A while back I wrote about the Generous Web and that one of the fundamental qualities of Web 2.0 was that it enabled our impulse to be generous, whether that generosity was one of software (like the Flickr example in the post) or personal generosity - where people could give time/money/expertise to causes that were near and dear to them.
There are two examples of the Generous Web in action that I wanted to bring to your attention.
The first is Canadian company DreamBank.org, founded by Dawn Bowles, a woman with her own dream:
DreamBank.org is an alternative gift giving platform that helps people achieve their dreams and at the same time helps the planet and important social causes. Instead of giving gifts that, although appreciated may not really be wanted, with DreamBank you contribute to someone's dream. As well as helping fulfill a dream, your contribution helps spare the planet some of the nasty side effects of manufacturing and packaging unused gifts. Plus your gift automatically generates funds that are given to important social causes.
I love this for a couple of reasons. First, a general reduction on the emphasis of *stuff*. Rose and I have been trying, over the last few years, to focus personal and family gift-giving on experiences rather than stuff. And when someone wants a book or music, if we can go the digital route, we do - or we purchase used. We did something similar for our wedding registry - we registered only for our honeymoon (no china or flatware!) and our friends and family were able contribute to specific experiences on the trip.
Second, DreamBank.org takes the interest from monies held while waiting for a dream to be fulfilled and distributes them to a charity of the dreamers choice. I'm delighted to see that ordinary people are benefiting from financial techniques like this.
So, sign up to be a dreamer over at DreamBank - or see what people are dreaming for.
The second example of the Generous Web is Bags for Zaza. I first read about Bags for Zaza through the blog Profy.com where the founder, Jennie, was interviewed about grassroots fundraising. Jennie is creating cool bags from fabric she already has in her stash as well as from friends and is selling them on her blog (via an auction model) with all of the monies going to her brother and sister-in-law for costs associated with adopting a little girl from Columbia.
In reading the interview I was impressed with Jennie's take on current fundraising models as well as her personal desire to give people something for their donation - but something made from materials she already had.
Do you think that you have gotten a different reaction from the online community by offering something tangible in return for a donation rather than simply asking for money?
I really have a problem with how fund raising is conducted in our culture. Running a race isn't going to cure cancer. I know it draws awareness, which in turn causes people to donate, but why can't we just donate without all the overhead? I did not want to ask people for money. I just can't imagine myself doing that in this situation; it's such a personal cause. I can't imagine people just handing me money so that someone they don't even know can adopt a child. This is ultimately about me donating my labour. The fact that I already possessed a truck full of fabric has enabled me to donate 100% of the purchase price towards Zaza's adoption — so satisfying. I am finally making some headway into reducing this ridiculous stash of fabric and really doing something I feel good about, something that has a tangible impact on the lives of people I love.
Bags for Zaza is modeled after the Darfur Project, another online bag auction started by Joyce to raise funds for the unimaginable situation in Darfur. Joyce has this to say about her project:
It has been an unbelievably fulfilling ride to combine several passions in this project. Listening to the small, still, easily ignored voice of God. Combining a passion (compulsion) for thrifting with a passion to create with needle and thread. Using reclaimed fabrics rich with imagined history and sending them back out into the world to begin anew.
Now skirts, jeans, curtains, quilts, tea towels, kitchen aprons, flour sacks, couches, belts, neckties, bedspreads, and table cloths are being casually slung over shoulders from across the prairies, over the mountains, and over oceans. The joy and connectedness spreads right around the world.
From off my shoulder and through my heart, welcome to the Darfur project.
The bags created by Jennie and Joyce are beautiful and unique works of art. Jennie names her bags after different books which is delightful. I encourage you to check out both sites. Both Jennie and Joyce are here in Canada.
I'm so in awe of all three of these women; they are definitely my heros. Take a moment of your time to check out their sites today.
You are Martin Heidegger! Your reputation is stained a bit by the fact that you were a member of the Nazi party, but your groundbreaking Being and Time is still read by a whole lot of people. You overuse the hyphen, and make up a lot of words. You died in 1976.