Giving through Proxy Power…and a New Science Fiction Museum

It's the season when many of us sit down and discuss the year's allocations for helping the world… call it giving, tithing, donating, or just joining others in making a better world for our grandchildren, or, as Jonas Salk described our basic duty -- "to be good ancestors."

For those who look ahead, it is self-interest, in its purest form.

Once again, let me tout an approach that might let you be systematic about this, picking among the various topics that raise your passion and using this annual exercise to do a very efficient thing: empowering others (activists) to go save the world for you!

Pass the word about this approach: The Power of Proxy Activism.  It could be your most effective (and comfortably simple) way to make a difference. To be part of the solution, not the problem.

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One forward-looking project you might consider: help crowd-fund the new Museum of Science Fiction -- to be established in Washington D.C.  Interactive exhibits will present the bold vision of Science Fiction, invoking its 'sense of wonder' about the universe --  exploring the intersection of science and the imagination. Right now... they are raising money through Indiegogo for a Preview Location as a first step toward the museum. See this interview with Executive Director Greg Viggiano.

As an added incentive, you can receive a private tour of the museum, a lecture and signed hardcover from Greg Bear. You can also receive a signed hard copy of my latest novel, Existence, or a signed set of five of my hardcovers.

Or…Be immortalized and have a character in my next novel named after you! Die gruesomely on paper and/or onscreen (if you so choose)! Or it makes the perfect holiday gift.

Click here to support the Museum of Science Fiction.

==From the Philippines to the Classroom==

There is urgent and immediate need around the globe: Help rescue and recovery efforts in the Philippines…still reeling from the terrible impact of Super-typhoon Haiyan. Thousands  have died from the storm and its aftermath, and survivors are in desperate need of food and fresh water, as well as medical supplies and sanitation. Groups such as Doctors without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres), the Red Cross and Oxfam International are sending teams of emergency responders to help with this tragic situation.

Every person’s list of memberships can be uniquely different. For example, I send money every year, selecting among organizations including:

The Planetary Society supports education, advocates for pro-science policy and directly funds innovative research on space exploration -- reminding us to keep looking toward the frontier in space. Now ably led by Bill Nye the Science Guy!

Project Heifer International educates and empowers impoverished farmers overseas to practice sustainable agriculture, setting up community cooperatives -- and working to end cycles of hunger and poverty. Your gift keeps on giving, for families pass on the training they receive -- and they give the first female offspring of their livestock gift to another neighboring family in need.

Habitat for Humanity International is involved in building and repairing simple decent and affordable homes for homeless or displaced people all over the world, using volunteer labor and donations. Families in need can purchase the houses through no-interest loans or other innovative financing solutions.

The Sierra Club, which has a proven track record of rationally negotiating long-term sustainable environmental solutions -- to maintain clean air and water and open spaces for our descendants. Radical environmentalists call then "sell-outs" but they are the ones who have to do the hard dickering in a flawed but real world.

The Ocean Foundation works to protect the health of the world's oceans and coastlines, as well as to conserve our disappearing coral reefs and marine mammals.

Greenpeace, I do not always agree with them. Proxy power involves a weighing of factors. But I am glad they are out there acting as the "bad cops" and thus getting corporations etc. to eagerly negotiate with the Sierra Club!  Think about it.

The Electronic Freedom Foundation fights to resist censorship and advocates for open accountability -- to defend your rights in a an ever-changing digital world. Another case where we disagree on some things… but I am glad they are out there spending my dues  on good fights.

Witness: See It, Film It, Change It. Witness is involved in getting video equipment directly into the hands of pro-freedom elements overseas -- to record and document human rights abuses -- transforming individual stories into powerful calls for justice and change.

The Skeptic Society: Fighting for the Enlightenment, the Skeptics Society promotes science, examining and illuminating all manner of extraordinary claims….and working to debunk a growing tsunami of pseudoscience.

==And a few newer sites==

The Long Now Foundation fosters long-term thinking about humanity's future and our responsibilities to that future.. 

Crowd-it-Forward  enables you to donate to contribute to "Random acts of crowd funding."

Donors Choose enables you to give directly to the classroom. Public school teachers may seek funding for special art, science or literacy projects to benefit their students, particularly in high-poverty neighborhoods. Help purchase microscopes, books, or painting supplies.

Finally, Books for Soldiers allows you to help fulfill specific requests from soldiers -- for books, DVDs or games. Of particular value to those stationed away from family during the holiday season.  I have some titles I'd suggest!

==Philanthropy on the larger scale==

And if you know someone a bit better-heeled?  Someone with the resources to make a much bigger difference?  Here is my paper on innovative philanthropy that circulated for a while in foundation circles. It proposes a nifty way to engage billionaires in the New Aristocracy… or for a mere millionaire to create a way to influence billionaires! Oh, and also to craft one of the best possible reality TV shows, ever!

Consider a modest institution called the Eye of the Needle Foundation or "EON." Its symbol, a camel sailing easily through a needle's eye, makes biblical reference to helping rich folks "reach heaven" by means of well-targeted altruism. The aim is to offer dramatic, extravagant, altruistic... and possibly historic ways for billionaires to spend their money.

Something for the man or woman who has everything.  (Oh, and did I mention... it would make a spectacular TV series?)

Go thou and be good ancestors.

The Power of Proxy Activism - Part II

Continuing from Part 1 on Proxy Power: I think this is a deeply under-rated aspect of activism in modern life. And it also has under-recognized potential. While fanatical groups have become very good at fund raising - especially through morally coerced church tithing - Proxy Power represents the alternative for busy moderates, whose lives and work and kid schedules simply will not let them study or devote huge amounts of time, passion and cash to saving the world.

Yes, there are dangers, e.g. that some people will pick up their copy of OXFAM or SIERRA magazine and say “There! I have saved the world.” and walk away. This certainly happens.

Another danger is that the citizen will be talked into joining an org that is all show and no substance, or whose efficiency score is very low, devoting most of the dues-income to further fund raising, or a magazine that is too expensive and glossy.

But I just don’t see these as major problems, compared to the benefits. What happens more often is an interesting psychological quirk. Simply by virtue of having joined one activist group, a member starts to think of herself or himself as THAT type of person. It is easier to persuade them to donate double-dues to that org, next year. Or to join another organization that will address yet another sector of that person’s own perceived problem-space.

Essentially, what Proxy Power does is offer a wide array of activism PRODUCTS to consumers, well-packaged and pursued by devoted staff. It is a capitalist-style market of competing organizations - often using gloss and style as part of their pitch - presenting the potential small donor with a whole supermarket of philanthropic or activist choices.

Isn’t that what we want? (And yes, some of our chosen charities will oppose or cancel each other! Some of you out there send money to the Heritage Foundation, which opposes my libertarians and democrats in almost all ways, acting relentlessly to re-establish rule by aristocratic lords. So?

 The whole pragmatic process of the Enlightenment has been to foster lots of open ferment and competition. When it works, the result is a NET movement for the good of all. It is when such groups act to squelch others, erect barriers of secrecy, or evade debate, that we get a warped process.)

I am convinced that we need to look at this whole realm of activity with more than a cynical glance. It is working. It is doing good. Moreover, it does not ask of our fellow citizens - the busy ones, with frenetic jobs and school schedules - more time than they feel they can commit. (And time is the precious limited commodity!)

Some contend that, by taking this approach, you fritter your charity dollars in small bits, when a single, large donation may have more direct impact. There is some validity to this point. On the other hand, this ignores how your contribution is effectively doubledin an interesting way, each time you join a worthy group. Because they then also gain political impact and momentum, with every increase of membership rolls. As their paid numbers increase, they are better able to lobby... or to approach large donors and say “help leverage our momentum with a big contribution.” (This means that poor students, who join at the Student Rate, are still doing good.)

Finally, there is a service to you, the donor. You get to create a profile of your own personality, your passion and commitment, by choosing a dozen groups who will be your deputies in saving the world, while you are too busy to save it, yourself.

Indeed, this concept may deserve some stimulating investment by bigtime philanthropy! I have long felt that a helluva lot of good could be accomplished by some millionaire funding a small effort to get PROXY POWER out there, as a universal desideratum. One million dollars, spent pump-priming, in order to get a million Americans to do this, multiplying the results 500 fold.....

Think about it. Radicals of all kinds are already connected and tithing (and marching and arm-twisting politicians). But moderate citizens? Yes, they send a check and bags of clothes in a crisis. But day to day? The world seems frustratingly big and daunting. “What can I do?” They (reasonably) ask.

What if someone got on TV and showed how huge is the vast array of excellent active organizations, and further said: “No one is trying to convert you to pick any one of these. But if you don’t choose a FEW... sending dues to groups that you believe will help to save the world the way you want it saved... then aren’t you simply part of the problem?”

What about a nice web site devoted to this? Or better, a clearing house that scored and rated several hundred of these groups, so that folks could pick exactly which ones they want to encourage?

Well. That’s it about Proxy Power. Your thoughts are welcome.

PS.... how to deal with the subsequent junk mail from all these organizations? Some - on their membership forms - have a box telling them “don’t send me the magazine!” On the other hand, you can strategically leave the magiazine where it might do some good, at a library or barbers shop... just deface your address first.

==For a broader perspective, see: Horizons and Hope: The Future of Philanthropy

David Brin

http://www.davidbrin.com

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The Power of Proxy Activism - Part I

I want to address an issue raised by some on the philanthropy list, which has emphasized the idea of generating charity and activism at the ground level... bypassing corporations and billionaires and governments and stimulating (instead) vigorous engagement by citizens. This discussion has been cranked up by the aftermath of Katrina.

In view of how generous Americans are in time of crisis, how can the goodness of average people be better leveraged in normal times? How to stimulate our fellow citizens to get involved.

Some of you have heard this before. But it bears repeating and your comments are welcome. Certainly it was worthwhile re-writing the notion in compact form, so that others can efficiently pass it along.

There is something that I have long called “Proxy Power”. (I touted it as long as 15 years ago, in the afterword to EARTH.) It is both kind of obvious and deeply under-considered.

Proxy Power is all about the uniquely convenient, but seldom discussed, ability of a modern person to participate in activism... helping change the world... by the simple expedience of joining some group that is vigorously pursuing that part of your personal agenda. In other words, you add both your membership dues and the impact of your membership number as added momentum behind people who are striving to save the world for you.

There is a wide and eclectic variety of such organizations to choose from. The group that you select will, presumably, contain passionate people who agitate - or act - in ways that are explicitly laid out in the group’s magazine or web site. Hence, you can know in advance how well they match your own goals for the world.

Every person’s list of memberships is different. For example, I send money every year, selecting among organizations including:

The Sierra Club, to speak out calmly for sustainable technology and to rationally negotiate compromise long term environmental solutions.

Greenpeace, in order to act as the “bad cops” -- getting corporations etc. to negotiate with the Sierra Club! (I do not always agree with Greenpeace. But that is true of several groups on this list. Proxy power is always a weighing of factors.)

Project Heifer. Direct action: empowering poor local farmers overseas.

Oxfam: Fighting global poverty and feeding the world.

Habitat for Humanity.  Direct action: both at home and abroad, providing shelter for the poor. (Badly needed right now.)

The Electronic Freedom Foundation. To resist censorship and fight for open accountability.

The Skeptic Society. Fighting for the Enlightenment.

Project Witness. Direct action: getting video equipment into the hands of pro-freedom elements overseas. (Highly recommended.)

The Planetary Society: Supporting education and space exploration.

Donors Choose: Give directly to public school teachers to fund special projects in the classroom.

And so on...

The examples listed above are just a few of a myriad activist organizations that will take your money, and then go forth to try and save the world for you.. I can send them membership dues, vicariously participate by flipping pages in their magazine, then put the magazine in the public library and get on with my life, knowing I have at least empowered someone else to work in my behalf in a dozen areas.

These are not my only charities or charitable endeavors. I volunteer locally and help the scouts do good deeds. I give blood 4x a year (hoping to earn my 10 gallon hat!) and send cash to the Red Cross etc whenever there’s a crisis. I send lots of signed books to charity auctions and send misc checks out all the time. I am trying to get EON started so that (one can hope) some truly ambitious projects might be implemented by billionaire whim. I even ran my own charity for a while: (Science Fiction helps the world? I formerly sponsored a contest aimed at using new tools - and science fiction - to benefit both teachers and kids. The resource list and concept are still useful! See: http://www.analogsf.com/wow for details. )

But Proxy Power is special. Its modern approach has received far too little attention, especially for the convenience factor, which appears, at surface, to make it seem less passionate and “good” than other types of activism. Indeed, charity supposed to be convenient, is it? Convenience makes charity look less.. well... charitable.

But try to look at the big picture. A million people, each donating $25 to a dozen activist organizations, would add up to $300 million sent to groups whose professional activists may know far better how to use the money, than most of those million passive members. Members who could never find the time or expertise to do much on their own.

Next... finishing on Proxy Power... Meanwhile your thoughts are welcome.

For the larger picture, see: Horizons and Hope: The Future of Philanthropy

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David Brin

http://www.davidbrin.com

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