by aaron on November 3, 2008
I dislike fundraising. Talk of money usually makes me uncomfortable.
So, why do I work for and believe in Invested Citizens?
It’s like making chocolate chip cookies. You have to follow a recipe – some kind of plan – to make sure they turn out awesome. If you just throw ingredients together, who knows what you’ll wind up with? Nasty cookies, perhaps.
When you’re already going through the trouble of baking, you might as well follow a good recipe and do it right.
Here’s the point: All of us are already investing money – tremendous amounts of money – in our society. But the recipe we’re following has been mostly written by profit-driven corporations, irresponsible government, and a ruthless marketing industry. What’s the result? Environmental devastation, severe tolls in health and education, widening income and opportunity gaps, and an increasingly finite, populated planet with no plans for sustainability. All very nasty cookies.
Invested Citizens isn’t about getting you to give more. We’re about re-writing the recipe for the world we all deserve to live in.
Take Carrot Mob, for example. They rallied an entire neighborhood in San Francisco to do their weekend grocery shopping at the store that bid to invest the highest portion of their profits in making their store more environmentally friendly. The winning store (22%) made a record windfall that day, became more sustainable, and the neighbors all got what they needed anyway.
Win-Win-Win. That’s a recipe for success. You could do it anywhere.
I don’t like money talk, but I do like Carrot Mob and others who give us creative new recipes for a better world. That’s why I’m an invested citizen.
Let’s share our ideas. Let’s set our minds to solving these problems. The more cooks in this kitchen the better. We already invest in this world every day, so let’s work together to do it the right way and we can cook up something good.
That’s the kind of work I want to be a part of. How about you?
Tagged as:
fundraising,
invested citizens,
money,
nasty cookies,
recipes for change
by aaron on October 30, 2008
We’ve been remiss in our posting this week and you deserve to know what’s going on. After finally letting our friends and family know what we’re working on, we’ve gotten a flood of traffic and some great responses. We’ve been busy this week, listening to your feedback, answering questions, and thinking about how we can make Invested Citizens and this site better. We’re working on a few things, which I’ll summarize below. But the most exciting news is that our first intern, Danielle, joined us this morning. She’s awesome and she’ll be helping make our events awesome too.
What’s New:
In response to your feedback, we’re…
- Furiously working to add content to our site, specifically to describe the problems, rights, and solutions we’re working on.
- Adding more images.You asked and we’re trying to answer.
- Producing a video about what we’re about. This will take some time, but we understand that some of you don’t like text. We understand.
- Hoping to get a new design for our site. We know our site could be prettier, but in case you haven’t caught this, we’re a startup and we’re trying to balance the need to look good with the fact that our money is better spent elsewhere for the moment. If you’d like to fix this problem, we’d like to talk to you.
I could say more, but I need to go do those things I just told you we’re working on. Thanks for stopping by.
Tagged as:
book club,
events,
intern,
new haven,
story of stuff,
updates
by aaron on October 23, 2008
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You give every day. You give time to keeping up your health and appearance. You give support to friends who need comfort or attention. You give money to merchants who rely on your business. There are many ways to give, and they’re all good.
When it comes to community giving, the story is the same. Money, time, counsel, clothes, food, education, and solidarity: these are all ways of giving. We should never hoist one way over another – to write a check and to feed a child are equally noble and worthy.
But here we are in 2008, and there are nearly 2 billion people in poverty and AIDS ravages Africa and one estimate says that half of all health problems in the world are caused by unsafe drinking water and our natural resources are hitting their limits and climate change is a nice way of saying our time on Earth is limited – and we’re speeding toward the deadline.
Wow. (Deep breath.) We’ve heard it all before, and it’s overwhelming.
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Yesterday, I had the distinct pleasure of listening to three brilliant thinkers discuss the question, Can We Save the World Economy? They shared a lot worth remembering, but what I liked hearing from everyone, especially Jeffery Sachs, was that it’s time we did what is right. And what’s right and what’s best for us, for America, and the world, is difficult and unpopular.
We need to change the way we produce and consume everything, especially energy. We need to rebuild infrastructure. We need to make massive investments in education, foreign aid, and eliminating poverty. The myth that we can keep going like we’ve been going and have all we want is just that: a myth. People are going to need to sacrifice, to make changes, and we need to do it sooner rather than later.
We have been nurtured on a lie the last 28 years. That we can pay no taxes, spend more, and have it all: a safe country, clean air, and good public education. IT’S JUST NOT TRUE.
So, what I’ve been wondering for quite a while is who will take a stand, say what’s unpopular, and lead us where we need to go? To do what is right and to do what we need to do is not going to be easy. It is going to be hard. But we must do it. We have no other choice. Will our next president be that person? Is there another man or woman with the moral authority to hold the world’s attention and show us where we need to go? I certainly hope so.
It’s harder than ever with the demands of a 24/7 media, but Professor Sachs left us with some words of encouragement:
“You’re a lucky generation: in 25 years you can end poverty and save the planet. It’s only a matter of focus… and it won’t break the bank – it’s all within a few points of GNP [and] it’ll save the world.”
Tagged as:
earth institute,
future,
good,
jeffrey sachs,
moral,
president,
right,
unpopular
Many updates are coming to the site this week. We’re glad you’ve found us and we appreciate your patience as we develop. If you have any questions or comments, please write us using the contact form.
Tagged as:
construction,
progress,
update
by aaron on October 20, 2008
Saturday Night Live’s return from the comic abyss is one of many reminders: in just two weeks the polls will open and (hopefully) you will vote.
Voting once every four years in the presidential elections is probably what most Americans would consider their greatest act of citizenship. You make your choice, cast a ballot, and it’s affirmed: ours is a participative democracy. Unlike tax season – which visits us yearly – election day is a rare time to feel good about citizenship.
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Tagged as:
barack obama,
election,
invested citizens,
john mccain,
money,
november 4th,
vote
I’ll be in New York next Monday to hear a talk at the Earth Institute with Jeffrey Sachs, George Soros, and Nouriel Roubini: Can We Save the World Economy? I hope the answer is yes, but regardless it should be a fascinating discussion with some of the world’s top minds. [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
columbia,
crowded planet,
earth institute,
economy,
george soros,
globalization,
jeffrey sachs,
new york