The year: 2235. Zerbina, a successful interplanetary trader, and her holohusband Zork, are waking up to their first cup of Andromedan coffee. They have their central communications unit tuned to Intergalactic Public Radio, and host Robert Siegel-backslash-12 is relating the top news story of the day. An extended Martian drought has left tens of thousands of poor migrant settler families with diminishing supplies of food and water, he reports. One of their spokesmen urges legislators to pass the Emergency Relocation Bill that has been stalled in the World Senate for weeks.
Zerbina is moved to take action. “Computer,” she says softly, “Who’s helping the Martian settler families?” Instantly her hyperbrowser searches the iWeb for nonprofit organizations that are providing relief to the beleaguered families, displaying a list of names and profiles on the smartsurfaces of her apartment. She scrutinizes the list: there are 690 different organizations headquartered on six planets and three moons.
“Which of these organizations has the strongest advocacy record?” Zerbina asks thoughtfully.
Her hyperbrowser once again springs into action, instantly sorting through and interpreting tens of thousands of press releases that have been posted to the iWeb. The Intergalactic Immigration Forum jumps to the top of the list.
Zerbina smiles: she knows this organization well. Responding to a small donation she had made to them a while back, they had been sending her holographic newsletters for several months, keeping her apprised of their work. The Forum had long ago applied for and received iWeb Charity Accreditation, enabling the organization to accept secure subspace money transfers.
“Computer,” she says, “Transfer twenty gigacredits to the Intergalactic Immigration Forum. Mark the transfer ‘for support of the Martian migrant families.’”
“Transfer confirmed,” replies the machine, in a soothing, albeit somewhat metallic, voice.
We’re not quite there yet, but a number of initiatives are giving us glimpses of the future of web-based philanthropy. To paraphrase George Burns, we should look to the future because that’s where we’re going to spend the rest of our lives …
According to a press release I received from a company representative, PRODEGE is helping nonprofit organizations raise funds by giving them their own private-label search engines. A nonprofit simply signs up with PRODEGE and encourages its supporters to do web searches on its dedicated search engine. Each search generates revenues for the organization. PRODEGE automatically tracks, reports, and distributes proceeds to its nonprofit partners on a monthly basis. (If any WCT readers have used this product, please let me know.)
Our brilliant colleagues in the UK have dreamed up the One Million Masterpiece website. The site invites visitors to use their mouses to paint or draw pictures while onsite. Each visitor-artist is then asked to contribute £3.50 to have his or her masterpiece become part of a giant canvas that will be unveiled at a major London landmark (the birthplace of Jennifer Saunders?) in July 2007. The group hopes to raise £3.5 million for a number of UK-registered charities including Oxfam, Save the Children, and the World Wildlife Federation. Visitors can also use the site’s tools to create and post videos. Pneumatic!
TouchDC introduces the people of Greater Washington to outstanding charities they might otherwise never hear about. Powered by Network for Good, TouchDC enables donors to search for giving and volunteering opportunities by neighborhood and by program area. The site provides donors a safe and convenient way to donate funds online.
hakak.
Posted by: flipper | July 27, 2006 at 07:56 AM
So you're saying that in 2235 only the hyperpoor will want to settle on Mars? or are they migrant farmers, harvesting giant hydroponic zucchinis? What makes Zork holo? It's not his holozork, is it? And isn't the iWeb Charity Accreditation thing a dystopic element? We need answers here.
Cool post, you zork.
Posted by: erasmus | July 27, 2006 at 08:56 PM
Sorry. Forgot to ask flipper if that means he wants more halibut.
Posted by: erasmus | July 27, 2006 at 08:58 PM
hi erasmus, in this case it is an expression of (almost) complete satisfaction. a wonderfully flowing good will. like when it is late spring, you have found a sheltered bay, you are suspended in the perfectly cool waters of your waking dream. yes, this is good. yes, this is cool and delightful. yes, this is to be shared. with you. and you. and you. peace, unforeskinned brothers. peace sisters and cloaked brothers too. peace mothers fathers daughters sons. peace and joy to you. joy and peace to you all. peace and peace and peace. hakak.
Posted by: flipper | July 28, 2006 at 02:03 PM
These are the voyages of the starship Philanthropic Enterprise, it's five year mission, etc, etc...
Posted by: a.mole | July 28, 2006 at 02:35 PM
The charity accreditation thing was definitely a Brazil moment in the post. I think it's a terrible idea for many reasons -- a topic worthy of future discussion on this blog. Let me know if you'd like to guest blog on this, e. I know you have strong feelings on the subject. No good ideas, just strong feelings :o)
Live long and hakak.
Hey, Mr. Mole: I haven't heard from Lenore in a long while. Are you in touch with her? My colleague Phil Anthropoid had a bit of a falling out with her a while back, and I know he'd like to make amends.
Posted by: Albert Ruesga | August 02, 2006 at 09:30 PM
Ciao vez!
I will nose your regards out the molehole next time I imagine I am under her virtual petunias. = : o
How is ol' Phil? He sure gave hakak a snap or two back in the day, eh? Heh-heh. Maybe Lenore didn't get his humor.
Posted by: a.mole | August 03, 2006 at 01:49 PM
Concerning serious e-philanthropy, I would like to mnention here a new website of a non-profit NGO called Donationpixel.
Their goal is to collect money for different humanitarian projects around the world.
Their website offers the visibility of the donor - this could be interesting for many companies - the choice of the project and the country, and also the visibility of the work done in the field. They also give answers to different questions, like "Where goes my money?" or "what do they do with it?".
It seems to be an interesting new approach to encourage donations for vulnerablesin poor countries. The URL is
http://www.donationpixel.org/index.php
Maybe a new way to attract more donation.
Thanks for your attention.
Robert
Posted by: Robert | November 16, 2006 at 08:42 AM
While we are not martians, the vast majority of what you describe is alive and well at www.globalgiving.com. We've got 400+ projects around the world, totally vetted and searchable. And the feedback loops (not yet holographic, but they are push-emailed to your inbox/posted on the project's pages on the site) are in motion. Check us out - we'd love your feedback.
Donna from GG.
Posted by: Donna | March 06, 2007 at 04:41 PM