I've been following and greatly enjoying the Uncultured Project (that I mentioned on an earlier post), a series of posts done by a kid named Shawn who went looking for his own answers to the causes of poverty.
Shawn's latest post is this one:
Here Shawn talks about the flaws in fundraising and how it needs to change. Finally someone is saying it. I've been following a lot of non-profit blogs the past few weeks and they all keep saying, "there's no reason to be ashamed of fundraising." I'm sorry...but if you are feeling ashamed, there's a reason. Shame doesn't just come out of nowhere!
I'm sick of being guilted into giving money. At the moment I ain't making much money and frankly I'm close to being homeless. So I get even more annoyed by all the people who keep asking and asking. There HAS to be another way! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this as I think about this some more...another way of doing philanthropy!
Monday, April 7, 2008
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2 comments:
Hey! I'm Shawn from the Uncultured Project. I found you on google and I got scared when I first saw the title of your post.
I was worried your post was a critique for my decision to accept donations.
As you might know, at the request of friends, I opened up a PayPal account to accept donations. It was a tough decision for me - because I started this project saying I wasn't asking for money.
But part of the reason I changed my mind - aside from repeated requests - was because I wanted to show charities you could talk about poverty in another way and still raise money.
Thanks for the support and helping to spread the word :)
No worries Shawn. I was more using you as an example of how when work is done well, the money flows in. There are a number of people I know who, like you, went out to do something on their own and ended up with money and an organization (look out!).
On the other hand, I'd urge you to stick to doing things you do well. Your greatest gift is the ability to raise awareness. You do an amazing job of it! I would really be interested in your showcasing/contrasting different regions and how the problems/issues change between regions. Most people assume that poverty is the same. I've learned that it is different, and the causes are different. It would be interesting to see this on film.
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