The Web 2.0 world is a great environment for connecting people and causes in ways that until recently were unimaginable. One example of an excellent peer-to-peer philanthropy platform in www.globalgiving.com.
The mission of Washington, DC-based GlobalGiving is to sustain a “marketplace for good” that connects donors directly to the causes they care most about. Since its launch in 2002, GlobalGiving has helped thousands of donors give over $11 million to approximately 1,000 projects worldwide.
Theodore Malloch, an advisor to GlobalGiving, recounted to me several stories (which are also included in his upcoming book titled Generous Giving) of individual giving that were enabled through GlobalGving.
Malloch described the story of Paula Diley, Durham, NC, who was raised to be a “giver.” She comes from a family of nine and learned how to share at an early age. Through her siblings, she saw the importance of celebrating with others when they are blessed. Diley set out a goal to give to all one hundred and ninety four nations of the world.
Diley maintains a running list of all the countries of the world and crosses each one off as she is able to give. So far, she is up to 69 projects in 67 nations! Diley also makes sure to support a variety of different projects, from play pumps in one country to healthcare issues, water quality, education, schools, economic development and aids awareness.
One of Diley’s giving inspirations is Muhammad Yunus, an economist from Bangladesh and the founder of Grameen Bank [ www.grameen-info.org ]. Yunus is a Nobel Peace Prize winner known for his work in micro-credit loans. Yunnus started with a small amount of his own money, and it spread to so many people. After Diley read Yunnus’ book “Banker to the Poor” she realized that although she only has a small amount to give, combined with others, needs can be met all over the world. Today’s web facilitates the process of aggregated giving.
Malloch also recounts the story of John Burg and Heather Haines, Washington, DC, who instead of asking for traditional wedding gift items like a blender or toaster, decided to register on GlobalGiving. This couple believes that have been so fortunate that it made sense to be able to give back.” Haines explained. “In the spirit of giving, we wanted to be able to give our guests another option.” The couple is excited about a project in India, the destination of their honeymoon. In addition to putting the India project on their registry, they are making a contribution of their own in honor of their guests.
Malloch also cites the example of Timothy Campbell, New Delhi, India, who is a habitual GlobalGiving gift card buyer. GlobalGiving allows people to make a charitable gift to somebody while allowing them to choose the cause, and perhaps find a new project or organization in need. Campbell’s family has always enjoyed the tradition of giving each other donations as well as gifts. He says, “I have recently begun to feel that it is more important to a lot of people I know to be able to support a cause they believe in rather than to receive a physical gift.”
A final example highlighted by Malloch is Nicole Shampaine, Washington, DC, who also uses GlobalGiving gift cards. Shampaine likes the idea of giving recipients the option to choose the project they would like to support, instead of picking something for them. GlobalGiving has something for everyone with projects ranging from environmental issues to bringing poor girls out of poverty through soccer.
The various examples that Malloch cites with respect to the GlobalGiving platform illustrate how giving has changed in today’s world. Individuals through GlobalGiving are empowered to engage in widespread peer-to-peer giving. Givers are typically more motivated when they see the impact of their gifts; web sites can facilitate this process of giving.
I attended Calgary-based TechRev's second event this year. This one featured a couple of successful CleanTech companies, as well as ENMAX, which is one of Alberta's electrical utilities. It was an eye-opener for me, as I can't say that I know much about this sector. In the short 20 minutes of presentations by Michael Carten from Sustainable Energy Technologies, Clayton Bear of New Energy Corporation and Doug Sullivan of ENMAX, I heard the heroes (and like most heroes, unsung) of CleanTech describe their companies's products, and moreso their passion to make the environment better and to supply solutions to countries and organizations where there would be no solution otherwise.
They're heroes not only in developing clean technology but in an entrepreneurial sense. Hearing their story of what it takes to get it done in the face of economic, technology and financial changes make 'normal' tech startups seem relatively easy. Michael and Clayton have some common qualities I think. They were both humble, hard working engineers who have had to endure a great deal, for a long time to get their products to a point where they are available when the world needs it. So while the rest of the world is going green, these guys were ahead of the curve, and against the headwinds at the time, made it possible for the world to 'go green'.
Both of them made mention that their products might not have made it, if it weren't for the help from the folks at NRC-IRAP, which are also unsung heroes. They've helped many tech companies, maybe even yours, and for something like CleanTech, they've enabled Canada to be one of the leaders, when it didn't make much economic sense, or have a large market. Both Michael and Clayton voiced a genuine thanks to NRC-IRAP, which should be on all our behalf. Sure, it's their 'job', but I've met enough of them to know that they those thanks are earned.
More kudos to Pam Boytinck, Ivan Sierralta, Laura Sullivan and their bosses Darren Massey and John Masters at CTI for making TechRev happen. Their mission is to 'profile local technology leaders and promote opportunities for investment and innovation'. It took a lot of work and cajoling for them to get various groups together to create TechRev and is yet another thankless job of theirs.
Well I'm going to thank them. TechRev is important because it brings industry and the tech sector together, to recognize what can be achieved by getting industry to become sponsors, initial customers and maybe even investors. The CTI folks are far too modest to say, but I've heard that some of these industry/tech sector successes are a direct result of them doing this. So you can see why TechRev can be a great catalyst and model for all of us in the tech sector.
Doug Sullivan represented industry and they deserve credit for stepping up and supporting companies like these. There was an announcement with another industry partner that didn't make it in time for the event. Rumor has it that it's another large company that starts with an 'E'. In any case, can you say momentum?
I don't have the space here to actually describe their companies, and I would probably would do it poorly, but click on the links above and see for yourself, some real technology heroes.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) invites you to participate in a discussion that will help guide the investment of more than $800 million in research and development (R&D) over the next five years.
NSERC currently partners with approximately 1,500 companies through a range of funding programs that support university-industry R&D collaborations and place students and recent PhDs in industry. These companies gain a competitive advantage not only from the knowledge that is generated, but also through preferential access to highly skilled, job-ready students.
Through a series of meetings with industry across Canada, NSERC hopes to develop a strategic plan for the funding of R&D partnerships between businesses and post-secondary institutions. From these meetings, they expect to gain a better understanding of innovation in industry, what industry needs to be more innovative, and the role academic research and highly-trained people can play in industrial innovation.
The meeting for companies involved in the ICT-New Media Sector across the Prairies will be held on Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 from 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm at University of Alberta’s Enterprise Square. Please RSVP to Roxanne Balcaen by email at roxanne.balcaen@nserc.ca before November 28th if you plan on attending. For participants located outside of Edmonton, NSERC will reimburse reasonable travel costs.
The 3rd annual Canadian New Media Awards were held recently in Toronto as part of the nextMEDIA conference. The event was MC-ed by the comedian Sugar Sammy at the gorgeous CiRCA nightclub. The winners at the event included Viigo, a Toronto-based mobile RSS startup, and marblemedia, among others. The complete list of the winners (along with the finalists) is below:
COMPANY OF THE YEAR
MOST PROMISING COMPANY OF THE YEAR
EXCELLENCE IN SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITES
EXCELLENCE IN SOCIAL MEDIA APPLICATIONS
EXCELLENCE IN GAMING
EXCELLENCE IN CHILDREN'S
EXCELLENCE IN CROSS PLATFORM
EXCELLENCE IN NEWS/INFORMATION
EXCELLENCE IN CULTURE, LIFESTYLE ARTS
EXCELLENCE IN LEARNING
EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR
PROGRAMMER OF THE YEAR
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
DESIGNER OF THE YEAR
Viigo Inc. develops and markets one of the world's most popular mobile content and services applications for smartphones. With over 5,000 channels... [more]
marblemedia is a content creation company on the forefront of television and new media production, devoted to telling stories that entertain and... [more]
