GivingActionConferenceCalls/MinutesJuly262004

Giving E-list Conference Call - Monday, July 26 , 2004

Purpose: To understand how we might move forward designing a collaborative space that supports each of our individual and collective efforts for Giving To Flourish.

Participants: JulieEvansCaldwell; AshleyCooper; TedErnst; MartinHeltide?; MichaelHerman; CharlesMaclean

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Part I - First Hour:

Round 1: Champions & Initiatives

• Identify themselves (name and affiliation)
• To name (not explain) what is the Giving Initiative you intend to champion

Round 2: Offers, Requests, Commitments

• Share how a common space and supports could enhance your success?
• Requests you would like, to support both your individual, as well as our collective work?
• Offers (tools, time, resources…)

Round 1 & 2 discussion listed by participant voice:

• TedErnst – Chicago, Humanist Movement/Network? (for purpose of today) - Initiative is Humanizing the earth where the human being is the central focus.

This Common Space is an extension of what the Humanist Movement is doing all over the world. What I’m asking for is for people that are interested in what we are doing, to engage in dialogue with us around setting up a common space where the Human Being is the Central Focus. I’d like to form small teams of 10-20 people who are working on things and they are also working on small teams (build to 400 people quickly). The tools we are talking about using are in the world and tools to connect their network and worlds together. This is exactly the next steps I see happening. I’m looking for people who are already doing things to include them in this network and I would like to include them in this network.

Julie offered to work with Ted and others to make a buzz happen.

• CharlesMaclean, Philanthropy Now for conscious community giveback Initiative for: How to champion Giving to go from ? – Accountability. Work to generate the givers high. To create moments that allows people to give. I would like to see a champion, a person in each major city. Have it be self-sustaining by licensing it and re-licensing it. 2nd part of branding – imagine your city becomes designated as most Giving City – looking at the improvement we have made by the quotient of giving going up in our community. What do we do to regain trust in non-profits at a time when congress is looking to put forward more regulations? If you would like to be invited or invite someone to attend the workshop we are putting on. Please contact me.

The group asked what are the next steps to setting up a Caring Communities. Charles suggested the need to find a national org or a blessing to go forward… It was suggested that we form an on-line group to form one of Charles Giving Communities and experiment with his concepts. It was suggested that Charles look into why The Integral Network is causing people to move to Boulder. It has been fascinating to watch how people are picking up and moving to this new way of being. The discussion forum, Regarding Integral Naked – amazed at how much people are lured by seeing an honest person.

We also talked about other on-line networks that have growing populations: Care2.com (claims to have 2 million members) is like that – forming friendship and communities and discussion group – started in Australia --

• MartinHeltide?, works with the United Nations – hunger, women’s health, millennium development goals with permission of the UN to explore how to set up long term committed efforts to solve these.

Millennium Development Goals

• Poverty Hunger
• Gender
• women
• child mortality
• HIV and other diseases
• Environment
• Partnerships for Global Development

What’s lacking is individual commitment. Donations of funds or time through this site to develop partners. Doctors without Borders. To find the funding to make the site. So your looking for ideas and funding to support and sustain this idea. A collaboration to put funding together. To solidify the idea. How do we create partnerships with ordinary people to go big. We are all looking to involve human beings to be part of giving in a new way. It has to do with personal, committed involvement.

I don’t like the word of non-profit – the language needs to be different. We would all like a structure where we can collaborate around this.

Wanted to have further discussion on to create a meta space – the Millennium goal. Michael and Julie were interested in a phone call to learn more about these goals. Martin said he would contact them and set up a call.

• AshleyCooper, free-agent, Website to connect youth programs around the world dedicated to a purpose bigger than their original missions. Martin is asking how to engage more grassroots efforts to become aware about bigger issues – such as Youth Issues. Many different programs of all sorts scattered all about. Commonly needed is support, what’s working well for them (a site that different youth programs could come to) to share tools and network together, doing exchange programs, each program is working together for something greater than self. Like to keep the local voices alive, keep heart presence. I need technical help. A wiki? Next step, recommendations of different programs of youth in the world that would want to connect with others in the world. Knowledgeable ears to bounce things off and see if they are realistic.

A shared space and respect for time, it needs to be a way where resources flow and champions can step forward.

Julie and Gerry will help Ashley get a wiki up and going.

• MichaelHerman, free-agent/convener of open space, An on-line Market place where individuals can appeal to other individuals that could feed other and expanded good.

I’m most interested in creating a structures that allow individuals that have ideas, time and attention to do things they see as valuable where they are. To the exent the goverance structure might allow new community owned funding supports, goverence infrastructure, communally controlled and collectively governed that would enable those people in those communities to pop up and get the funding – not strictly hierarchal structures – sounds like the structures Martin is looking for to link to these larger global sorts of needs. To have some mechanisms for funding. I’ve been imagining a website, a marriage between functions we already see out there (auctions – e-bay), transaction function, News function, search function (Google) – ideas, referrals, funding, a marketplace to present there case to a large audience.

Michael suggested we play at Omyidar.net for 2 weeks to bring our experience there to the next conference call in 2 weeks. Ashley, Ted and Julie offered to spend some time there getting to know the tools.

Post to the list and ask for help to make an asset inventory. What are the ways to bring people together?

• JulieEvansCaldwell, Founder of Emerging Futures – We are a 501c3 pending our 509 public charitable trust status. Our mission is to engage in wisdom-centered philanthropy and organizing to generate leadership, community and shared power to make “it” happen for the benefit of the common good and in harmony with all living systems on the planet.

We are looking for champions to uplift a new form of organizational leadership and development using existing US legal structures offering donors tax credits for there investments. To work with a team of champions to engage others to work with us to uplift a shared space – A Commons for Giving To Flourish.

Looking for some volunteers to research, engage others and work together to learn how to uplift and govern a common space -- set up as a membership based public trust -- that seeks out and engages the collective wisdom of the citizens of this earth to direct policy for pervasive benefit. I can offer my time to working on how to govern a common space, set up a membership based public trust and an existing 509c infrastructure. Currently the 509c is pending IRS approval which takes 5 years and we have 1.5 years to go. We (a small group of 5 friends) are currently positioned to turn over the infrastructure to be co-constructed, owned and operated by the public for an agreed upon purpose of common good. It was established in 2000 for this purpose.

Julie offered to set up another conference call – (2 weeks)

Round 3: Evaluation

What was most valued in today’s conversation? and What could make itl even better?

• I most valued that I’m not alone in this. It’s helpful for people.

• Most valuable is the common ground we are exploring these ideas in more formal way.

• I too am struck by the common interest in doing good and being supported. How many different ways, forums, and tools for bringing others together in a different way. Going away wondering what’s the easiest, most clean, frictionless way of raising these conversations, while leaving footprints so trails can emerge. Would like Charles white paper. Like to talk with Martin again too, without an echo to hear about these 8 things about a global effort.

• Continued connections from the conf and new connections, like Martin. What could make the call better is not to have the echo.

• I’m a visual. I’m seeing all these computer connections and network lines going out in all directions... ways to reach out to a greater number of people. Condensing us out into a core to make it open and available for people to come in and out.

• That a group of committed people steps up to table.

Part II – Beyond the First Hour + Next Steps

Open Space (Ashley, Ted, Michael and Julie stayed on the call to talk about next steps they could do to better understand the easiest, cleanest way to collectively work together to uplift a common space. It was decided we would engage the list to find out what on-line community building and network tools people are using and what they like about them. The four of us decided to jointly try out the http://Omidyar.net site and share our learning during the next Conference Call which will take place in 2 weeks.