Sunday, June 24, 2007
Powerful Networks
For anyone unfamiliar with what networking can do for a project such as Beauty of Water, go to WiserEarth and enter the term 'water' in the box in the upper right. More than 9000 organizations, including a semi-active online discussion group focused on water topics in Kerala, came up in my search results. Over the years the technologies, interfaces, and overall usage of networks such as these have improved. WiserEarth is one of the best I've seen. They have made it enjoyable to find affinity groups and share knowledge, very exciting.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Small Steps Bring Great Strides
There have been quiet little explosions in the development of Beauty of Water, which, taken together, characterize vital signs of growth.
Caroline Cumming is catalyzing development of our funding strategy and organizational structure. As a part of those efforts, the network of people and organizations that supports Beauty of Water is now captured in a spreadsheet, 200 entries strong on the first pass. You, gentle reader, are probably listed, with a note such as “great input,” “relevant connections,” or, yes, “donor potential,” alongside your email address. Previously this network was held mainly in my brain. It feels great to be able to communicate outwardly about forces that weave a collaborative context around Beauty of Water.
Caroline has been emphasizing that in order to be sustainable, a project such as this must have its own revenue source, not only relying on grants and donations, shooting for at least 30% of our budget to come from revenue. This is important for the viability of the project over time, as well as for the health and well being of those who collaborate to make it happen. We’ve begun shaping a plan, albeit a tentative one, for how that revenue might come to be.
One idea I’m interested in is gaining musical sponsorship, whereby a band would donate a song to Beauty of Water. Proceeds from the sale of that song would come to the project. Two days after this idea came to mind I learned of a non-profit called Global Music Project, which provides a mechanism for doing just that, and whose founder is in the Seattle area. I hope to meet him soon. A network called Meetup.com helped me discover this.
Caroline also leans heavily toward having Beauty of Water partner with a fiscal sponsor rather than forming its own non-profit, which Laurie Frank had also suggested. The more I learn about fiscal sponsorship versus non-profit formations, the more I see the wisdom in this plan. We’re looking into the possibilities here. Fractured Atlas is one such entity. Once we hook up with a fiscal sponsor, tax-deductible donations will be simple transactions, accessible using trustworthy online tools.
Meanwhile, I learned last week that I received a full scholarship to participate in a two-week course in Weimar, Germany this August, called “From Bauhaus to Social Sculpture. The Shaping of a Humane Society as an Aesthetic Challenge.” The course description seems to have been written for Beauty of Water. Personal funds, help from my fabulous father, and layover accommodation through friend connections, will cover airfare and transfers. I am eager to meet the instructors, Dr. Hildegard Kurt of und.Institut, and Shelley Sacks, Social Sculpture authority, whom I’ve written of before, and who let me know about this opportunity in the first place.
On the home front, personal training is going well. I’m near capacity with clients, and starting a walking group, offered as a class to members of the health club. I admit to some challenge as I move toward certification. My study buddy at work helps, yet I’m not on the fast track. I need to practice everything I learn in order to master and embody it, and that takes time.
I have many “fires in the irons,” as a friend mentioned recently. Meditation has been the saving grace. Namaste.
Caroline Cumming is catalyzing development of our funding strategy and organizational structure. As a part of those efforts, the network of people and organizations that supports Beauty of Water is now captured in a spreadsheet, 200 entries strong on the first pass. You, gentle reader, are probably listed, with a note such as “great input,” “relevant connections,” or, yes, “donor potential,” alongside your email address. Previously this network was held mainly in my brain. It feels great to be able to communicate outwardly about forces that weave a collaborative context around Beauty of Water.
Caroline has been emphasizing that in order to be sustainable, a project such as this must have its own revenue source, not only relying on grants and donations, shooting for at least 30% of our budget to come from revenue. This is important for the viability of the project over time, as well as for the health and well being of those who collaborate to make it happen. We’ve begun shaping a plan, albeit a tentative one, for how that revenue might come to be.
One idea I’m interested in is gaining musical sponsorship, whereby a band would donate a song to Beauty of Water. Proceeds from the sale of that song would come to the project. Two days after this idea came to mind I learned of a non-profit called Global Music Project, which provides a mechanism for doing just that, and whose founder is in the Seattle area. I hope to meet him soon. A network called Meetup.com helped me discover this.
Caroline also leans heavily toward having Beauty of Water partner with a fiscal sponsor rather than forming its own non-profit, which Laurie Frank had also suggested. The more I learn about fiscal sponsorship versus non-profit formations, the more I see the wisdom in this plan. We’re looking into the possibilities here. Fractured Atlas is one such entity. Once we hook up with a fiscal sponsor, tax-deductible donations will be simple transactions, accessible using trustworthy online tools.
Meanwhile, I learned last week that I received a full scholarship to participate in a two-week course in Weimar, Germany this August, called “From Bauhaus to Social Sculpture. The Shaping of a Humane Society as an Aesthetic Challenge.” The course description seems to have been written for Beauty of Water. Personal funds, help from my fabulous father, and layover accommodation through friend connections, will cover airfare and transfers. I am eager to meet the instructors, Dr. Hildegard Kurt of und.Institut, and Shelley Sacks, Social Sculpture authority, whom I’ve written of before, and who let me know about this opportunity in the first place.
On the home front, personal training is going well. I’m near capacity with clients, and starting a walking group, offered as a class to members of the health club. I admit to some challenge as I move toward certification. My study buddy at work helps, yet I’m not on the fast track. I need to practice everything I learn in order to master and embody it, and that takes time.
I have many “fires in the irons,” as a friend mentioned recently. Meditation has been the saving grace. Namaste.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
The Environmental Movement; What's Authentic for Me
In the Paul Hawken article mentioned in the previous post, he writes of a movement, of "Something Earth-changing [that is] is afoot among civil society." I resonate with his statement that there is, "...a coalescence comprising hundreds of thousands of organizations with no center, codified beliefs, or charismatic leader."
At the same time I don't personally feel I live within the three intertwining roots he drew: environmental and social justice, and indigenous cultures’ resistance to globalization. It is fine with me if others see Beauty of Water this way. Justice and resistance are huge motivators, and I hold hands with them. I embrace Paul Hawken's article. Yet my own experience of what I'm doing is something else.
For anyone who may work with me on Beauty of Water, I want to be out of the closet. My way of being a part of the movement is not, as I see it, political nor environmental per se. I hope that partners in leadership have their own authentic ways in the movement. That can be anything that is real and constructive.
My authentic way is about appreciation, beauty, humanity, experiencing the elements, phenomenological relationship with water, expressive relationship with water, and tangible experiences of our oneness. I want Beauty of Water to re-give people a fully conscious experience of being water, of being one with water, and of being one with each other.
At some level we all already know about this, which is why I'm calling it re-giving. Refreshing. Celebrating. Sharing. For me this is experiencing the divine. Yet it is not religious.
I've shied away from writing that explicitly because any authentic way someone or some group may be with water is fine with me.
At the same time I don't personally feel I live within the three intertwining roots he drew: environmental and social justice, and indigenous cultures’ resistance to globalization. It is fine with me if others see Beauty of Water this way. Justice and resistance are huge motivators, and I hold hands with them. I embrace Paul Hawken's article. Yet my own experience of what I'm doing is something else.
For anyone who may work with me on Beauty of Water, I want to be out of the closet. My way of being a part of the movement is not, as I see it, political nor environmental per se. I hope that partners in leadership have their own authentic ways in the movement. That can be anything that is real and constructive.
My authentic way is about appreciation, beauty, humanity, experiencing the elements, phenomenological relationship with water, expressive relationship with water, and tangible experiences of our oneness. I want Beauty of Water to re-give people a fully conscious experience of being water, of being one with water, and of being one with each other.
At some level we all already know about this, which is why I'm calling it re-giving. Refreshing. Celebrating. Sharing. For me this is experiencing the divine. Yet it is not religious.
I've shied away from writing that explicitly because any authentic way someone or some group may be with water is fine with me.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Expert Guidance from Caroline Cumming
Sometimes when weeks pass and I have not posted to this blog I wonder if it seems as though nothing is progressing with Beauty of Water. This link-happy entry is meant to give a sense of the kinds of developments that occur between postings.
Today I spent a delightful mid-day strolling through the Edmonds Farmer's Market and then conversing on the patio of my favorite ZuKafe with my dear friend Caroline Cumming.
Caroline is the former executive director of 911 Media Arts Center and Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Network (see also article in Orion)... and way back in the mid-1990s, my partner in learning Photoshop techniques, among other adventures shared while working at one of the first web publishing companies.
Caroline has pointed me to information, inspirations, and resources, among them a film called Thirst, the Indian National Trust for Art and Heritage, the Wiser Earth network, and the Confluence Project, and some of Paul Hawken's work.
Caroline has also already lent great personal expertise to Beauty of Water, and is guiding next steps: a strategy document, corresponding strategic actions, and other additions to our printed materials. I am deeply thankful to have Caroline's collaboration.
This reminds me of a couple of entities I haven't mentioned: Green Maven, a search engine a that can help many kinds of environmental pursuits, put together by my friends at Earthsite, and Ashes and Snow, a traveling art exhibit that has inspired me for their bravado and powerful imagery.
Today I spent a delightful mid-day strolling through the Edmonds Farmer's Market and then conversing on the patio of my favorite ZuKafe with my dear friend Caroline Cumming.
Caroline is the former executive director of 911 Media Arts Center and Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Network (see also article in Orion)... and way back in the mid-1990s, my partner in learning Photoshop techniques, among other adventures shared while working at one of the first web publishing companies.
Caroline has pointed me to information, inspirations, and resources, among them a film called Thirst, the Indian National Trust for Art and Heritage, the Wiser Earth network, and the Confluence Project, and some of Paul Hawken's work.
Caroline has also already lent great personal expertise to Beauty of Water, and is guiding next steps: a strategy document, corresponding strategic actions, and other additions to our printed materials. I am deeply thankful to have Caroline's collaboration.
This reminds me of a couple of entities I haven't mentioned: Green Maven, a search engine a that can help many kinds of environmental pursuits, put together by my friends at Earthsite, and Ashes and Snow, a traveling art exhibit that has inspired me for their bravado and powerful imagery.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Grand Opening: Website and Concept Paper
Announcing the grand opening of the Beauty of Water website and concept paper. While our public face will be enhanced over time, in particular the website will sparkle more and more, the initial review period is complete. Immense thanks to all who have collaborated on bringing these mission-critical materials to life. It is time to call forth and receive new partners to co-create the expansion. Welcome to Beauty of Water unveiled!
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