Greetings!
I commented yesterday in a response to what was our direction to our investment advisors that their job wasn't to help us make ourselves happily richer, but happily poorer.
Gregory
Friday, November 19, 2021
Saturday, August 7, 2021
A Legacy of Living Joy
Greetings!
I've been promising Michele Luna (Executive Director of Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods) that I would write something about why Pat and I changed our minds about leaving a specific bequest to Stewards in our Trust instructions to the Sonoma Community Foundation. We've decided not to leave it to chance and good fortune after we die. There's a risk that increasing our annual contributions now will mean we won't have as much for ourselves in our advancing years. If and when that comes about, we'll ask everyone (and ourselves) to make adjustments.
There's also a risk that the fear of losing the wealth we now have will cause us to fail to respond to the vital needs of those causes we support. We've decided that our fear of not adequately responding is greater than our fear of losing our wealth.
Put another way, it's about what gives us more joy. We enjoy it more to have our support reap benefits we can see, then to live more comfortably, and only dream of the impact when we are gone.
The decision wasn't made without plenty of financial planning. My own super-spreadsheet was used to reassure Pat that we that could retire 15 years ago. Many years of wealth managers have only strengthened that position, and allowed us to increase our support of the community while living a good life.
We encourage everyone to dig deep into your own giving philosophy. Decide the financial assumptions upon which you live, and which you will carry forward. You can always change them if the joy disappears. We have found that the joy greatly reduces the fear.
Sunday, December 20, 2020
A New Dynamic in the Philanthropic Community
Greetings!
A swivel by the business community from contributor to requestor is impacting the nonprofit world significantly. Business friends whose generosity funnels support to nonprofits are instead using it to keep small to medium size businesses afloat. Large business founders and investors are spending their time and money insuring the private sector's survival, especially as a source of jobs and the future of their children's assets.
What is clear is the passion that older hometown business owners have for supporting their younger struggling successors and entrepreneurs. This virus is disrupting more than social interactions.
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Supporting the Homeless Activists
Greetings!
Looking for effective means to support activists who are responding to the state's $500 million in one-time grants to address the homelessness problem, I've decided to help provide them with a tool that worked twenty years ago when I participated in the implementation of another statewide grant program. Though the tools for building a communications system amongst them have improved, a central non-governmental coordination entity needs to be dedicated to finding them all, and linking them in an easy to use system. This week, I put a nonprofit together (Homeless Emergency Assistance Program Association) for that purpose. Gathering contacts from county and state funding applications, newspaper articles, and allied advocacy groups, HEAPA's goal is to facilitate communication to share program and funding ideas at the grassroots level.
Looking back of what we did for First Five of California, I know you'll agree that success is dependent on connecting good people with good ideas. Your contributions, like mine, are tax deductible.
Gregory Fearon
2040 Elizabeth Way
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
(707) 546-5771
Looking for effective means to support activists who are responding to the state's $500 million in one-time grants to address the homelessness problem, I've decided to help provide them with a tool that worked twenty years ago when I participated in the implementation of another statewide grant program. Though the tools for building a communications system amongst them have improved, a central non-governmental coordination entity needs to be dedicated to finding them all, and linking them in an easy to use system. This week, I put a nonprofit together (Homeless Emergency Assistance Program Association) for that purpose. Gathering contacts from county and state funding applications, newspaper articles, and allied advocacy groups, HEAPA's goal is to facilitate communication to share program and funding ideas at the grassroots level.
Looking back of what we did for First Five of California, I know you'll agree that success is dependent on connecting good people with good ideas. Your contributions, like mine, are tax deductible.
Gregory Fearon
2040 Elizabeth Way
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
(707) 546-5771
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Affordable Housing Described
Greetings!
A friend of mine who doesn't rent or own a house told me recently, "Supporting affordable housing in Sonoma County is a discussion over whether the nearly rich can live nearby the rich." Thinking about my continuing efforts to get permanent subsidized housing for homeless included in a variety of public ventures lately, I tried to push back.
Sonoma County and Santa Rosa have been trying to find ways to build more housing, to replace those destroyed in the fire, and to keep pace with our general housing needs by building up downtown and along transit corridors. But the cheapest unit anyone has proposed is still unaffordable to those making less than $50,000/year for a family four. So affordable to whom?
A friend of mine who doesn't rent or own a house told me recently, "Supporting affordable housing in Sonoma County is a discussion over whether the nearly rich can live nearby the rich." Thinking about my continuing efforts to get permanent subsidized housing for homeless included in a variety of public ventures lately, I tried to push back.
Sonoma County and Santa Rosa have been trying to find ways to build more housing, to replace those destroyed in the fire, and to keep pace with our general housing needs by building up downtown and along transit corridors. But the cheapest unit anyone has proposed is still unaffordable to those making less than $50,000/year for a family four. So affordable to whom?
Saturday, September 23, 2017
Connected and Getting Green
At this point in my life, I have the ability to design a way of living which walks my talk. So my goal in the future is zero emissions, and as much reuse as possible.
I'm getting rid of my gasoline-fueled car, and have bought a 2017 BOLT. Capable of 230 miles on a charge, it's charged every few days at night from a dedicated circuit at the front of my garage supported by the 24 solar panels on my roof. The panels supply more than enough to charge our cars, and during most of the year reduce our demand for external electricity from Sonoma Clean Power to very little. The City of Santa Rosa treats our 160,000 gallons of wastewater, and sends it to the Geysers up in the hills east of us to CalPine to generate electricity which it sells back to Sonoma Clean Power.
So our wastewater and the sun on our roof fuel our cars. The Bolt is a mobile hotspot, so a wifi-accessible handheld substitutes for a cell phone. All my computer devices access our email and the internet through it. Hardly anything I consume isn't readily available whereever I am. I'm finding myself moving as seemlessly through my community as I have been through the house.
So how could my community help more of us take actions like this? Encourage the use of, and the affordability of electric cars. The City should designate and equip more of its parking lots and structures with charging devices powered by the solar panels recently installed on City building roofs. Electric car-charging parking spaces should be free (but time-limited), and subsidized by higher rates for gasoline-fueled car parking spaces.
Waste from portable toilets should be allowed to be deposited into the City's wastewater treatment intake for free, and the reduced costs of their operation used to expand the number of free portable toilets at parks and in other public areas.
Let's all work together to help us walk our talk.
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Old Courthouse Square Civic Engagement, Last Round
Greetings!
A couple of months ago, those planning the reunification of Santa Rosa's Old Courthouse Square revealed their plans. Most complaints focused on the removal of some redwood trees and the addition of parking spaces.
This week, another design was revealed, and the planners are again asking for comments. Though no public meetings are being held before it is voted on at the City Council, you do have an opportunity to send in comments and questions which will be forwarded to the Council. Here is some information on that.
A couple of months ago, those planning the reunification of Santa Rosa's Old Courthouse Square revealed their plans. Most complaints focused on the removal of some redwood trees and the addition of parking spaces.
This week, another design was revealed, and the planners are again asking for comments. Though no public meetings are being held before it is voted on at the City Council, you do have an opportunity to send in comments and questions which will be forwarded to the Council. Here is some information on that.
|
NEW!
Revisions to the Master Plan for the Reunification of Courthouse Square
The Master Plan showing the design features to be built into the Reunified Courthouse Square is being revised. The design team of Carlile-Macy, has been busy making refinements to the design of the interior improvements for the Square. Revisions to the Master Plan are being proposed for Council approval. The proposed changes are minor in nature, and generally relate to changes in placement of various features. Changes to the Master Plan include:
Comment on the Revisions – We want Santa Rosa residents to view themselves as part of the team helping to reshape Courthouse Square. The Square is the heart of our City and as such, you are part of this endeavor. We want to know what you think about the proposed revisions to the Master Plan for the Courthouse Square Reunification Project. Please click a button below to submit a comment or a question by Friday, April 15, 2016. You may also submit comments and questions by calling Carlene Okiyama, Senior Administrative Assistant at (707) 543-4284.
City Council Meeting on April 19, 2016 – At the City Council Meeting on April 19, we will present your comments to the Council, along with the proposed revisions to the Master Plan, for their approval. The Master Plan changes and any other direction given by the Council will be incorporated into the construction contract. The construction contract is also proposed to be awarded by the Council at this meeting.
Construction Activity Schedule – The City opened bids for the construction of the Courthouse Square Reunification Project on March 30. The bid results are available online. Construction activity is expected to commence in late-May and be completed by mid-November. You can track the progress of the project and subscribe for email updates at srcity.org/CHS.
Here are my comments:
Response to the Revised Courthouse Square Master Plan
Thanks for the chance to ask questions by Friday, April 17th
on the changes to the Old Courthouse Square Master Plan. I brought out my copy of the Master
Plan distributed last week at the CAB Board meeting, and compared it to your
new version.
Here are the changes I see:
·
18 fewer trees, with a huge shift from flowering
accent to deciduous shade trees.
The previous version had 117 new trees, with 53 flowering accent trees,
and 64 deciduous shade trees. The
new version has 12 flowering accent trees, and 77 deciduous shade trees. Looks like you chose to lose the color.
·
102 fewer bike parking spaces. The previous version had 120 spaces,
the new version has 18.
·
The elimination of all moveable furniture (16
pieces).
·
The elimination of four picnic benches.
·
The addition of hydration stations in the map
key, but I can’t find any on the map.
·
Though there seems to be a designated area for
children, it’s located amidst a cluster of trees, and the circular surface
designation has been removed.
·
The four large trees with circular benches in
the center of the Square have been reduced to small trees with circular
benches, with indications that this is a future addition.
·
Moving the color-changing LED lights from the middle
of the square to the ends of the pedestrian and vehicle passageways, tripling
the number of them, and indicating this is a future addition.
·
As you did indicate, the northern and southern
fountain and art space have been swapped.
And the handicapped parking space has been moved from in front of the
existing restaurant, and placed in a distant isolated corner space.
·
You also indicate changes to the ground
surfaces, most of which seem to be various types of concrete.
How do you think these changes make the square a more
inviting and pleasing environment?
|
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
The Cost of Service
Greetings!
Those of us whose time and resources are consumed by nonprofit work are driven by doing good and serving others. It's our religion, causes some grief, and often great sacrifice. We like to believe that there will always be followers, who will take our place as we did for others. But I'm worried about that assumption.
Volunteerism and community service have drawn from the ranks of those with reserve time. Parents used their reserves to provide an enormous wave of service to their communities in the late 19th and twentieth centuries, supporting causes which benefitted their families and the future of their children. Today, the reserve time of parents is disappearing. Grandparents used their accumulated reserve to give back to their communities, but now find they have less available than they thought they'd have.
But an even greater threat to the nonprofit world has begun to concern me. Beyond volunteers, we are running out of those who will work for pay within our organizations. The conditions of the work, and the careers we offer, are not sufficient to attract and retain motivated young people. And we are approaching the point where our excellent nonprofit managers, whose long-time dedication deserves far more than we've given them, are reaching burnout. They are examining their ability to continue holding together our dreams, and are considering putting their own needs first for once.
That should frighten all of us into action. We should see that change as unraveling the fabric of what holds us together. We should re-examine the sources and levels of revenue for these organizations, and institute a new commitment which recognizes their real value. We can't afford not to, and we don't have much time. Every day, we're losing the best of the generation who responded to President Kennedy's call to "Ask not what your nation can do for you, ask what you can do for your nation".
Those of us whose time and resources are consumed by nonprofit work are driven by doing good and serving others. It's our religion, causes some grief, and often great sacrifice. We like to believe that there will always be followers, who will take our place as we did for others. But I'm worried about that assumption.
Volunteerism and community service have drawn from the ranks of those with reserve time. Parents used their reserves to provide an enormous wave of service to their communities in the late 19th and twentieth centuries, supporting causes which benefitted their families and the future of their children. Today, the reserve time of parents is disappearing. Grandparents used their accumulated reserve to give back to their communities, but now find they have less available than they thought they'd have.
But an even greater threat to the nonprofit world has begun to concern me. Beyond volunteers, we are running out of those who will work for pay within our organizations. The conditions of the work, and the careers we offer, are not sufficient to attract and retain motivated young people. And we are approaching the point where our excellent nonprofit managers, whose long-time dedication deserves far more than we've given them, are reaching burnout. They are examining their ability to continue holding together our dreams, and are considering putting their own needs first for once.
That should frighten all of us into action. We should see that change as unraveling the fabric of what holds us together. We should re-examine the sources and levels of revenue for these organizations, and institute a new commitment which recognizes their real value. We can't afford not to, and we don't have much time. Every day, we're losing the best of the generation who responded to President Kennedy's call to "Ask not what your nation can do for you, ask what you can do for your nation".
Friday, June 13, 2014
Internet Conscious
Greetings!
On Google +, I've created 61 blogs, 34 communities, 8 pages, 153 videos, 55 maps, and 38,171 photos. They support my volunteer activities in community nonprofits here in Sonoma County, and tell the stories of heroic work done by my friends.
On Google +, I've created 61 blogs, 34 communities, 8 pages, 153 videos, 55 maps, and 38,171 photos. They support my volunteer activities in community nonprofits here in Sonoma County, and tell the stories of heroic work done by my friends.
Friday, April 11, 2014
Where's Your Charity? Put Your Mouth Where Your Money Is!
Greetings!
Now that most of us have filed or tax returns, and revealed to the feds who our favorite charities are, I think it's time to tell each other. Here's mine:
Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods
Coastwalk California
Sonoma Coast Surfriders
Windham Historical Society
Point Loma High School Alumni Association
Roseland University Prep
Now that most of us have filed or tax returns, and revealed to the feds who our favorite charities are, I think it's time to tell each other. Here's mine:
Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods
Coastwalk California
Sonoma Coast Surfriders
Windham Historical Society
Point Loma High School Alumni Association
Roseland University Prep
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Time, Content, and Place Management on the Internet
Greetings!
My efforts to help my young and old friends learn more about the tools available n the Internet to better organize their lives has led me to think about producing some Google Hangouts on Air which show how I use them. I'll also invite some of those I know have found them useful to explain how it works for them.
Time, content, and place management tools seem to be blending together in application packages which make it easier to keep track of what you and others who work with you are doing. Those skills are essential for young people to learn if they are to make their way through an increasingly complex future, clouded with online activities and real world demands.
Hopefully, I'll be able to channel the results of my thinking through Sonoma State's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and Santa Rosa Together's work with our young residents.
Gregory
My efforts to help my young and old friends learn more about the tools available n the Internet to better organize their lives has led me to think about producing some Google Hangouts on Air which show how I use them. I'll also invite some of those I know have found them useful to explain how it works for them.
Time, content, and place management tools seem to be blending together in application packages which make it easier to keep track of what you and others who work with you are doing. Those skills are essential for young people to learn if they are to make their way through an increasingly complex future, clouded with online activities and real world demands.
Hopefully, I'll be able to channel the results of my thinking through Sonoma State's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and Santa Rosa Together's work with our young residents.
Gregory
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Santa Rosa Civic/Community Engagement
Greetings!
Looking for opportunities to engage your skills and talents in the City of Santa Rosa? Look no further. Santa Rosa Together is a group of residents who are working to improve those opportunities, and they've established a web blog and some pages which will be used to keep track of their work.
Check it out at: Santa Rosa Together
Looking for opportunities to engage your skills and talents in the City of Santa Rosa? Look no further. Santa Rosa Together is a group of residents who are working to improve those opportunities, and they've established a web blog and some pages which will be used to keep track of their work.
Check it out at: Santa Rosa Together
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Art that did Good
Greetings!
I want to tell you all about an exhibit that I'm working to develop with the Sonoma County Museum. My inspiration for it came from a longing to recognize the contribution that a group of teenagers and their mentors at Evolution Art Institute made many years ago when a summer of energy resulted in dozens of struggling nonprofits receiving silk-screened t-shirts which promoted their causes. It was a small part of a public employment program called CETA, and quite a few of the students pursued careers as artists. For years, I wore the t-shirt that was made for the agency I ran in Cotati (KAIROS), and I would often see the t-shirts made for the other agencies. In the history of social activism in Sonoma County, I thought this artistic effort deserved recognition.
But there is no history of the contributions by Sonoma County artists to social activism. Earlier this year, I mentioned to a fellow board member my interest in getting old colleagues to see if we could dig those t-shirts out of the bottom of their dressers. I imagined a clothes line full of organizational t-shirts promoting social activism. My friend mentioned it to the Museum Director, and he contacted me. It seems that he was also thinking of an exhibit celebrating the history of art in social activism.
Let's set some ground rules. Artists in Sonoma County have long supported social activism by donating their work to raise operating money at fundraisers. There's too many of those to include in the exhibit. How about we narrow the entries to "artistry which motivated us to engage in works of social good"? I want all of you to think back over Sonoma County's recent history (let's say 50 years), and come up with examples for the exhibit. Contact me at gfearon@sonic.net or call t 546-5771 if you have ideas for me to pursue.
Gregory Fearon
I want to tell you all about an exhibit that I'm working to develop with the Sonoma County Museum. My inspiration for it came from a longing to recognize the contribution that a group of teenagers and their mentors at Evolution Art Institute made many years ago when a summer of energy resulted in dozens of struggling nonprofits receiving silk-screened t-shirts which promoted their causes. It was a small part of a public employment program called CETA, and quite a few of the students pursued careers as artists. For years, I wore the t-shirt that was made for the agency I ran in Cotati (KAIROS), and I would often see the t-shirts made for the other agencies. In the history of social activism in Sonoma County, I thought this artistic effort deserved recognition.
But there is no history of the contributions by Sonoma County artists to social activism. Earlier this year, I mentioned to a fellow board member my interest in getting old colleagues to see if we could dig those t-shirts out of the bottom of their dressers. I imagined a clothes line full of organizational t-shirts promoting social activism. My friend mentioned it to the Museum Director, and he contacted me. It seems that he was also thinking of an exhibit celebrating the history of art in social activism.
Let's set some ground rules. Artists in Sonoma County have long supported social activism by donating their work to raise operating money at fundraisers. There's too many of those to include in the exhibit. How about we narrow the entries to "artistry which motivated us to engage in works of social good"? I want all of you to think back over Sonoma County's recent history (let's say 50 years), and come up with examples for the exhibit. Contact me at gfearon@sonic.net or call t 546-5771 if you have ideas for me to pursue.
Gregory Fearon
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Parks in the Clouds
Greetings!
My generation of adventure leaders has struggled over the past few years with how to engage the next generation in our work. While climate change, recycling, and reducing pollution have proven popular, few new younger volunteers have chosen to spend time outdoors in support of our parks, forests, rivers, beaches, and wilderness areas. We wonder whether harder working lives and fewer hours for leisure have led most to choose online fantasy worlds, and fear the loss of direct connections to nature.
Lately, I've been exploring how some are helping build bridges between the two worlds.
For many years, I have supported and led an organization dedicated to preserving public access to, and protecting the environment of, the California Coast. The work of Coastwalk California has provided innovative, cloud-based information essential to the use and preservation of one of California's most important natural resources. Online maps, text, and photos from its most passionate hikers and revelers have engaged a broad range of new users. Kept up-to-date through a variety of evolving, volunteer -focused coastal defenders, the organization has continued to explore the latest online tools to share knowledge and stimulate participation.
I believe that some recent advances in online data collection and location-based education hold great promise to bring the web closer to our world. This spring, I participated in several regional and national conferences sponsored by companies and nonprofits devoted to developing stronger ties between technology innovators and those with causes.
Most of the talk centered on new methods to utilize social media platforms with limited budgets and staffing. One answer being explored was how to help more organizations utilize the energy and creativity of new online volunteers in marketing, fundraising, and promoting new partnerships to promote the organization. Another specialty area seems to be those whose tools and approaches are aimed at reaching and engaging those with smart phones and other mobile devices.
Like most who attend these conferences, I was looking for solutions to all of our problems in a simple answer. Coastwalk has enough challenges presently without my introducing yet another new adventure. To make matters more complex, my work with another nonprofit (Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods) meant I was looking for tools which could be useful in managing a 5,000 acre park we were agreeing to operate from the State Parks Department rather than see it closed. Find me an online resource, utilizing knowledgeable volunteers, centrally-supervised, which improves our management of the resource, and provides initial interpretive information to online and onsite visitors easily.
Two innovations fall into that category: Google's suite of new tools for Nonprofits, including Spreadsheet Mapper; and Canogle.com's Connect Naturally. Both address the needs my organizations have to better record and display key information about specific site locations in pursuit of protecting the resources while encouraging responsible access. Both expand our ability to utilize lightly-supervised volunteers, and can assist in the training of dedicated interpreters and naturalist activists.
Google's Innovations
Well-known for encouraging their staff to spend time developing new uses of their resources, it wasn't surprising at all to see their arrival in May at NTEN's national conference with lots of energy focused on assisting nonprofits to utilize the latest versions of Google Earth, Drive, YouTube, Site and Maps. Clearly, the message they brought to the conference was that they were being encouraged to make it as easy as possible for Google to become a major resource to assist nonprofits in reaching their missions. Among the presentations they gave was one in which they demonstrated a simplified approach to placing large quantities of text, photos, audio and video into Google Earth and Maps in order to tell the stories of locations. I believe these tools will assist Coastwalk California to connect users to the California Coastal Trail, and support our efforts to protect and provide access to it.
Canogle's Connect Naturally
Canogle's website services delivers geocontent about park areas and properties to GPS-enabled smart phones. Their customizable publishing platform allows land stewards to easily publish and update information about specific points of interest, creates customized tours and resource-directed databases, and delivers trail maps and park-related news in real time. I think Stewards can utilize these tools to help us expand and manage volunteers in Austin Creek Nature Reserve, and bring a new level of interpretive services to visitors. I'm also thinking that sections of the California Coastal Trail, where either local issues could be highlighted, or routing cautions are important, would make good use of this tool.
My generation of adventure leaders has struggled over the past few years with how to engage the next generation in our work. While climate change, recycling, and reducing pollution have proven popular, few new younger volunteers have chosen to spend time outdoors in support of our parks, forests, rivers, beaches, and wilderness areas. We wonder whether harder working lives and fewer hours for leisure have led most to choose online fantasy worlds, and fear the loss of direct connections to nature.
Lately, I've been exploring how some are helping build bridges between the two worlds.
For many years, I have supported and led an organization dedicated to preserving public access to, and protecting the environment of, the California Coast. The work of Coastwalk California has provided innovative, cloud-based information essential to the use and preservation of one of California's most important natural resources. Online maps, text, and photos from its most passionate hikers and revelers have engaged a broad range of new users. Kept up-to-date through a variety of evolving, volunteer -focused coastal defenders, the organization has continued to explore the latest online tools to share knowledge and stimulate participation.
I believe that some recent advances in online data collection and location-based education hold great promise to bring the web closer to our world. This spring, I participated in several regional and national conferences sponsored by companies and nonprofits devoted to developing stronger ties between technology innovators and those with causes.
Most of the talk centered on new methods to utilize social media platforms with limited budgets and staffing. One answer being explored was how to help more organizations utilize the energy and creativity of new online volunteers in marketing, fundraising, and promoting new partnerships to promote the organization. Another specialty area seems to be those whose tools and approaches are aimed at reaching and engaging those with smart phones and other mobile devices.
Like most who attend these conferences, I was looking for solutions to all of our problems in a simple answer. Coastwalk has enough challenges presently without my introducing yet another new adventure. To make matters more complex, my work with another nonprofit (Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods) meant I was looking for tools which could be useful in managing a 5,000 acre park we were agreeing to operate from the State Parks Department rather than see it closed. Find me an online resource, utilizing knowledgeable volunteers, centrally-supervised, which improves our management of the resource, and provides initial interpretive information to online and onsite visitors easily.
Two innovations fall into that category: Google's suite of new tools for Nonprofits, including Spreadsheet Mapper; and Canogle.com's Connect Naturally. Both address the needs my organizations have to better record and display key information about specific site locations in pursuit of protecting the resources while encouraging responsible access. Both expand our ability to utilize lightly-supervised volunteers, and can assist in the training of dedicated interpreters and naturalist activists.
Google's Innovations
Well-known for encouraging their staff to spend time developing new uses of their resources, it wasn't surprising at all to see their arrival in May at NTEN's national conference with lots of energy focused on assisting nonprofits to utilize the latest versions of Google Earth, Drive, YouTube, Site and Maps. Clearly, the message they brought to the conference was that they were being encouraged to make it as easy as possible for Google to become a major resource to assist nonprofits in reaching their missions. Among the presentations they gave was one in which they demonstrated a simplified approach to placing large quantities of text, photos, audio and video into Google Earth and Maps in order to tell the stories of locations. I believe these tools will assist Coastwalk California to connect users to the California Coastal Trail, and support our efforts to protect and provide access to it.
Canogle's Connect Naturally
Canogle's website services delivers geocontent about park areas and properties to GPS-enabled smart phones. Their customizable publishing platform allows land stewards to easily publish and update information about specific points of interest, creates customized tours and resource-directed databases, and delivers trail maps and park-related news in real time. I think Stewards can utilize these tools to help us expand and manage volunteers in Austin Creek Nature Reserve, and bring a new level of interpretive services to visitors. I'm also thinking that sections of the California Coastal Trail, where either local issues could be highlighted, or routing cautions are important, would make good use of this tool.
Friday, September 9, 2011
San Mateo Coast
This shot was taken in front of the Taco Bell in Pacifica. what a relaxing way to spend the afternoon.
Gregory
Monday, December 13, 2010
The War Around Us
Greetings!
If you needed any more evidence of the increasing gap between the super-rich and everyone else in America, you just needed to be conscious and listening to the political news over the past few weeks. It has been an exercise in power and political control by those who will gain from the extension of the Bush tax cuts.
And for everyone else? To be told it's just a good thing that some compromise was achieved or else the stockings would be completely empty this Christmas - this is what we should be thankful for?
Let's recount. The latest exercise in power begins when, at the peak of an economic boom, a mostly illegitimate President and Congress decide to lower taxes on the rich to stimulate the economy. The dot.com bust arrives, and so does Bin Laden. Restoring hopes and dreams, the feds lower interest rates, and everyone offers mortgages to anyone who breathes.
The smart money bets it will implode. When it does, they take the banks. The banks get us to bail them out, and fight all efforts to prevent it from happening again. When we demand to limit some paychecks, they decide to just keep the cash in their reserves.
Loans dry up, businesses don't expand, jobs go away, and the Republicans get elected on a pledge to eliminate government and lower the debt. But first, they hold unemployment relief hostage to their desire to extend low taxes for the rich and raise the debt.
Once they take office in January, they'll claim the high debt is the reason why they have to eliminate most government benefit programs, cut state and local subsidies, and slash government employment.
And these Republican initiatives will be cheered on by those who think that less government means more jobs for them. If we just returned to the days when government was not on our backs, we'd all be rich and happy.
If ever there was a war that was won by getting the soldiers on the other side to turn against their leaders, believe that it was better to be governed by the opposition, and voluntarily lay down their arms, it is happening here and now. So thoroughly have the rich convinced Americans that, not only did the tax cuts stimulate lots of new jobs, but that Americans voted Obama into office with only two years to overcome a decade of Republican work. Failing to do so, government is the problem and it should be abolished.
I just can't wait to see what the rich have in store for us next.
Gregory
If you needed any more evidence of the increasing gap between the super-rich and everyone else in America, you just needed to be conscious and listening to the political news over the past few weeks. It has been an exercise in power and political control by those who will gain from the extension of the Bush tax cuts.
And for everyone else? To be told it's just a good thing that some compromise was achieved or else the stockings would be completely empty this Christmas - this is what we should be thankful for?
Let's recount. The latest exercise in power begins when, at the peak of an economic boom, a mostly illegitimate President and Congress decide to lower taxes on the rich to stimulate the economy. The dot.com bust arrives, and so does Bin Laden. Restoring hopes and dreams, the feds lower interest rates, and everyone offers mortgages to anyone who breathes.
The smart money bets it will implode. When it does, they take the banks. The banks get us to bail them out, and fight all efforts to prevent it from happening again. When we demand to limit some paychecks, they decide to just keep the cash in their reserves.
Loans dry up, businesses don't expand, jobs go away, and the Republicans get elected on a pledge to eliminate government and lower the debt. But first, they hold unemployment relief hostage to their desire to extend low taxes for the rich and raise the debt.
Once they take office in January, they'll claim the high debt is the reason why they have to eliminate most government benefit programs, cut state and local subsidies, and slash government employment.
And these Republican initiatives will be cheered on by those who think that less government means more jobs for them. If we just returned to the days when government was not on our backs, we'd all be rich and happy.
If ever there was a war that was won by getting the soldiers on the other side to turn against their leaders, believe that it was better to be governed by the opposition, and voluntarily lay down their arms, it is happening here and now. So thoroughly have the rich convinced Americans that, not only did the tax cuts stimulate lots of new jobs, but that Americans voted Obama into office with only two years to overcome a decade of Republican work. Failing to do so, government is the problem and it should be abolished.
I just can't wait to see what the rich have in store for us next.
Gregory
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Important CMS Feature
Greetings!
A key feature I am looking for in content management software (CMS) for Coastwalk is the ability to acquire, store, and utilize information about registrants involved in events hosted by the organization. To engage members and others in dayhikes and multi-day adventures along the California Coast, and to hold fundraising activities in a variety of locations and designs, we need our CMS be able to serve the administrative needs of those events.
Our initial examination of a CMS (NEON by Z2Systems) referred to us by a colleague agency looks good. We have explored its use in a trial period, and are now looking to see if other CMS packages can provide the same capabilities.
A key feature I am looking for in content management software (CMS) for Coastwalk is the ability to acquire, store, and utilize information about registrants involved in events hosted by the organization. To engage members and others in dayhikes and multi-day adventures along the California Coast, and to hold fundraising activities in a variety of locations and designs, we need our CMS be able to serve the administrative needs of those events.
Our initial examination of a CMS (NEON by Z2Systems) referred to us by a colleague agency looks good. We have explored its use in a trial period, and are now looking to see if other CMS packages can provide the same capabilities.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Newsletters from NPOs in my Email
Greetings!
Who is using what constituent relationship management software to send me emails? Here are the results from the past two months:
ConstantContact.com
Constant Contact Link
EveryTrail.com
Climate Protection Campaign
UnTours
IWalk Volunteer Center of Sonoma County
Social Advocates for Youth
IContact.com
IContact Link
The-Rep.com
TripFilms.com
Z2systems.com
Z2Systems Link
Sebastopol Community Center
Network for Good - EMailNow
Network for Good Email Now Link
Charitynavigator.com
Greenbelt Alliance
Relevant Tools.com
Relevant Tools Link
Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods
Vertical Response
Vertical Response Link
Canal Alliance
Fudge for Supervisor
Convio.com
Convio Link
TechSoup.org
HRC.org – Joe Solmonese Hman Right Campaign,
Preschool California
Patron Mail
Patron Mail
6stplay.com – Sixth Street Playhouse
PHPList
PHP List Link
Gaygames.com
Your Mailing Provider
Your Mailing Provider Link
EcomNets
Center for Creative Land Recycling (cclr.org.
SwiftPages
Swift Pages Link
Old Course Experience
Jane Goodall Insitute – Using CivicCRM (Drupal) – example at Jane Goodall Link - and a description of their work on an activism module - http://drupal.org/project/activism
Using their own Software:
MoveOn.org – Steven Biel, Lenore, Kat, Wes
Democrats.com
IFC.com - Independent Film Channel
CaliforniaOneCare.org – Andrew McGuire
LinkedIn.com
NTEN.org
Environment California.org
League of Conservation Voters
geocaching.com
Classmates.com
Netflix.com
Barakobama.com
NCMUG.org
In addition, I have discovered:
CiviCRM, SalesForce, and SugarCRM. IdealWare has an interesting examination of this type of online communication software at:www.Idealware.org/crm
Who is using what constituent relationship management software to send me emails? Here are the results from the past two months:
ConstantContact.com
Constant Contact Link
EveryTrail.com
Climate Protection Campaign
UnTours
IWalk Volunteer Center of Sonoma County
Social Advocates for Youth
IContact.com
IContact Link
The-Rep.com
TripFilms.com
Z2systems.com
Z2Systems Link
Sebastopol Community Center
Network for Good - EMailNow
Network for Good Email Now Link
Charitynavigator.com
Greenbelt Alliance
Relevant Tools.com
Relevant Tools Link
Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods
Vertical Response
Vertical Response Link
Canal Alliance
Fudge for Supervisor
Convio.com
Convio Link
TechSoup.org
HRC.org – Joe Solmonese Hman Right Campaign,
Preschool California
Patron Mail
Patron Mail
6stplay.com – Sixth Street Playhouse
PHPList
PHP List Link
Gaygames.com
Your Mailing Provider
Your Mailing Provider Link
EcomNets
Center for Creative Land Recycling (cclr.org.
SwiftPages
Swift Pages Link
Old Course Experience
Jane Goodall Insitute – Using CivicCRM (Drupal) – example at Jane Goodall Link - and a description of their work on an activism module - http://drupal.org/project/activism
Using their own Software:
MoveOn.org – Steven Biel, Lenore, Kat, Wes
Democrats.com
IFC.com - Independent Film Channel
CaliforniaOneCare.org – Andrew McGuire
LinkedIn.com
NTEN.org
Environment California.org
League of Conservation Voters
geocaching.com
Classmates.com
Netflix.com
Barakobama.com
NCMUG.org
In addition, I have discovered:
CiviCRM, SalesForce, and SugarCRM. IdealWare has an interesting examination of this type of online communication software at:www.Idealware.org/crm
Online Organizational Communication
Greetings!
Following up on our interest in learning more about what nonprofits are using to communicate with their members and donors, I decided to move in three directions at once (yes, I know that sounds awkward, but it actually brings more to the whole than the sum of the parts):
1. Listen to some webinars and online tutorials detailing the features of online contact management software (CMS).
2. Examine my own email over the past month to determine what has driven the donor and member communications.
3. Investigate the current uses and features of the CMS being used by Coastwalk California (which I'm President of the Board).
I'm also going to build a list of the CMS being used by Sonoma County nonprofits by searching their websites, and querying their IT staff. I'll probably join the email lists of many of them, in order to both learn more about them, explore what software is being used, and find good examples to mentor nonprofits who have expressed an interest in improving their communications. By tomorrow, I hope to be able to have more complete information which can guide me in further research.
Following up on our interest in learning more about what nonprofits are using to communicate with their members and donors, I decided to move in three directions at once (yes, I know that sounds awkward, but it actually brings more to the whole than the sum of the parts):
1. Listen to some webinars and online tutorials detailing the features of online contact management software (CMS).
2. Examine my own email over the past month to determine what has driven the donor and member communications.
3. Investigate the current uses and features of the CMS being used by Coastwalk California (which I'm President of the Board).
I'm also going to build a list of the CMS being used by Sonoma County nonprofits by searching their websites, and querying their IT staff. I'll probably join the email lists of many of them, in order to both learn more about them, explore what software is being used, and find good examples to mentor nonprofits who have expressed an interest in improving their communications. By tomorrow, I hope to be able to have more complete information which can guide me in further research.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Capacity-Building in Nonprofits
Greetings!
Pat and I just finished three weeks of grant proposal reviews for $264,000 aimed at increasing the capacity of local nonprofits under the federal Compassion Capital Fund. Created in 2002, the Administration for Children and Families' Compassion Capital Fund (CCF) is a key component of the President's Faith-Based and Community Initiative. The primary purpose of the CCF is to help faith-based and community organizations increase their effectiveness, enhance their ability to provide social services, expand their organizations, diversify their funding sources, and create collaborations to better serve those in need. Targeted capacity-building grants are a demonstrated way to assist organizations in building their capacity. The funding will not be for direct service, but for lasting changes in organizations that will have a sustainable impact on the delivery of services.
Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County, the nonprofit established in 1968 under the Office of Economic Opportunity's implementation of Congress's 1960's anti-poverty programs, received one of 14 of these grants nationwide. Pat and I participated on the community review committee, receiving 46 proposals asking $651,000. The agency will be announcing the grantees and awards in the next few days, but I wanted to begin the process of implementation by announcing our own continuing contributions to the strengthening of local nonprofits.
We came away from the review understanding that most of the agencies were seeking to expand their abilities to seek out and secure new sources of funding. Proposals asked to build capacity for grant-researching and writing, find and cultivate new local donors, and establish fee-based marketing strategies for current services. It was clear that current public funds are drying up, and these agencies are beginning to want new skills and information.
In the pursuit, there were plenty of consultants and computers being requested. It appears that most of the applicants have concluded that electronic research, online collaboration, and data records storage are essential needs.
In the coming months, we'll be providing some of our own resources to building the capacity of these agencies. Because we were able to see all the proposals, we believe there are opportunities for collaboration in the implementation of these grants. We will be encouraging CAPSC to continue its support for them, but understand that the federal grants will end in September.
Pat and I just finished three weeks of grant proposal reviews for $264,000 aimed at increasing the capacity of local nonprofits under the federal Compassion Capital Fund. Created in 2002, the Administration for Children and Families' Compassion Capital Fund (CCF) is a key component of the President's Faith-Based and Community Initiative. The primary purpose of the CCF is to help faith-based and community organizations increase their effectiveness, enhance their ability to provide social services, expand their organizations, diversify their funding sources, and create collaborations to better serve those in need. Targeted capacity-building grants are a demonstrated way to assist organizations in building their capacity. The funding will not be for direct service, but for lasting changes in organizations that will have a sustainable impact on the delivery of services.
Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County, the nonprofit established in 1968 under the Office of Economic Opportunity's implementation of Congress's 1960's anti-poverty programs, received one of 14 of these grants nationwide. Pat and I participated on the community review committee, receiving 46 proposals asking $651,000. The agency will be announcing the grantees and awards in the next few days, but I wanted to begin the process of implementation by announcing our own continuing contributions to the strengthening of local nonprofits.
We came away from the review understanding that most of the agencies were seeking to expand their abilities to seek out and secure new sources of funding. Proposals asked to build capacity for grant-researching and writing, find and cultivate new local donors, and establish fee-based marketing strategies for current services. It was clear that current public funds are drying up, and these agencies are beginning to want new skills and information.
In the pursuit, there were plenty of consultants and computers being requested. It appears that most of the applicants have concluded that electronic research, online collaboration, and data records storage are essential needs.
In the coming months, we'll be providing some of our own resources to building the capacity of these agencies. Because we were able to see all the proposals, we believe there are opportunities for collaboration in the implementation of these grants. We will be encouraging CAPSC to continue its support for them, but understand that the federal grants will end in September.
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