Come join a good party getting better! ...and bring your good friends, too!

Since you are reading this invitation, we know that someone thought you might be interested in joining this work.  Please join us to make good things happen!

• What kind of good things are happening because of the work you are doing in the world?
• What do you need to do in order for more good things to happen as a result of the work you really want to do?
• What skills, resources, gifts and connections do you have to share?
• What would happen if you could grow and get and share?

Come to Oak Park, Chicago and find out!

View the full invitation.

Teletruth News Alert

Post Everywhere - Free Download of "$200 Billion Broadband Scandal"

Continue reading "Teletruth News Alert" »

Garbage

Young people everywhere have been allowed to choose between love and a garbage disposal unit. Everywhere they have chosen the garbage disposal unit.
Guy Debord

Here we are my little family at the Russell clan’s home away from home in Minnesota. It is an old house with one bedroom long ago converted into a bathroom and electricity that won’t support air conditioning. Things are cozy here. The pace is slow and life simple. The Mississippi River flows gently passed with Eagles soaring back and forth from dead tree to another dead tree with sharp eyes alert for fish. Then, of course, someone goes by in a speedboat. But most of the time, there are quiet fishing boats moving slowly with fisherman watching the clouds as much as the water.

The family is not here often enough to have regular services like phone. And so, we don’t have garbage service here either. A little like camping—what you bring in, you better bring out. And so I find myself thinking about the volumes of waste. I have been more and more conscious of this as an adult recently. And I remember growing up in the country without garbage service. I didn’t have garbage service until I was 17. College. Apartment. Garbage Service. Freedom! Evidently that meant freedom to throw things away.

What do you do in a throw away culture when you have no place to throw things away?

Here I am again, without garbage service. Do I really need a paper towel or will a cloth one run through the laundry be better? Cloth napkins or paper?

We Americans live in a culture so rich and abundant that we can afford to throw away just about anything—everything our numerous things we own come in as well as our throw away furnture, our trendy clothes, our over-abundant food, our friends, our loves…

Why take care of something you don’t plan to keep? Why not toss it all on the garbage heap?

Is it all really garbage? What do we really need to get rid of? And what might we instead keep, clean, fix, and care for? What can we recycle within our own sphere? Can we recycle our visions and missions to re-energize them, finding ways to be more authentic about what we say and what we want to do?

Women and Power

The thing women have got to learn is that nobody gives you power. You just take it. ~Roseanne Barr

Absolutely Roseanne! Power is not a gift, an object to give from one person to another, power is only visible when being used. Much like an electron, we only see it when we test it. I have long thought that the reason some men have tried to oppress and contain women is because of the power women have. When a woman gives birth to a child, a man gets to be witness to the power and strength that a woman has. In this, he is fearful--fearful that this woman, experiencing such a transformation in her body, proves that she is stronger, more flexible, more persistent, and more resilient than he is. To be a woman is to embody the process of becoming, regardless of whether one begets children or not.

So professionally, she who brings forth the world, she who can bring children into being, should not play coy or suppress her power in some odd attempt to make man feel secure. No, indeed, she should show that in more areas of her life she has the power to bring forth. To bring forth ideas, to bring forth action, to bring forth results with strength, flexibility, resilience, and perseverance. Woman does not need to wait for man to acknowledge her capacity nor her power. Woman proves her power through her action. And she does a disservice to herself if she attempts to do it in the way a man needs to do it. Let the hunter be a hunter. And let the one who brings forth do her best to bring forth.

Here are some of my etiquette tips for women (and all people for that matter) in the post-pomo era:

•  Whoever reaches the door first holds it for the next person (or people) regardless of anyone's sex or status.
•  When speaking with others, don’t look down. In animal speak this is an act of empowering the more dominant animal. And men come from hunters, they use this amongst themselves. Let them see into your eyes, and they will know the depth and strength of your heart. Chin up! Eyes up! Nose down.
•  Whoever reaches for their money first gets the honor of paying the bill when among equals. When among seniors, let the senior most person decide who pays the bill. When with clients, let the buyer buy the meal (they will pay for it indirectly or directly, why not give them the chance to be gracious and feel generous).
•  Neither hide your body and your beauty nor flaunt it as a manipulation of the hungry hunter. You are yourself and should be proud to be it without needing to demonstrate the power your body holds. They sense it already. Be beautiful for yourself.
• Smile. It disarms most who would try to hold you back and encourages those around you to be happy.
•  It doesn’t do anyone any good if you are so humble about your power and your talent that you don’t acknowledge it. Temper arrogance with curiousity rather than with self-doubt.
• Women, generally speaking, intuitively understand the power of community and collaboration. Use it.

Here are some of the qualities that this Caliper study on Women Leaders showed as strengths great female leaders possess:

•  Persuasive
•  Empathetic
•  Flexible
•  Assertive
•  Willing to take risks (and ignore rules)
•  Sociable
•  Learn from adversity
• Inclusive and team building

Check out the article itself for a more thorough explanation. Thanks to my incredible cousin Kim Olson for the link.

 

It is a female thing

It is a female thing There is a difference between people qualified by a ton of credentials and people who make the world work better. And that thing is a female thing, if I may say so. That thing is a way of being in the world. It is a way of coming from the heart and spirit instead of solely from the mind.

I know the power of this thing because it is a critical difference in my business. People can hire editors and coaches with more credentials. Yes, but when people hire me — I have found — it is because they embrace my way of being. They can sense that by working with me, I will honor who they are and what they are trying to achieve. It is the difference between being good (doing all the right things) and being genuine, authentic, and unique.

That is not to say that there are not men out there who have this quality of being genuine and heartfelt. I know some. There are. However, I see far too many people fooled by marketing buzz words, and the people I work with aren’t. They want the real thing. They want authenticity. Theirs. Mine. Ours. It isn’t all soft and gooey necessarily. Even that can be corny, cheesy, silly. Puff.

The mind part is easy. Logic. Language. Clarity. What is hard is the stuff that has to be real. Something I think women are good at. The qualities that build long lasting relationships filled with love. These come from the heart, the soul, and even deep down in the gut. They can’t be faked. And most people can’t be fooled.

This is where you come when you realize money is simply one form of exchange, and a pretty shallow one at that. This is where you come when you want to be acknowledged within yourself and by others for your unique contribution to the world and your loving intentions.

So, if you want to spend some time being yourself, contact me. But leave your coat and all the outward “male” signs of success at the door. Let’s sit over a cup of tea and discover who you are and what you want. I am really curious.