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After giving out more than $500 million over the last 32 years, the Meyer Memorial Trust has decided that it will now let a village (or, actually, a state) take a crack at figuring out how it should spend its next million. The foundation has opened up a contest of sorts. The plan:
[T]o jumpstart Oregon's historically innovative initiative in the face of the state's multitude of challenges by looking for a million dollar idea proposed by the state’s collective brain....
We begin by inviting all Oregonians and others to help us identify funding opportunities to create a better future for Oregon. Tell us what you think is the most pressing issue facing Oregon that an investment of up to $1 million could provide meaningful support and leverage over the next two years. Give us your best ideas about the form that support and leverage might take.
Over 200 ideas have come in already, and they're all over the map. There are plenty of economic development suggestions, along with ideas for environmental issues, social services, and healthcare. And then there are the pitches that are harder to categorize, like one that aims to create 100% Oregon-sourced beer, or the one that would help people slow down daily life and teach them "to simplify and then prioritize what's really important."
The Trust has said that they're not just going to award $1 million to an individual — although that's exactly what one man suggested. ("Yes, this is serious," he wrote. "I would really love the opportunity to be given this million dollars, and look forward to your consideration, review, and jurisprudence in the matter.") Instead, the goal is to fund the implementation of an idea, which may mean partnering with an existing organization. But it seems that anything could happen: the funding of one big project, a handful of smaller ones, or, if the ideas don't make the grade, none at all.
What problem are you hoping to tackle? And how do you propose tackling it? What would you do with $1 million?
Tagged as: business · economy · environment
Photo credit: Chandarchandar/Flickr
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So this idea is RECYCLING DUMPS, to RECOVER valuable resources like metals, antiques and artifacts. And it RESTORE land to natural habitat. We capitalize on the waste of PAST GENERATIONS and generate NEW WEALTH. We may even find valuable 100-200-300 year artifacts like ceramics, glassware, pottery, tools and firearms that will enrich local museums. We may even find old wood, organic material and petrochemicals that can be reprocessed as a fuel. We GENERATE EXPERTISE, JOBS and maybe a model for franchises in other states.
NO other state does this. IT can be a model for a New Sustainable Industry that does GOOD. And it is NIMBY friendly: 'We will Clean and Remove that Dump in your backyard'--who would say no? We know where these dumps are. NO one wants any part of them today and they could be had cheaply. But they are time capsules, treasure troves, source of fuel, valuable metals, archeological sites, and a future ecological habitat.
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Great to see this program happening! A couple of suggestions . . . Is OPB going to add Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, ShareIt, etc. so we can more easily share this page.
Also, I think we're missing some important tags here if someone who works with community organizing, philanthropy, nonprofits, etc. is looking for news about what happened with the Meyer Memorial Trust $1 Million question. I'm also suggesting these additional tags since the Trust is one of the largest private foundations in the region. Could we please add:
Meyer Memorial Trust, nonprofits, philanthropy, foundations, innovation, etc.
I'll work to spread the word of the broadcast and online opportunities for participation.
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Also, could you please add a reminder on these pages when the broadcast will take place? I don't see it anywhere on this page. Thank you!
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Air dates are always posted at the top of the post. This show will be on Friday, July 9, live at 9 AM with a repeat broadcast at 9 PM.
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Hi, www.mmt.org:
Thanks for the information, we will be looking forward to July 9, 2010
James W. Booker
MARTINIAMINC/CEO
503-995-6499
http://connectipedia.org/wagn/MARTINIAMINC
P.S. Don't forget www.mmt.org air date July 9, 2010!
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Million Dollar Idea:
Spend One Milllion Dollars on One Million Lottery Tickets in World Wide Lotteries on behalf of the General Fund of the State of Oregon.
Hire the unemployed to scratch off the tickets. IT WOULD BE LIKE WINNING A LOTTERY....and sharing it with 3 million of your friends and relations! It would boost Oregon Sparkling Wine and Champagne sales state-wide.
Yes it is a Plan B, but at this state, it may be our best bet.
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Or, it could wind up being the fastest way to p*ss a million bucks down a rat hole.
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I suggest that you look into "odds" and how the percentages are set up in lotteries. Lotteries are not in the business of giving away money, they are in the business of taking away money. In other words your idea is a loser.
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Komrade Tom,
This idea is so blatantly wrong on so many levels, that to anyone with a normal iQ, they would realize it is a JOKE. Spend your time on Workers of the World Unite and Throw down your Chains.
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You are deeply in need of humor lessons.
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Komrade Tom,
What Did You DO with the Money?
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So you like to immediately label anyone with a different opinion from your own a communist.
The greatest 'socialist' threat to America is the trillion dollar flow of tax payers money in the form of totally unjustifiable subsidies and handouts to the big corporations in just about all areas of American industry. And of course, always privatize the profits and let taxpayers deal with the losses!
They too also want to label any moves towards a fairer system and any genuine rights for the American people as dangerously 'socialistic' because it diverts public attention from their own dirty little secret! Not hard to sell this message to millions when they control the mainstream media as well ..
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Komrade Tom:
No, What did you do with the Money, your Mother gave you for Comedy Lessons. Clearly it was squandered elsewhere.
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"So you like to immediately label anyone with a different opinion from your own a communist."
No Komrade. I just label you a communist. You should read your postings today and yesterday and the past few months. If the topic is kidnaping, you launch out on the evil of corporations. IF the topic is drought, you clamor for more workers rights and protections. You have a one track mind, and it's fault is the lack of openess to ideas.
Stick to the topic. And get off the dielectic teachings because it only grows tedious. A 110 year old costly experiment concluded decisively in Moscow in 1989. Peace.
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You have an accuracy problem. That was me, TomD responding to your comments, not Tom D Ford ... a different person (but admittedly with a similar name).
All I can say to your comments directed at me on this occasion, is that (in support of Tom Ford) if you don't see and understand that it is the corporate takeover and corruption of the American government and their unchecked greed that fundamentally lies behind most major problems now evident in this country, it is you who are blinded by ideology - hardline, extremist, deceitful and unmoveable right wing Republican ideology.
Until America is taken back from the corporations, nothing of a lasting and fundamental nature will change for the better in this country. It is the core problem. It demands even more words of attention and more effectively, more grass roots action for change and MAJOR reform.
An open mind would also be a great start.
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Komrade Tom:
No, What did you do with the Money, your Mother gave you for Comedy Lessons. Clearly it was squandered elsewhere.
jacob — Fri July 9th 11:30a.m.
I never pretended that I was funny. And I was never given money for lessons to be funny. The only money that my folks gave me went to studying science, math, engineering, and physics.
And Tom D is a different person from me.
And I am a genuine "Bleeding Heart" Progressive Capitalist Liberal, not your Komrade. -
Oregon needs rain catches on every roof top. With Portland having 37.5 inches of rain a year , and rains 155 days year on average we can harvest alot of run off water. If households used rain catches and accumulated more than what they need- which would not be hard since household rainfall catchment systems are appropriate for areas with an average rainfall greater than 200mm per year. Portland has an average of 950mm rain a year. The possibilities are endless with water. Portland water bureau could regulate/set a standard for drinking water and test harvested tanks and barrels. They could be buying the unused water from the individual and reselling it for summer irrigations systems for farmers. The government could turn to the Northwest and set a standard for the system for drinking water, We could be sending this water to countries that are drying up. We could be selling the water to governments for agriculture not for personal profit but for money to make a system for clean drinking water all over the world. Depending on the world bank to help countries get clean drinking water is not the way to go. For every $1.00 the world bank loans out they get $1.30 in return. They are robbing these countries, and stealing their resources. We the individuals especially in the Northwest can do something. We could have mass rainwater sytems. We could be creating jobs working with natural solutions for droughts/for people going thirsty. Depending on governments/big corporations to provide these jobs is not how it WILL get done. This money could jump start a system where people are helping people, and profiting by something that has always been accessible all along.
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Just to be clear, this is not my idea, but I truly believe it has incredible potential for our kids: Can something as simple as the timing of recess make a difference in a child’s health and behavior? (NY times, Jan 25,2010). Rescheduling recess — sending students out to play before they sit down for lunch appears to have led to some great changes in both cafeteria and classroom. Schools that have tried it report that when children play before lunch, there is less food waste and higher consumption of milk, fruit and vegetables. And some teachers say there are fewer behavior problems. The few schools who have tried the switch surprisingly report that moving recess before lunch ended up adding about 15 minutes of classroom instruction.
There are logistical issues with initiating that switch in Portland, but if we can get our kids to eat more, waste less, and learn more via a simple change of schedule, I'd say we need to at least try it. And a million is hopefully more than enough!
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What a great idea!
That's very interesting.
But I don't think it needs the M M trust, because the State superintendent of schools could promote and implement it through emails very easily.
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There is so much nonsense surrounding the number of hours kids need to be at school and at College as well to be sufficiently well educated. Many subjects can be successfully taught in a fraction of the time. Time for play is well known for fostering truly creative (and entrepreneurial) minds.
The missing benefit of this highly successful change reported in the NY times is that a later school start can also substantially reduce road congestion at peak times for all others.
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soap for public restrooms
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... and room for rest from public soap?
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"... and room for rest from public soap?"
Ha ha ha, good one!
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In this recession and in every recession, the HIGHEST UNEMPLOYEMENT RATES always affect one cohort the worst: the Young under 30y. In particular teenagers have unemployment rates over 50% compared to boom times. Simple jobs like paper delivery, drugstore deliveryboy, messenger courier and shoeshine boy have disappeared or been replaced by serious unemployed adults.
I want to encourage ENTREPRENEURSHIP in new generations. Imagine a MICRO GRANT FOUNDATION FOR LEMONADE STANDS. Give tiny grants of $50 -$100 dollars to young elementary and intermediate children to start a business during the summer. For a 6 year old, $75 is a LOT OF MONEY--we are talking RICH.
They would have to learn how to write a grant(which can be paperless on the internet) list inventory, plan, market, and choose things like location. It would encourage them how to learn practical business writing and of course would be age appropriate( a 5 year old writes different from a 12 year old).
The foundation would give outright grants but also information packets and professional guidance on how to market and expand a business perhaps pro bono from MBA students.
Minor Children are also exempt from Business Fees, Taxes, Healthcare, Benefits package, Retirement and regulations...HUGE BENEFITS that can help a small startup business. But early on , children can learn a WORK ETHIC that will last a lifetime.
It doesn't have to be a simple lemonade stand. Imagine selling Gourmet Cafe Americanos, Frappachinos, Homemade Chocolate Cookies, Fresh Salmon or Trout caught by the Child, Dog walking, Babysitting, Car Washing and Detailing, or Curb Address Painting.
If Portland had 1000 lemonade stands, and thousands of kids learning how to run a business, I think in a generation we would have a hundred new small businesses that we normally would not have. And more jobs and economic stability.
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Great idea Jacob! Teaching entrepreneurship to youth is critical for development of small (and large) businesses in Oregon in the future. And you're also right, a little money is huge to youth, and overall young people are incredibly creative, something that is very important to early stage companies as well. Thumbs up.
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My first idea is to develop biofuels based specifically on invasive plants (such as English Ivy here or Kudzu in the South, etc, etc), so as to solve two problems at once. This assumes that processing techniques would differ somewhat between different feed-stocks (wood-waste vs switchgrass vs ivy).
My second, related idea is for a short-term stimulus jobs program, based on the 1930's CCC model, which would send hundreds if not thousands of unemployed persons (especially the most disadvantaged unskilled folks) to manually eradicate stands of English Ivy, Scotch Broom, Canary Reed Grass, and Himalayan Blackberry.
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Something that would have a huge multiplier effect would be to take "person hood" away from Corporations and limit them in their charters and scope of business.
That would be against the self interests of the M M Trust, but it would set loose small businesses to bring new ideas into being and create new jobs.
The power balance has shifted way too far towards Corporations and away from The People, and we ought to shift it back towards small businesses and jobs.
So allot some large money to a legal and political campaign to take away Corporate "person hood" and get Americans back into creating large numbers of small businesses and the large numbers of jobs that small businesses create, let's get America back to work!
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Spot on! And that is the aim here:
http://movetoamend.org/
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That's cool, Tom D.
I first stumbled onto awareness of the problem and the history of it when someone recommended Thom Hartmanns' book, "Un-equal Protection...".
Well, Howard Zinns "A Peoples history..." helped too.
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With all the things Oregon needs -- jobs, medical care, education, regulated banks -- using that much time on the guy who wants to buy his fantasy car was inexcusable.
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Right on! Be great if the million dollars could be spent putting some spine into PBS, NPR and OPB to the point where they can actually address the fundamentals of America's many pressing problems and the truths behind what is really causing them!
Those genuine journalists who actually did this like Bill Moyer have now been lost and in any case their shows were often relegated to bad time slots. But fortunately there is still Fresh Air and Frontline who can rattle the bars on occasion with some serious reporting and interviewing over key issues.
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Among the many possible excellent uses of $1 million from the Meyer Memorial Trust, it is hard to imagine a better use than encouraging the local growing and consumption of food.
Thank You, Jerrold Richards
[By the way. I think it is inappropriate for a website to include ActiveX objects. I think these need be removed from the OPB website.]
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My million-dollar idea is based on the small-scale "Technology Centers" that exist throughout Spain today. Similar to a public library, these centers are open to the public and offer resources for use, free of charge. The resources are scientific instruments, computers, and technical-support specialists who can help you use them. Engineers and scientists with ideas but no funding use these centers to boot-strap their innovations. The technology centers are affiliated with research institutes and universities (like the "minor leagues") so that good innovations that bubble-up have a place to go for further development. Picture that in a place like Hillsboro!
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aoxomoxoa, this is a totally dialed in idea. Centers like this provide open collaboration and peer to peer support that are hard to find elsewhere.
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Oregon grants de facto taxing power to various private entities that supply mission-critical goods and services to the government. A conspicuous example is the licensing of proprietary software, used on somewhat more than 10,000 desktops in government offices. Free, public domain software would often be a satisfactory substitute.
With $1 million over two years, an effective demonstration project could be accomplished which would prove the point and provide step-by-step instructions for a transition. Many distinguished local professionals would be happy to provide pro bono consulting on this. Biggest obstacle would probably be a culture change, getting managers and IT supervisors to see the possibility. Implementation (like any change, such as revisions to commercial software suites) presents certain challenges, and should be an emphasis of the demo project.
Continuing the effort after the grant would entail savings rather than costs. Savings would continue to pay dividends over subsequent years. A bonus would be that, in many cases, ceasing to use certain commercial products could improve security. -
I’d like to invite people here to please read and comment on this proposal: Micro Venture Finance & Innovation Center for Social Entrepreneurs
http://www.ideas4oregon.org/forums/59917-million-dollar-ideas/suggestions/895815-micro-venture-finance-innovation-center-for-soci?ref=title
The idea hits many of the Meyer Memorial Trust "hot spots"
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Sheesh, who invited the Glibertarians?
You'd think the'd be hiding in bunkers after the just about destroyed the world's financial system - but no! faith over evidence for them!
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So succinct and so incredibly accurate!!
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Just so you know who you're hearing from, The Cascade Policy Institute says that President Abraham Lincoln was a Communist. They are far right wing Conservative Republican extremists.
And I'll point out that we Americans are not anti-business, we are just against De-Regulated predatory Corporations like Wal-Mart that have put our friends and neighbors out of business. Americans are better off when we have many many small businesses instead of a very few giant Corporations. When we do business with our friends and neighbors we support our local families and communities instead of some obscenely rich greedy family that lives very far away.
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Again to the point and accurate.
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The self serving use of the money suggested by your first caller personifies why Oregon and America is suffering so badly in the first place. His response echoes the individualistic and self interested basis of the modern American ethos.
It is laughable to hear such Republican nonsense as work hard and you will succeed (or get to the top!) being mouthed when the issue for millions is being able to get work in the first place! At least five applicants for every job offered was the last figure reported. Do the math stupid.
The only methods that have ever helped America advance in terms of policy approaches and personal and community outlook are those of greater cooperation between everyone - including government and business. Add to this a wider sharing of resources, far less corruption, some much needed ethical behavior, the rich paying their way and we might start moving towards a more genuinely compassionate and successful society. (Think back to the FDR era and its success for just one example here - FDR was not reelected by popular demand on four separate occasions for no good reason!)
It is this mindless if not mythological and fraudulent talk of rampant individualism and this crazy do it on your own, survival of the fittest notion, that is really killing America.
Next time first interview someone on your program who has a few meaningful and non self indulgent concepts to contribute that might address the original question of how do we best help Oregon at large.
Immediate ideas might include a greater focus on community based innovations around preventative medicine, more market research dollars to help boost the tourism industry and international visitation to Oregon, the development of a new low energy use and more compact 'RV' that symbolizes Oregon's values, etc., etc. Just how hard is this?!
All it requires is stop watching Fox News, start thinking of others not just yourself and begin to break free of all the mental constraints holding back your imaginations!
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I agree, and here's a copy of an email that I sent TOTN about their series "The Criminal mind":
"What I'd like to see studied is the possibility of brain scans showing
the difference between people who have developed Compassion-empathy, and
those who have not.
For thousands of years people have tried through religions and other
methods to teach Compassion-empathy, and apparently that is something
that is not teachable, it cannot be trained into people, it just happens
somewhat randomly. So what religions try to do is describe what it is so
that when it happens, the person who develops it can recognize what has
happened and learn to deal with the mental changes inside them.
And over the years I have come to think that the core defining
difference between Conservatives and non-Conservatives is that
Conservatives have not developed Compassion-empathy. That is to say,
Conservatives are not fully mentally developed human beings. Look at how
Glen Beck rants and rails against Compassion-empathy, at how
Conservatives ranted against Justice Sotomayors' ideas of empathy in her
hearings.
Just look at Maslows' "hierarchy of needs" theory and think about how
people like Glen Beck, John Boehner, Tom Delay, Newt Gingrich, Pat
Robertson, Dick Cheney, G W Bush, and all the rest of the Conservative
Republican leadership act. I don't think that they are fully mentally
developed human beings, they don't exhibit Compassion -empathy, and
others of what Maslow described as qualities of a self-actualized human
being.
So I wonder if brain scans could eventually show that deficiency and
potentially help to screen out unqualified candidates for political
office and for top level management of businesses and corporations.
I'd appreciate it if you would pass this on to the scientists in this
story, for their consideration." -
My suggestion is to use the money to buy vacant lots in low-income areas, and turn them into community gardens. This would get people outside more, some would learn new skills, neighbors would talk to one another more, the local residents would have more investment in their own neighborhoods, and best of all, people who typically have little access to healthy, fresh produce, would have it. This could be expanded if there were resources to having little flocks of hens who could supply the community gardeners with fresh eggs. There are lots with abandoned homes that need to be demolished, which could be converted to community gardens. There are organizations that exist to help with organizing this. http://www.urbanfarmonline.com/ for example
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Nice idea.
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-anything that has nothing to do with environmental concerns
-a spa day for the homeless
-implement a voodoo donut tax, ‘cause they suck
-more trash cans
-more rest areas
-full services at rest areas
-public mirrors so you can fix your hair
-customer service training for hipsters
-scrub away those green bike boxes
-a french macaron shop
-a documentary on Thomas Lauderdale because no one likes himself as much as he does
-a training and licensing program to be allowed to use the self checkout at Fred Meyer
-aromatherapy rings on street lights and lampposts
-a Harry & David that isn't at an outlet mall
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I'd like to see a campaign to make a leash law for all outdoor domestic cats, in order to stop the slaughter of songbirds and other small animals.
Fred Meyer stores would benefit from the promotion and sale of the leashes, and from the increased sales of bird food and feeders. And they would have an heroic image buildup as saviors of songbirds.
And cat owners would benefit from fewer vet bills for cat fights and from fewer diseases from contact with feral cats.
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Just a clarification (given the posts by Tom D Ford), my earlier comment signed TomD stands for Tom Dixon, a different person.
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I knew that.
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TomD:
You seem too much the Carnival Shill. Phoniness is clear.
RIGHT ON!
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To jacob ... what the??!!
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"To jacob ... what the??!!"
Mr. Jacob seems to be trying to be the "Stephen Colbert" of the Conservative Republicans, apparently without success.
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Micro Venture Finance & Innovation Centers for Social Entrepreneurs
Social entrepreneur business innovation centers offer a new type of place for local social entrepreneurs to gather and work in a collaborative and open environment.
Micro Venture Finance offers a different type of capital investment instrument. There are over 10,000 microfinance institutions worldwide with less than 5% of those being financially sustainable. Within the realm of microfinance 9 out of 10 borrowers would rather have a job, than borrow thru microfinance and be "entrepreneurs". Micro Venture Finance aims find local and innovative entrepreneurs and business models focused on building products and services with market demand targeting when possible scalable models for social innovation.
Micro Venture Finance addresses incubation, acceleration, financing, guidance and growth of early stage local innovative business models. Initial Micro Venture Finance would be done in investment tranches of $10,000-$25,000.
Innovation centers would provide social entrepreneurs with a location that has great quality Wi-Fi appropriate technology, low cost portable furniture for easy collaboration, and experienced startup entrepreneur to help guide the startups. We would also work to build solid development of meaningful collaboration partnerships with such organizations as Ashoka.org, Endeavor.org, Kiva.org, Ycombinator.com, Globalgiving.com that would add great value to all parties.
The innovation center would optimally be at cash-flow positive and totally self-sustainable within 3-6 months of launch (already done this). Social entrepreneurs and businesses within each center should all have a working prototype of their business model within 16 weeks of launch. Following the rapid 16 week prototype businesses would either be taken to the next level of financing with local angel/VC's, or they would be guided into execution and development of building a solid, ongoing cash flow positive business that hires and grows locally.
Step one of measurement will be traditional financial return on investment (ROI) methods. Equally important a second level of measurements will include social return on investment (SROI).
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Some of us involved with the Forum on Geonomics are proposing to fund a Resident’s Dividend (akin to Alaska’s Permanent Fund dividend; includes children) with a land-value lease fee of 5%. (Taxing land value gets at the idea of leasing private use of nature, rather than paying a purchase price once, forever.) At current Oregon land values, this would fund $2500/resident/year, which would provide significant cash flow for those on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder. Of course, a fee charged on land value (price) at this rate would cause the price to fall, so after 5 years of phasing in, land prices might be half of what they are now, so the dividend would then be around $1250/resident/year, still significant for the poor. To help provide for the future, half of children’s dividends could go to an account in the Oregon College Savings Plan. To help ensure funds are not wasted, the dividend could be dispensed through Oregon Trail Cards. Charging a fee for private land use at this rate encourages more productive use of land; price of unproductive land falls, so productive people are encouraged to buy. Sprawl is discouraged. All around, this gives Oregon residents (those who can prove they’ve lived here a year) more of a stake in society.
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Cameron Herold: Let's raise kids to be entrepreneurs
Very similar to the "Teach the profit motive" idea. Teaching kids to be entrepreneurs, to start businesses, that create jobs and income. There was an excellent presentation given at a recent TED conference.
http://www.ted.com/talks/cameron_herold_let_s_raise_kids_to_be_entrepreneurs.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2010-06-22&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email
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That's a great TED talk Noir. Cameron Herold is a very good friend of my business partner at NedSpace.
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Get the giant predatory Corporations out of the way and the kids will do fine.
The problem is not coming from the bottom up, it is coming from the top down.
Kids are naturally entreprenurial, we just have Re-Regulate Corporations and turn the kids (and their parents) loose in small businesses.
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Makin way too much sense Tom D Ford!
But if you want to keep the kids entrepreneurial and contributing to wider society at the same time, teach them ethics and citizenship in deeper ways too. Small (and local) is good!
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Tom D or Tom D Ford or Tom Dixon Ford
How does it feel to live in your own world of unreality? You are quite the Specimen: Communist, Paranoid, Narcisitic, and Obscessive Compulsive.
I have no time for childishness but wish you well. :)
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‘No time for childishness?’ Not an accurate assessment---if there is one thing the three (or four) of us, could be said to have in common, it would definitely be time for childishness... .
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To scottmil ... it is the four of us. Jacob has a conspiracy mentality and can't accept the idea that a Tom Dixon (TomD) exist separately from Tom D Ford. Coincidental but although NCIS preach there is no such thing as coincidence, on this occasion there is!
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"Tom D or Tom D Ford or Tom Dixon Ford
How does it feel to live in your own world of unreality? You are quite the Specimen: Communist, Paranoid, Narcisitic, and Obscessive Compulsive.
I have no time for childishness but wish you well. :)"
You're doing what psychologists call "projecting", you are seeing your own faults in others. The Bible talks about getting the log out of your own eye before complaining about the "mote' or 'speck" in the eyes of others.
And luckily, I have lots of time for childishness, it's fun, playful, and creative.
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I have been volunteering in the public schools for years. The last few, I have been mentoring Wilsonville High School and Wood Middle School students, in an "Academic Mentoring Program". This year the vice principal at the high school recruited more adult volunteers and I coordinated the program as well as mentored students.
The volunteers work with specific students for one or two hours a week to improve their academic success. We work on organization, motivation, study skills, some tutoring but mostly mentoring - basically we work to help the students that have been falling thru the cracks. These students are academically capable, but for many reasons are not academically successful.
I still have 2 children in college and, because of the current economic climate, I need to get a paying job to help with expenses. I won't be able to continue to volunteer my time to coordinate this program.
My idea is to use this money to fund Academic Mentor Program volunteer coordinators for our middle and high schools in Oregon. This person acts as a liason for all involved people; teachers, counselors, parents, students and volunteers.
The coordinator gets a referral from a staff member, interviews the student to make sure they are interested, discusses the program with the student's parent for input and buy-in, connects the student with a mentor, and works with the mentor and teachers to check on progress. Students get reminders on the days they meet with their mentor, and the coordinator works on making sure that calendar changes (absence, doctor, dentist, vacation, etc.) are communicated to both mentor and student. Also, the coordinator continues to recruit new adult volunteers from the community.
I believe strongly in this program, and was able to get it started, with additional volunteers, in the middle school the last few weeks of the school year. I would love to be able to continue in this position, but must get a paying job (as stated earlier). I truly feel that the more positive adult connections we can make with our students, the better chance they have of finding their way.
Cindy Petrie
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As a member of the non-profit community who is always facing the uphill task of finding sponsors and development sources for programs, I would laud the idea of MMT producing a Fundraising "Prom" if you will, where everyone has a date! I'm thinking of a day where non-profits and funders/sponsors come together, in order to find each other. Often when looking for $$, it feels a bit like a needle in a haystack - this way funders/sponsors can see all the choices of programs in need of support, and non-profits can speak to individuals directly and find the funders/sponsors that are most attracted to what they do, whether it's the arts, education, environmental, you name it.
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An idea worth exploring if conceived and executed well.
Feel compelled to add though that the reason there is such a great need for non-profits in America to begin with is that sadly so many of them have to be created by omission - i.e. to fill the gaps that in other nations are taken as the responsibility of government using tax payers money in a shared and spread the benefits way - a pooling of monies (the commonwealth) to achieve those things that would be much harder or impossible to achieve otherwise! This also means that caring people with a lot to give devote all their energies to helping fill these gaps and not putting it into reforming the whole system that allows this to happen in the first place! Possibly some Republican method in this madness maybe?
And it's not like most major corporations feel all that benevolent in this regard when using monies also in effect 'collected' from ordinary 'taxpayers' or 'consumers' (and from the contributions of their own often underpaid and under-acknowledged workers to their own financial success). But at least there is the Meyer Foundation .. I hope they consider your idea and review its merits.
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A second hour of TOL, to replace TDF’s favorite show, Here and Now.
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Ha ha, Scott, TOL is pretty good, and Here and Now is actually OK but I really liked WHYS and would like to bring it back.
WHYS was out on the bleeding edge and rough sometimes but Mark Sandells' idea got people all over the world talking with and at each other and there were even times that I agreed with my political opposites. Hearing people tell their own unfiltered, uninterpreted stories, to me is like waging peace around the world, enabling people to feel Compassion-empathy for far off foreigners who turn out in reality to be just like us. Mark Sandells' idea was/is genius in my book and at the top of the radio show heap.
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After the losing a family member and many fellow Americans on 9/11 and our U.S. subsequent involvement in Iraq, I began asking the question in earnest what could I do to bring about positive change? In 2003 I founded the Peace Planet Project, dedicated to connecting and supporting the many dedicated people and organizations working tirelessly for peace and the well-being of our planet. In 2005, I began thinking about the need for a global declaration of peace, to inspire and uplift humanity...but how could one possibly include all the exquisite diversity that is Planet Earth? The Peace Planet Proclamation came to me in the middle of the night and since then it has made it's way around the world many times and will be available in 14 different languages. Quite spontaneously, various groups and organizations began asking to use the Proclamation for fund-raising. In a two week period of time 3 youth groups in Florida, New York and New Jersey brought in $2500. each, ( total $7500.) which definitely got our attention! In an era of yardsales, candy selling, and auction burnout this was an effortless way to raise funds while raising the awareness of the practice of peace.
In 2008, in collaboration with the Portland based Charitable Partnership Fund my two partners and I created the Peace Planet Foundation. An innovative new model, our aim is to create an endless spiral of giving by creating micro grants called Peace Planet Awards based on the huge success of micro loans. (see www.peaceplanetproject.com for more info).
A million dollars given to the Peace Planet Foundation would not only be tax-deductable, it would help us in a profound way to help many others through local, national, and international micro grants. Sometimes a small amount can make a world of difference!
"It is time to lay our hands on the hearts of our children and promise to practice the peace that brings vitality and beauty to the Earth for all the generations to come." from the Peace Planet Proclamation
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Good idea.
http://www.peaceplanetproject.com/
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I was interested in listening to this show, as someone who works for a nonprofit and is very interested in hearing about new ideas for our community-- but the first person they interview with their idea is someone who didn't even submit an idea on how to improve the community as a whole? and then the interviewer continued to ask him about the car he wanted??! I had to stop listening it was so painful. Step it up OPB.
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Similarly to pdx0707, I was very curious to hear the ideas that would come up on the show and what's on Oregonian's minds, but was unfortunately completely turned off by the first caller. It was even more painful to realize that the questioning went on - as if the topic/caller was bringing any value, and I stopped listening. I hope that truly creative and productive ideas were still discussed today, as the bottom-up approach is attractive and should have brought a variety of creative ideas. I also hope that the dissapointing start of the program didn't hurt the purpose of the quest, and that OPB will do some self-investigation on what when wrong. It really wasn't up to the caliber of OPB, its listeners, and the Meyer Trust.
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Two ideas on how to spend $1 million...
#1 - Create a pool of "Master Gardeners". Have them visit as many schools as possible, and start a school garden in each. This has worked wonders in any school where such a program has been implemented. Not only do children connect with the soil, learn about the environment, and get much-needed exercise, they also learn healthy eating habits.
And many dedicated gardeners would likely do this on a volunteer basis, and remain in contact with the schools as 'Garden Mentors'.
#2 - Similarly, create a pool of "Master Recyclers". Have them visit schools, and create some sort of school-wide recycling project in each. To involve children in thinking about recycling at an early age will foster more recycling households, both immediately and in the future. Also, as children become aware of the amount of waste involved in junk food pacxkaging, they may change their eating habits.
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I think that citizenship may be the most important managable factor in our effort to facilitate humane sustainablility. This creative $1million contribution might well be spent in explicit effort to promote understanding of the meaning and practical use of the comcept, "THE COMMON GOOD." This insight would empower people with confidence of being authentic in their thought, valuing and action in being a citizen. The effort would need to identify the channels and processes most likely to bring about societal education on the concept and furnish the initial effort on those channels and processes which appear most likely to be successful.
As to content and topics which can make the concept workable in the citizen's practical thinking and action:
THE COMMON GOOD, as defined as broadly as the word 'common' means, and 'good' defined as an individual thoughtfully chooses can function as the value matrix against which options and issues are measured for relative desirability.
COMMON GOOD in increasing wide circle: family, neighborhood, city, state, nation,............planet
the useful merits of a FREE MARKET system
individual and minority HUMAN RIGHTS
GLOBAL WARMING, or more broadly, ECOLOGIC SURVIVAL OF LIFE
workable structures and processes for SOCIETAL DECISION MAKING
worthy purposes for TAXES
fairness and practical collection of TAXES
nature and importance of community support of CHILDHOOD
Concluding, we need lists, to understand them accurately , and to place in priority.
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Comments are now closed.
Ironically we have vast Metal and Nonmetal Resources that beg to be extracted. We have only been attempting the Bottle and Can Recycling movement since the 70's. Before that, generations of Oregonians tossed their garbage and junk into the dumps without conscience of recycling or reusing. Both glass and aluminum but also housing materials, cars, old toys, furniture, kitchen garbage, old tvs, old computers, tools, clothing etc.
After decades, the organic matter decays, but the inorganic materials like plastic and ceramics and metals remain. But also bacteria degredation nullifies any smells making it not unpleasant.
What if we RE-MINE OLD TOWN DUMPS for resources like steel and iron, aluminum, tin, nickle, chromium, lead, mercury, glass, and even platinum, gold and valuable jewels. Also there is preserved wood, petrochemicals, and even valuable antiques and archeological artifacts. Currently each American throws away thousands of pounds of waste each year and have been doing it for decades. A Cadillac Brougham sedan from the 1970s is nearly 4,500 lbs, of which 50% is high quality steel. There is also substantial rubber, glass, cloth and even old leather.
The second benefit is to properly reprocess, recycle or dispose of toxic chemicals like oil, acids, hydralic fluids, and metal solutes. This land can be made enviormentally safe and restored to habitat.
The metal would be mined by open pit and would be supervised by archeologists, material scientists, chemical engineers, and toxicity experts. Each layer yields a grab bag of treasure. We need to identify it.....and it will still come out ahead of typical strip mine operation which has to crush, concentrate and purify ore.