Quote from: ell on June 10, 2008, 01:48:16 PM
sort of like free flow of fertile ideas
That whole "Seven Hats" thing - first you have a free flow of ideas, with everybody putting on the creative hat. Then at some point, you switch to the analytical phase, with everybody donning their little ?red? hats, etc.
Quote from: Lisbeth on June 10, 2008, 01:50:44 PM
I don't know a better organization to take care of those issues than PFund.
http://www.philanthrofund.org/
If you want, I can talk to Bill Burleson about them being the fiscal agent for it.
My question though would be how one might structure something like this without getting bogged down in red tape. Too often, things like these get bogged down in red tape, when the person who needs help needs it NOW. I mean, it's not exactly practical to have to fill out a scholarship request when you've just ended up on the street and need a place to stay that night.
I think the thing here is we are maybe trying to run with this thing instead of walking or crawling first. And that is my fault, true - I tend to run with ideas before thinking them through.
I do think having a group like what Lisbeth mentions running the financial side of things is a good idea, but one would have to think carefully about how to make access quick - not easy, mind you, but quick.
Then one keeps things within the community, for now:
I don't know if anybody else has heard of something known as a LETS - Local Economic Trading Scheme (
http://www.letslinkuk.org/). Basically, these are little parallel economies that get set up in order to get people economically active without requiring them to have access to funds - liquidity is often the main problem for people at the margins.
So how about this: Run it as a hybrid LETS scheme - members, even those that have not contributed, can draw on the fund (or rather scheme - the only, or even primary focus of these schemes is not about moey, but about helping people in your community by providing a service, basically for free. All the LETS does is 'formalise' the reputation one gets from being a decent person) when in need - up to a point. You "use up" credit when you draw on a LETS, and while people can go into negative territory (that is the point of mutual aid, after all) at some point, they are taking advantage if they do not contribute back into that community, and are cut off.
Theoretically one would not even need a central fund for this, just a database of contributions that people have made, and times they've needed to draw on aid. contributions could be anything from helping somebody out with a place to stay or giving good advice (that actually helps the situation!) or just an in-person chat over a decent meal - it needn't be financial. The person helped in this way could then "pay" the helper, rather in the same way that the reputation system works - it doesn't actually 'cost' you to 'pay' somebody - it only 'costs' when you receive actual aid.
This could also serve as kind-of a 'gatekeeper' system - one might suggest that you only let people with a certain level of reputation or credit or whatever into your house, for example, decreasing the chances of running into somebody bad.
Anyway, this is a 3:30-in-the-morning idea, and still needs work, but what do y'all think?
~Simone.
