Reminder: Corporate Charity Comes From Marketing Budget - Wells Fargo's Iditarod Sponsorship Ends

A recent ADN story recounted how Wells Fargo had decided to stop sponsoring the Iditarod dog sled race.  While PETA claimed credit for the change, Wells Fargo didn't confirm that.

"David Kennedy, Wells Fargo spokesman for the Alaska region, declined to say whether outreach from PETA and its supporters influenced the company's decision. Kennedy said in an email this week that Wells Fargo made the decision as part of its "regular marketing sponsorship review process."
'Wells Fargo regularly reviews where we allocate our marketing resources to ensure that our efforts help our customers understand how we can help them achieve their financial goals," he said. "We have nothing further to add.' (emphasis added)

Corporations regularly tout how much money they contribute to communities.  Often the amounts look significant, though only when compared to what an average individual might contribute.  Back in 2008 I looked more carefully at an Exxon contribution to the Anchorage Symphony:

"Now Exxon's 2007 after tax profits were about $40 Billion. Let's say they kicked in $40,000 (I'm guessing it might not be that much, but it's easier to calculate.) Someone making $100,000 before taxes, if I calculated this right, would have to donate 10 cents to donate an equivalent percent of their income. " [It turned out they only donated $10,000 so it would really come out to 2.5¢.]

Consider this a note, a reference if needed in the future, to show that the companies themselves say allocate this so called charity from the marketing accounts.  It's to make them look good in the community and it comes pretty cheap.  While there might also be a serious attempt to do good in a community by some companies as well, it is, fundamentally a marketing decision.  Just as we see companies sponsoring booths at the Pridefest, because it's now good for business, ten years ago they wouldn't help gay organizations because it wasn't good for business.  (See Jacob's comment on this Pridefest post.)

I don't fault the businesses for this, but I do fault a system (which businesses do lobby to maintain) which forces non-profits into a position to passively, if not actively, endorse corporations, often those that do significant harm to the communities they're in.

Are You A Wikipedia Freeloader?

I got an email from Jimmy Wales today asking for a donation to Wikipedia.  My only problem with the email is that their choices of different donation levels didn't have an option "I already gave."

As a blogger, I use Wikipedia a lot.  Partly because it comes up near the top if not first in most searches.  Partly because it generally has the most balanced starting point for me on any topic.  

I posted about my check on Wikipedia's fund raising in 2011.  It seemed like a good idea.  Since then, a relative got a job with the Wikimedia Foundation, so I need to disclose that now.  Fortunately, I checked on Wikipedia long before I knew I'd have any connection to them.  

Below is the letter I got this year and I encourage you to help keep this organization publishing their information for the world to read.  Actually, their small staff doesn't and couldn't post all the information.  That's done by volunteers around the world and it's success and quality is a testament to people volunteering and doing what they believe in without having to be paid.   

I was at their headquarters this year and I can guarantee that this is not one of the luxurious hi-tech companies you read about.  This is a non-profit with funky furniture.  And the employees don't get paid incredible sums and there's no promise of shares in the company, because, well they're not a profit making company and there are no shares to be had.  

"When the clock strikes midnight, our email fundraiser will end — but we haven't yet hit our goal. I'm asking you, sincerely: please take one minute to renew your $25 donation to Wikipedia.
These images are vestiges of encyclopedic knowledge of the past, when scientific, factual information was expensive, hard to digest, and hard to come by. Even today, your name-brand, hard copy encyclopedia would cost nearly $1,400 and contain about 65,000 articles. You get Wikipedia's 40 million articles and 35 million images for free. We just ask that once a year you contribute a little bit -- whatever you can -- to keep this amazing resource available for everyone.
If everyone who used Wikipedia gave today, we wouldn't have to worry about fundraising for years to come.
We’re a nonprofit. We’re independent. We don’t run ads or sell services to our readers. Though our size requires us to maintain the server space and programming power of a top site, we are sustained by donors who give an average of about $15. This year, will you take one minute to keep our work going?"

Parent Bias Blocks Message, Prevents Better Response

[UPDATE May 28, 2016:  Chris Thompson has a longer article on the subject today, with a lot more detail about the problems with short term missions abroad and to Alaska.]

All decent parents naturally jump in to protect their children.  But how they see their role as protector varies in different situations.  Some let kids experiment and take risks.  Some don't.  Some block them from what they see as harmful information.  What and when should kids know more about the tooth fairy or sex is tricky.  

But sometimes kids need to face evidence that makes them uncomfortable.  I'd like to offer this parent different option than the denial that her letter to the editor suggests.  And, who knows, after getting her initial anger off her chest in the letter below, perhaps she calmed down and came up with my suggestion on her own.

Here's the letter to the editor in Wednesday's paper that got my attention:

Don’t criticize selflessness
I am the mother of a 16-year-old teenager who is going on the St. John United Methodist Church mission trip to South Africa at the end of May. This trip was mentioned in Chris Thompson’s article “Why Short-Term Mission Trips May Do More Harm Than Good.” Thirty young adults and 10 adults are giving up two weeks of their summer to help complete living quarters for the people of Ocean View, South Africa. They are also helping to improve soccer fields and related structures for a local soccer organization. Money has been raised specially for the purpose of this trip and many of the teenagers have worked very hard for the last two years to earn their own money to pay for their travel expenses. For someone to write that these teens and adults may be doing more harm than good is heartbreaking to me. We constantly fault the younger generation for being self-absorbed. Here is a group who will make a huge difference in the lives of the community of Ocean View, and they are being criticized for it. Chris Thompson owes these selfless people an apology. — 

Carla Wight
Anchorage

Who is this evil Chris Thompson who dares to raise questions about the moral value of a mission trip to do good in Africa?  According to the ADN,

"Chris Thompson is a religion scholar who visits local churches and writes about his experiences and matters of faith on his blog, churchvisits.com."

The original article was written byThompson, the man who writes the weekly column in the ADN on religious issues in Anchorage and beyond.  The article talks about why sometimes such trips can do harm and also gives examples of mission trips that do work for both the helpers and the receivers.

Here's the part that Ms. Wight seems to specifically object to:

"A large local church group will shortly depart for South Africa, an expensive trip. What's really going on here? In a paper published in the journal Trends and Issues in Missions, Liberty University professor Don Fanning makes a powerful case that short-term missions can create dependencies and problems among the very people short-term missionaries are supposed to be helping. South Africa, like Alaska, is about 80 percent Christian.
Church attendance, a key measure of religiosity, shows South Africa's weekly church attendance at 56-60 percent per week, while recent Gallup data shows Alaska weekly attendance ranks it in the bottom 10 states, with 26 percent attending weekly. The mission field is here in Alaska, as I've argued before, not other areas of the world. Many local churches are missing the boat: local member involvement is critical."

I understand part of Ms. Wight's reaction.  The timing of the article is difficult.  It's the end of May.  The group is about to leave or may have already left.  The people have most assuredly already got their tickets and there is no way that they can gracefully or economically pull out of the trip and look for one that is more in keeping with the best of Christian theology.   Furthermore, it's a bit of a downer to have someone raise questions about your do-good trip to Africa just as you are about to leave.

But I find Ms. Wight's reaction more problematic.

"For someone to write that these teens and adults may be doing more harm than good is heartbreaking to me."

Ms. Wight has blocked out the possibility that Thompson is right.  She's heartbroken, not because some short-term missions may do harm, but because of how it will make the teens - including her daughter [son] -  feel.  Sort of like being concerned about the doctor's feelings when he's about to perform surgery and someone brings him an article that questions that sort of surgery.  Sorry, it's too late, everything is set up and the patient's insurance has already been approved.   Seems to me we should be focused on the patient, not the doctor.  And the top priority of missions should be to improve the lives of the recipients.  Not to make the do-gooders feel good about themselves.  Ideally, they should be humbled that they are blessed to be in a situation where they can help others.

Thompson's taking off point is an article from Trends In Missions from Liberty University. This isn't a study by people who dislike religion.  Liberty University  bills itself as the world's largest Christian University.   Fairbanks senator Pete Kelly got his undergraduate degree there.

Here's the concern.  The author, Dr. Don Fanning writes:

"My father once told me that the surest way to create your worst enemy out of your best friend is to loan him money. When he is suppose [sic] to return the funds, he will likely not be available to do so and the mere reminder to him will begin a deteriorating relationship that inevitably will end in animosity.
In this chapter we will deal with the following topics:

• The dangers of dependency
• Short-term trips and dependency
• How to avoid dependency
• Four Perspectives for Using Money in Missions"

This could actually be a much greater learning experience for Ms. Wight's daughter [son] than anyone anticipated.

Instead of saying, "Don't listen to that man who is questioning what you're doing", a more useful response would be to give her daughter [son] and the whole group the Chris Thompson article and the Liberty University article and have them discuss the two articles among themselves and with the people they will be working with in South Africa.

There is even a seven principle checklist at the end of the Fanning article which they can use to evaluate their project and, if after the trip, they think the article is good, they can make sure St. John's uses the principles to choose future projects:

 Goals and methods of helping are not defined unilaterally. Do not develop a plan then invite non-Westerners to join in at a later stage. 

Do not base the relationship on a one-way flow of resources. "Complementarity, not assistance, lies at the heart of effective partnerships....A partnership moves beyond assistance to complementarity when each partner makes different but crucial contributions to a common goal.”

Do not allow money to become the most highly valued resource. We tend to put a premium on our own resources rather than on the resources of our non-Western counterparts. In most cases, non-Western partners may rely on Western partners for financial and technological resources, but Western partners are dependent on the human resources, linguistic skills, cultural insight, and relevant lifestyle of their non- Western partners. ... If money becomes the driving force, the golden rule takes hold -- the one with the gold rules.

Do not fund the entire cost of the project without clear justification. "In the face of enormous economic inequities, there is inherent pressure on Western partners to be the "sugar daddy" for more "needy" partners.

Do not interfere in the administration of the partner's organization. It’s okay to give advice when asked or to admonish a partner when a serious misconduct occurs.

Do not do for others what they can better do for themselves. People, like organizations, become strong and effective only when they make decisions, initiate action and solve problems. This may lower the level of accomplishment short-term, but will ensure a long-term progress.

Do not rely on a "one-size-fits-all" policy, especially with policies. For example, one agency gives only 10% of the total need in any project. This may work well in some circumstances and be detrimental in another.

The key principle today is the interdependency or mutual dependency in the task of world evangelism (Rickett, 2003).

Will the article make Ms. Wight's daughter [son] uncomfortable?  Probably.  But most real learning - where your view of the world shifts a bit - involves discomfort as your old views are challenged and you have to revise what you know.

Helping others is always fraught with moral dilemmas, some of which are pointed out in the Fanning article.  It's hard for the helpers not to feel some superiority over the people they are helping.  And to feel pleased with themselves for doing good.  And the recipients are supposed to be grateful to you.  Actually, as the seven principles suggest, this should be a partnership in which both sides contribute what they can.  There should be givers and receivers.   Imagine 40 people showing up in this town in South Africa to build housing and soccer fields.  Unemployment is high there.  Why import Americans?  What are they contributing that the locals couldn't do themselves?

And imagine the airfare.  I looked up tickets for the end of May and got $1,900 to South Africa.  So I looked for July thinking it would be cheaper if I booked in advance.  I got $2400.  Let's say the church got a good group rate, say $1500.  Times forty people.  That's $60,000.

I also looked up the average salary in South Africa.  In February 2014 it was R11,641 which my computer says is $743, or $8916 per year.  The group's airfare would pay an annual salary for six people.

Wouldn't it make more sense to hire local workers in South Africa to do the work they plan than to have 40 Americans show up for two weeks?   Maybe not.  Maybe the learning of the Americans and the fellowship they all get interacting with each other would be worth it.  But if you asked the people in South Africa whether they think importing free American labor for two weeks at the cost of $60,000 was a good deal, I bet they might think of a different way to use the money.

And that's part of what the seven principles are about.  Involving both sides to plan the project.  But they're also about not just giving money one way, which can lead to dependence, so just sending $60,000 isn't the answer either.  But I'd say raising the money just for the Africans, without getting a trip to Africa out of it, would be a lot more selfless.  I'm not suggesting that any of these options is better.  I'm just saying all these kinds of calculations should be thought through and the African recipients should be in on the discussions, as the principles suggest.

[UPDATE June 26, 2016:  There's been more on this issue.  Chris Thompson wrote a followup column on June 10.  And Nick Wight wrote a letter to the editor.  I'm assuming that Nick is the son of the original letter writer.  So I've changed 'daughter' in this post to 'son.'  I don't think the gender was mentioned, so I originally decided not to arbitrarily make it a male.  And I'm guessing that Nick is a male here.]

 [For those of you who have read this, I apologize for the repost. Feedburner isn't doing it's job, but the update link to Thompson's new post not the subject fills in a lot of the issues with short-term missions that he didn't talk about in the previous article.]

AIFF 2015: Lost And Found Eventually Lost Me

I'd seen the trailers for this enough that I was getting a bit jaded, but I had high hopes for this film.  What could go wrong?  People find tsunami debris on Alaska and Canadian beaches and track down the owners and take the things back.  International cooperation, returning lost items to disaster victims, all good fodder for a movie.  Generally the movie was good and I felt the people in the movie were sincerely trying to do some good.

But somewhere along the way it got a little cloying and annoying.  I think the underlying issue for me is the construct of helper and help.  Being a helper means you have the power to do something for another who, in this situation anyway, has less power.  That doesn't mean we shouldn't help others, but we should understand our motives and not get carried away with what we've done.  I posted long ago about charity and included some Jewish thought on charity that is relevant here, though not sufficient, I'm sure, for some to get my point about the power relationship in giving.  Part of the issue is that in Japan there is a very strong culture of gift giving and thanking.  So the degree of thanks became a bit embarrassing.  

After all, these people where doing what they enjoy doing - beach combing.  They found some stuff an said, wow, wouldn't it be interesting if we could find the owners?  So far so good.  But then they get on planes and fly to Japan and become the recipients of this overwhelming level of thank you.  I get all this.  It's my nature to try to find the person who lost something, to get something back to a rightful owner.  But I also know that it's what I enjoy doing and I'm not making any big sacrifice to help out.  I'm not interrupting my life or giving away money that I can't afford to give.  I'm just doing what I enjoy doing and if that makes someone else happy, then that's a bonus.

Kevin and kids answer questions after Lost and Found

So I was sitting there watching the film end and thinking about whether I'm being overly picky and critical.  But my gut was telling me this was a bit over the top.

And then the movie ended and one of the finders, who's from Anchorage, and his kids went to the front to answer questions.  Two things he said stood out:

• Some people weren't interested in getting stuff back or even talking to us.   Wow, that certainly wasn't in the story.  We were told about a signed volley ball whose owner hadn't been found, but not about people who weren't interested, who didn't want to be 'helped.'

• That he'd been contacted by the film makers and they were interested in his story and that they paid for his trip to Japan.   

OK.  That made more sense, because the returning of the found items and the meetings between the losers and the finders were all filmed.  So maybe that was my problem.  This was the story line for a film and the filmmakers found the folks to fit their story line.  Japan experiences disaster.  Debris crosses Pacific.  People find the debris and track down and return the debris.  What a wonderful heartwarming story.  But at least some of these folks wouldn't have gone to Japan on their own if they hadn't been encouraged and financed by the film makers.  And the film never mentioned the people who didn't want their stuff back and didn't want to meet or even talk to the people who found it.  Including that would have made this a much richer film.  But instead we got an, apparently, artificially sweetened feel good story.

It makes Ruth Ozeki's novel, A Tale For The Time Being, all the more remarkable with its richness and darkness.  This story, completed just before the tsunami hit, tells the story about a Japanese-Canadian who finds a teenage Japanese girl's diary on a beach in British Columbia.  She too wants to find the owner and return the diary.  But the story doesn't have the Disneyesque happily after after quality of Lost and Found.  The diary tells us very dark tales of life as a teenager in Japan.

That said, I have no criticism for any of the beach combers.  My sense was that they were each doing their thing and genuinely wanted to be helpful and that they all learned a lot and grew from these experiences. What I saw in the film makes me think the people returning stuff to Japan were themselves a bit overwhelmed by their reception. And it's up to the filmmakers to decide how to tell their story.  It's just that they told a story that didn't sit all that well with me. Their story put happy makeup onto a situation that wasn't nearly so happy.

What Are The Odds? A Good Story About How The Unlikely Does Happen

I was in a Persian grocery store in LA.  I wanted to buy something for Gita who had translated for Pourya and Mona, the Iranian film makers whose film, Everything is Fine Here, got honorable mention for features at the Anchorage International Film Festival.   Here's a short post and video (in Farsi) from early in the festival.

I explained to the clerk that I had a Persian friend in Anchorage and I wanted to bring back something she would like, but probably can't get in Anchorage.  She was having trouble figuring out what I wanted.

Then a young man came up to me and said, "I lived in Anchorage for two years, what do you want?"  I explained the situation.

"What's your friend's name?,"  he asked.
"Gita"
Big smile.  "I know Gita, I've eaten at her house."

He suggested three things that would be hard to get in Anchorage - fresh bread, fresh dessert, and barberries (Zereshk).  But, he said, wait until just before you leave, so they'll be fresh.

And then I asked him what he did for two years in Anchorage.

"I taught at the College of Business and Public Policy at UAA."

It turns out he was there - where I taught - after I retired.  But we had lots of common friends and I walked out of the shop in amazement at my good luck.


People talk about things being destined to explain such things, and I like that notion.  I'm skeptical though. 


What are the odds?

A million to one?  100, 000 to one?  !000 to one? 

There are lots and lots of Iranians in LA and a good place to run into them is an Iranian grocery store.  If he goes to the grocery once a week the odds suddenly don't seem so remote.

The store is open seven days a week, 13 hours a day (12 on Sunday). (I just called and checked.)   So they are open  90 hours a week.  Say he spends 15 minutes in the small store per visit.  There are four quarter hours per hour, so I have one chance in 360 to be in the store when he is in any given week.  That's much better odds than most lottery tickets. 

It's a small store so the odds are good he could hear me talking to the clerk.

The odds that an Iranian who had lived in Anchorage for two years would know Gita are probably very high - there aren't that many Iranians in Anchorage, and Gita's been here a while. That he had worked where I worked?  A little lower. 

I also think about how easy it would have been for us both to be in that store together and not connected.  If I hadn't said anything about Anchorage to the clerk, we never would have met.  Or if did we meet at the checkout - which we did - would we have found out about our one degree of separation? 

And I wondered about how many times we've been right near someone but didn't know it.
The odds of this happening are great enough - at least in people's minds - that if I wrote it in novel, people would find it a little far-fetched.   But it happened.  And Gita came and got all the goodies we brought back right after we got home.  And she loved the story.    

When she gets the translation done, I'll do another post.  We had an interesting conversation.  You don't get to talk to Iranians coming right from Iran in Anchorage every day.

And while we're talking about links and degrees of separation, here's a video of a Kevin Bacon TED talk on how he responded to the Kevin Bacon Six Degrees game by setting up Sixdegrees.org to get people to donate to charities.

Who's Calling From 1 800 816 3521?

Today I got a call from  1 800 816 3521 and chose not to answer.  They left no number.  So I googled.

The site that had something that looked the most authentic was everycall.us.  It had this chart and then comments below.

Doesn't tell a lot, but it's consistent with the comments I saw from people posting about calls from this number on other websites.  Most comments seem to be around October and early November 2012 - the last presidential election.  Others say they've gotten calls from non-profits.   They don't seem to leave a message.  Some report they ask for someone by name, but then hang up.  Others say they are pushing a particular client or ballot measure or a charity. 

The everycall site offers a device to block such calls from your home phone.  I have no idea who they are or how legit they are.  They have a Kickstarter campaign at the moment with a picture of a little white box that says:

"Plug into your home phone and those pesky telemarketing and robocalls just stop. The 1st crowd sourced spam blocker for the home."

 Kickstarter does screen the people that use them, so there was at least one level of scrutiny.  they have raised - as of today - $5,361 out of a target of $100,000.  There a Bellvue, Washington company, so they are in the heart of Techland, USA. 

There's a small industry popping up on the net to help people find out who is generating the annoying calls that come from 800 numbers. Here are a couple of the websites where people leave comments about 1 800 816 3521:

• Who Calls Me?
• 800 Notes

I've previously posted about 1 800 695 6950.  There I was able to find out it was a collection agency.  I also posted a link there  to the Do Not Call registry.  But that doesn't work for political calls.  And I'm not sure I want to block political calls.  I have to think through the free speech implications more.  But there is a website where people are trying to block political calls at home with a registry.  It says on there:

Join the National Political Do Not Contact Registry a non-partisan grass-roots movement to take control back by asking our elected representatives to stop calling us at home.

 Yeah, I can see them setting up the registry, but I can't imagine too many legislators limiting their right to call you at home. 

"If Love Is Deep Much Can Be Accomplished" Suzuki Plus Benaroya And Chihuly

 We went to a recital that two of the boys played in yesterday at Benaroya Hall.  Not being from Seattle, I had to look him up to find out who he was.  (And since I'm really crunched for time, I'm settling for the Wikipedia bio instead of looking for something better.)

Jack A. Benaroya (July 11, 1921 – May 11, 2012) was a noted philanthropist and prominent civic leader in Seattle, Washington. He supported cultural, educational, and medical groups, with his donations. He attended Seattle's Garfield High School. He was a former director of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of King County (Seattle).
The largest commercial real estate developer in the state of Washington, Benaroya established the family-owned Benaroya Company in 1956. In 1984, the company turned its focus to venture capital investments and philanthropic endeavors. Noted major donations include:

• Benaroya Hall, Seattle, Washington — facility for the Seattle Symphony; opened in 1998
• Benaroya Research Institute, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle; opened in 1999

Benaroya was a supporter of:

• Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International
• The University of Washington Medical Center
• Children's Hospital and Medical Center, Lakeside School
• The Jewish Federation and Council of Seattle

Benaroya was an early investor in Starbucks. (Wikipedia)

This was a Suzuki recital with pianists, violinists, a violist, and a couple of cellists.  Probably around 80-90 kids altogether from four years old to 18.






From The Suzuki Association of the Americas:

"Shinichi Suzuki, the man who developed the Suzuki Method, was born on October 17, 1898, in Nagoya, Japan. He was one of twelve children and his father owned a violin factory. Shinichi and his brothers and sisters played near the factory and saw instruments being made, but the children never realized what beautiful sounds could come from a violin. When he was seventeen, Shinichi heard a recording of Schubert’s Ave Maria, played by a famous violinist named Mischa Elman. He was amazed that a violin could make such a beautiful tone because he had thought it was just a toy!

After this, Shinichi brought a violin home from the factory and taught himself to play. He would listen to a recording and try to imitate what he heard. A few years later he took violin lessons from a teacher in Tokyo. Then, when he was 22 years old, he went to Germany and studied with a famous teacher named Karl Klingler. Shinichi also met his wife Waltraud in Germany. They married and moved back to Japan, where he began to teach violin and play string quartet concerts with his brothers."

If love is deep - from the program

Here's a bit about the method from a different page on the Suzuki association website:

"More than fifty years ago, Japanese violinist Shinichi Suzuki realized the implications of the fact that children the world over learn to speak their native language with ease. He began to apply the basic principles of language acquisition to the learning of music, and called his method the mother-tongue approach. The ideas of parent responsibility, loving encouragement, constant repetition, etc., are some of the special features of the Suzuki approach.

Parent Involvement

As when a child learns to talk, parents are involved in the musical learning of their child. They attend lessons with the child and serve as “home teachers” during the week. One parent often learns to play before the child, so that s/he understands what the child is expected to do. Parents work with the teacher to create an enjoyable learning environment.

The other principles listed (each has more description) include:

• Early Beginning

• Listening

• Repetition

• Encouragement

• Learning with Other Children

• Graded Repertoire  (The description suggests this means steps not evaluation.)
  
• Delayed Reading.
  
  

This system must work, because the music was really good. 



I also noticed in the Bill and Melinda Gates Lobby this gigantic Chihuly chandelier.

 

To get a sense of the size, you can see it in context in the lobby in the lower right of the picture. From that angle it looks a little like a champagne glass.  

Born in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington, Dale Chihuly was introduced to glass while studying interior design at the University of Washington. After graduating in 1965, Chihuly enrolled in the first glass program in the country, at the University of Wisconsin. He continued his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he later established the glass program and taught for more than a decade.
In 1968, after receiving a Fulbright Fellowship, he went to work at the Venini glass factory in Venice. There he observed the team approach to blowing glass, which is critical to the way he works today. In 1971, Chihuly cofounded Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State. With this international glass center, Chihuly has led the avant-garde in the development of glass as a fine art.
His work is included in more than 200 hundred museum collections worldwide. He has been the recipient of many awards, including eleven honorary doctorates and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. (There's a lot more where this came from on the Chihuly website.)

Philanthropic Cluelessness Mocked in Radi-Aid - Africans Helping Freezing Norwegians

A friend tipped me off to this one.




It would be better, if it had been made by Africans instead of by Norwegians, but it's always good to see something familiar from a totally different angle. It has an overwhelming number of likes, but I was surprised to see the negative comments on this. It's hard to imagine people being offended by this.  But on further reflection, I guess some people feel the heat of this satire.

The Radi-Aid website doesn't have a lot on it, but it does link to this NY Times article from yesterday which does a pretty good interpretation. Here's a part:

The video comes from the Norwegian Students’ and Academics’ International Assistance Fund, a development organization in Norway that deploys funding and technical assistance to young people in Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa as well as Bolivia and Nicaragua. Its comedy, of course, is that Norway consistently tops global rankings of human development (and that the African chorus in the video struggles with the cold). The tragedy is that even if the worst conventions of development assistance can be mocked, they still persist.

Plenty of ink has been spilled over the pitfalls and pratfalls of aid to Africa and other less developed regions of the world. The Nigerian-American author Teju Cole updated the phrase the “white man’s burden” to the “white savior industrial complex,” an accurate descriptor for philanthropic cluelessness and waste, like ineffectual condom-distribution drives in India or “buy-one-give-one” shoe-selling schemes. Aid campaigns implicitly promise guilt reduction and ego inflation for donors.

The Radi-Aid video a play on Live Aid, a seminal musical aid campaign pokes fun at the very process of international charity. It makes the shrewd viewer ask: Who will receive the donations? What if the radiators break? Is this a long-term strategy to fight frostbite? Is frostbite the core problem anyway?

"White savior industrial complex" and "philanthropic cluelessness."  Ouch.  That's not in the video, but I guess some people recognize when they are being made fun of.  Here's a bit more that might explain why some people were pissed off:

This is a smart way to question whether assistance to populations in Africa — in the form of pharmaceuticals or water wells or even underwear — is more about making donors look good than about doing good for the needy.

 People want to hold on tight to their first world superiority.  They don't like it questioned.  Just listen to some of the recent Republican campaign speeches.   

And remember, Venezuela was sending oil to rural Alaskan villages not so long ago, so this isn't that far fetched. 

Zeitoun Part 2 - I had no idea where this book was headed

I put Zeitoun down after the last post and did some other things. 

Eventually I picked it back up later in the day.  Armed men (it turned out there was a woman too) were breaking into the front door at Zeitoun's rental property in flooded New Orleans just as he was to call his wife from this one working phone.  He called each day at noon. 

NSWFM, if you're about to read the book, just stop reading this post now. 

The next 20 pages focus on Kathy Zeitoun, in Arizona with the kids, and Ahmad Zeton, the brother in Spain as Kathy begins to fall apart when her husband doesn't call for the next week.  She imagines all the ways he could have died.  And finally, when she's thinking about funerals and life insurance and her future with four fatherless kids, a phone call comes.  And the story takes a turn I never saw coming. 

We then get a harrowing account of the US justice system gone terribly wrong.  I'll stop there.  If you think the Obama administration has problems, go back to Katrina and remind yourself about life under Bush.  This is not a pretty story.  But it's one that Americans need to know. 

In the aftermath of the recent flawed Anchorage election, I hear people telling of other people saying they won't vote any more.  There's no point. 

In the face of adversity, we have a choice to give up or stand up.  About 60% of Anchorage's registered voters did not go to the polls. (35% did vote, but since the voter registration rolls are purged so slowly, many on them really are no longer residents or alive, so I've cut out 5% and it could be more.)  If those just 40% more went to vote, the people who are not slave to a party label, people who are unhappy with the state of affairs and who pay just a bit of attention to the candidates, life in the US could be moved back into a positive direction. 

Dave Eggers, the author of Zeiton, is donating the proceeds of the book to the Zeitoun Foundation which has been set up a number of organizations working to

"aid  in the rebuilding of New Orleans and to promote respect for human rights in the United States and around the world."

Charity Navigator and Guide Star do not seem to list the Zeitoun Foundation.  

The other Eggers book I've read is A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius a book that bothered me.   While I found it interesting, I really didn't want to read anything else by the author.  It left a bad taste in my mouth.  I think I avoided this book because of that. But he's told the Zeitouns'  story well.

What's Wikipedia's Annual Budget? Is Donating $5 Too Much? Too Little?

If you've been to Wikipedia lately, you've seen a photo of  Jimmy Wales and an appeal to make a donation.

I use Wikipedia a lot here so I've been thinking I should make a contribution.  How often do you use Wikipedia?  Do you think it might average, over a year, once a day?  Twice a day?  Three times?

Think about it.  OK, some days you don't look at it at all, but other days you might look something up on Wikipedia five or six times.  Or you might read something here or on another blog that comes from Wikipedia, in which case you are a second hand Wikipedia user.

Let's take twice a day.  That would be 730 visits per year.  At a penny a visit (it's worth that much isn't it?) that would be $7.30.  And they are saying that if everyone sends them just $5, they're ok.

There are three days left until the end of the year and their current fund raising campaign.

It takes less than a minute (if you don't put the wrong credit card expiration date in as I did) to fill out their form on their website.  

If you don't like to pay online, you can send a check:

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

P.O. Box 98204

Washington, DC 20090-8204

USA

OK Steve, so what's the budget already?  That's what the title said I'd get. 

Here's from their FAQ page:

How much money are you hoping to raise?

The 2011-12 plan posits revenue of $29.5 million, a 24% increase over projected revenue of $23.8 million for 2010-11.

Why Should You Contribute?

Contributing your fair share or not is the difference between someone who believes in making the world a better place by giving back at least as much as he's given, or what economists call free riders.  People who sponge of the work of others.

Wikipedia isn't asking us to pay back the real value of Wikipedia.  They have lots of volunteers who give their labor free. (Their annual report says hundreds of thousands.) They're just asking for us to help out with things they actually have to pay for.  Imagine if you had to buy all the information you get from Wikipedia.  Hire someone at $25- $100 per hour to look it up.


Does Wikipedia  Spend It's Money Well?

OK, I've wandered way off from, "is it worth 1¢ per visit?" to writing how I imagine  Wikipedia works.  I don't know how efficient they are or whether anyone gets a $100,000 salary or not.  And if they do, whether it's money well-spent.  But . . .

. . . whenever I ask questions like those I have to go look, so here's from the overview financial page from their annual report (pdf):

Where the money goes
The Wikimedia Foundation continues to enjoy a stable base of revenue, stemming largely from its annual community giving campaign. In 2010–11, we doubled the number of small donors to over 500,000 individuals from all over the world.
Now in the second year of our five-year strategic plan, we are hiring new staff members, increasing the capacity of our server network to deliver Wikipedia and our other projects to the world, and intensifying our efforts to expand the reach of our projects in the Global South through on-the-ground initiatives.

44%  Maintaining our site and improving our software Operations and engineering, purchasing servers, maintaining and improving our data center, internet hosting, and software development and product engineering. $8,869,675

12%  Expanding our global reach
Improving access to Wikipedia on mobile devices in the Global South, public and education outreach, support and grants for our global chapters. $2,388,698

9%  Direct support to our volunteer community Researching community activity trends, increasing editor retention and recruitment, improving new technologies to help project editors. $1,889,084 

11%  Fundraising
Planning and development of our annual giving campaign, global payment collection fees (including Paypal and other fees). $2,142,217

6%  Board of Trustees administration and special projects Travel and professional development for our governing Board, as well as special research projects and initiatives to support the Wikimedia community. $1,172,654

18%  Administration
Benefits and related administration costs for Foundation staff, capital expenses, leases, training, travel, and other costs. $3,636,236

Total cash expenditures, including all capital purchases. $20,098,564

I just realized that was this year's annual plan.  Here's a link to the Wikimedia 2011-2012 Plan.


Charity Navigator gives them 65.49  points (out of a possible 70 points)  and four big stars overall.  Here's what they say that means:

Exceptional

Exceeds industry standards and outperforms most charities in its Cause.

So here's the donate page link again.

Decoupling the Capitol

I'm told this event is a regular part of the Legislative Session.  It's the night the staff offer skits and spoofs of their bosses.  I was told all proceeds this year go to the Southeast Alaska Food Bank, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and AWARE.  This is Saturday night at Centennial Hall. 

In the spirit of the evening, I'm asking readers to use the comments to:

1.  Explain the title to those who aren't keeping up with Alaska politics
2.  Name the people in the pictures and what the images mean, if anything. Use the letters in the bottom picture. 

The top picture is pretty big so you can double click it to see the faces better. Who can get the most right?

I'm hoping to learn something myself from the answers.  And even if you want to be be Anonymous, please, at least, leave some sort of id in the comment.

Here are some help links - State Senate  and State House of Representatives.

Leg Spouses Plot at Lunch

I ran into three legislative spouses lunching together Wednesday at the Silverbough. Spice (that's the alternate plural, right?) Sid Atwood (Rep. Cissna), Tina Seaton (Rep. Seaton), and Kayla Epstein (Rep. Gruenberg) were plotting, it turns out, to sell daffodils for the American Cancer Society.  They had over three hundred bunches.  Even for the Cancer Society spring comes later in the rest of Alaska.  Their daffodil drives aren't until later in March.

Today it looked like every office in the Capitol had daffodils.  Nice, because it's gray with snowflakes outside.

Foraker Focus Group

I got to the Mountain View building about ten minutes early.  (Yes, they did move into the part of town that probably has a higher percentage of clients of the non-profits they serve, putting their money and their jobs where their mouth is.)  The parking lot was full and I saw the sign.  New snow plays tricks.  But at least I knew there was additional parking and the other side of the building was the most likely place.

The Foraker Group is an offshoot of the Anchorage United Way.  From their website:

In 1998, the United Way of Anchorage surveyed its agencies to determine what services they needed and would be willing to use in a pooled organization. Their initial list was long, but the four highest demands were assistance in fundraising, planned giving, finance and technology. A model was developed based on a concept of sharing these four resources under one nonprofit umbrella, thereby helping other organizations afford these services which are often beyond their budgets. This model is The Foraker Group.

The Foraker Group officially began offering shared services to the Alaska nonprofit sector in January 2001, after it secured the major financial support of the United Way of Anchorage, The Rasmuson Foundation, The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, ConocoPhillips Alaska and BP Exploration (Alaska), Inc.

Today, The Foraker Group offers a wide range of services, training and educational opportunities that help assure the success of Alaska's nonprofit organizations. [I left out all the corporate logos they had up.  An advantage of underwriting my own blog is I don't have to post any ads.]

The back of the building was in bright sunshine and made for a much better picture than the front.  Avocado has long been out as a color for appliances.  Maybe it's back now for buildings. 

I'm on the steering committee of Healing Racism in Anchorage (HRA),  which joined Foraker this year.  Our steering committee chair and our part time staff person went to a meeting with Foraker and the whole steering committee went to a strategic planning meeting this summer.

So now Foraker is having focus groups with representatives of its member groups to see how they are doing and detect future needs.  I was available yesterday, so HRA  sent  me.

I walked around to the front, cleaned the snow off the sign (both sides) and went in to the meeting.

Around the table were people from a diverse set of organizations - Volunteers of America, The Holy Rosary Academy, Friends of Alaska CASA,  Kincaid Project Group, me, and the Sitka Music Festival.

We spent a short time going over Foraker's sustainability model for nonprofits.  Basically it's about making sure that the money, the personnel, and the organizational purpose are all three healthy and working in a collaborative community.

We did some exercises to give Foraker feedback on how well they are serving their members.


What I got most out of this meeting was the chance to talk with and hear from people from other nonprofits.  It was interesting to hear their issues and experiences.


I also learned that while foundation and corporate donations were down, individual donations were holding relatively steady. 

Dennis McMillian who is head of Foraker is seen by many folks as a man who walks on water.  I know Dennis and I too think he has pretty extraordinary skills.  It's been one of his goals to improve the
nonprofit sector in Anchorage in part by fostering collaboration across organizations, professionalizing the way nonprofits are run, and encouraging greater philanthropy. But whenever a group is successful, some folks are likely to become disgruntled.

The collaboration of United Way, Foraker, and the Rasmussen Foundation in some ways has become the 400 pound nonprofit gorilla in Anchorage. I tend to be pretty much out of the gossip loop, so I can't tell how big a deal that is. I know that the people running the three organizations are very competent and pretty driven so I suspect they could seem pretty formidable to organizations outside the network. My sense though is that they acknowledge that not everyone wants to do it their way and that they wish them no ill will. But looking around on line, I can't find online about these organizations that isn't glowing.  What I'm tiptoeing around is the notion that these organizations seem to have been treated by the media with kid gloves.

I'm pretty sure that what they are doing is basically for the benefit of Alaska and particularly Alaska's needy.  I personally have no knowledge of anything negative.  But I also think they are big enough players in town that the media ought to pay more critical attention to what they are doing.  Just to make sure they keep doing the right things.  Alaska media has had a tendency to be overly respectful of those in power, especially when they dole out money.  I'm not in any way suggesting that there is anything untoward going on, but journalists should always have some healthy skepticism. 

Would You Give $50 to Restore Someone's Eyesight?

The Seva Foundation catalogue arrived the other day.  For a donation of $50 you  pay for

"one cataract surgery with a vision-correcting lens implant, post-operative care and medications."

You can buy another sweater or a ticket to the opera or a dinner out or you can buy someone their eyesight.  People claim they would help the poor around the world, but they just don't know how.  But there are many charities that will help you do those good deeds.

How do you know that $50 will really go to that operation?  Well, you can't be certain.  It would be hard to trace your check to a clinic in Nepal and I'd bet it all gets mixed up with everyone else's checks.  Probably $50 is what it costs them to do that sort of operation and this is just clever marketing.  But you can check how a charitable organization is rated.

Charity Navigator is one of the online ways to check out a charity before you give.  I checked out SEVA and they only got 3 stars out of four.  Their administrative costs are a little higher than other agencies is part of the reason.  Their administrator gets paid $160,000 a year.  That seems a bit steep for a charity that raises only $4 million a year.

But as you can see, Charity Navigator compares SEVA to other charities with similar missions.  There are three that have four stars and higher efficiency ratings.  I liked Physicians for Peace.

In any case, as you start thinking about holiday gifts, especially for people who have everything, think about giving a gift of service such as a cataract operation in someone's name.    It seems to me that for Christians, this would fit right into the message that Christ spread.  It's easy, it's affordable, it doesn't clutter up the giftee's house, and it can change a person's life.

Think if you were living on a meager income who needed a prosthetic or polio inoculations for your children and you knew there were rich people in another country who spent more money to watch a movie and go to dinner than you needed to save the life of your child?

Most of the people who read this probably can do the dinner and movie AND make a donation without noticing it.  And you can use Charity Navigator to find an organization which uses the donations efficiently and effectively.

Charter for the Development of the Alaska North Slope

When I wrote a post about the Conoco-Philips ads in the ADN some time ago, the "Charter Agreement" came up and I wrote:

I also know that CP makes other contributions to the community such as $100,000 to the Museum in 2007. And there was a $3.68 million gift to the University of Alaska also in 2007. But we need to put an * on that. The University of Alaska press release on the gift also says,

The annual gifts stem from a charter agreement between the oil companies and the state regarding the BP merger with ARCO in the late 1990s. Part of the charter agreement identifies public higher education as a top priority for charitable donations . . .

So a minimum amount of contribution is required by this Charter Agreement that was a condition for the BP-ARCO merger. I called Scott Goldsmith, the author of the ISER report, to find out how to get access to the Charter Agreement.He wasn't sure if he ever actually saw a copy, but said he'd check for it tomorrow. [Update: I also called UAA Advancement and later the UA Foundation called and said they would find the Agreement and email it to me .] On the internet, nearly all references I find about BP or ConocoPhillips contributions to the University have that standard clause in them.

Well, a few days later, I got an email from the University of Alaska Foundation with a copy of the charter. But we were in high gear preparing to go to Thailand and what with the traveling and getting into things here, I didn't get around to posting that agreement. (It's down below) I haven't had a chance to study the whole charter, but I expect there is plenty to chew on.

For the time being, let's just look at the part that discusses community charitable contributions:

D. Community Charitable Commitment. Within three months after the merger is completed, BP and ARCO [what BP wasn't allowed to buy of ARCO because it would have given BP monopolistic power in Alaska eventually became Conoco-Philips if I got this right] will establish a charitable entity dedicated to funding organizations and causes within Alaska. The entity will provide 30% of its giving to the University of Alaska Foundation and the remainder to general community needs. Funding decisions by the entity will be made by BP and ARCO, with the advice of a board of community advisors. BP and ARCO will provide ongoing funding to this entity in an amount that is equal to 2% of BP's and ARCO's combined aggregate net Alaska liquids production after royalty times the price for WTI. Specific entity funding levels will be calculated annually on the same date each year, referencing the liquids production and the average NYMEX WTI prompt month settlement price for the 12 months immediately proceeding the calculation.

So here are some questions I have:

1. Who monitors these contributions to be sure that they are making the contributions required?
2. How do members of the public find this out?
3. Are they contributing what they are required to contribute?
4. Are they contributing more than they are required to contribute? (If not, can either company seriously claim to make charitable contributions? This was simply a business deal, a required cost of doing business in Alaska and not really charitable donations.)
5. Who is on these boards and are the meetings announced and public?

A quick Google search got me to the BP website. Searching there for charter agreement I got a copy of the 2007 annual report on the Charter Agreement for 2006. It is four lines over four pages - for the whole charter agreement. Plus a cover letter to Governor Sarah Palin. The part on charitable giving says this:

COMMUNITY CHARITABLE GIVING

The BP Board of Community Advisors met in February, 2006, at which time they
reviewed 2005 community spend [sic] and plans for 2006.

BP spent more than $10.2 million in support of community programs in 2006,
consistent with the formula detailed in the Charter.

Approximately $3 million was contributed to the University of Alaska Foundation
(1/3 of community investment).

ConocoPhilips's website gave me this message:

Connection to server www.search.conoco.com failed (The server is not responding.)

Why do I think that is the extent of the oversight? Even BP didn't think it was important enough to proof read it carefully. Am I being too cynical? Did the Governor's office demand back up information so they could see how the 2% times the price of WTI? I don't know. What about all the other issues in the Charter? What sort of scrutiny do they get? Just this brief annual report?

Since I'm pretty busy right now in Thailand, I'm going to have to hold off on pursuing these questions. Though I might send them to my representatives in the State Legislature.

Meanwhile, here is the rest of the Charter. I hope other bloggers and non-bloggers start reading it carefully to see whether the oil companies are living up to the agreement. I guess first we ought to figure out which state agencies are responsible for keeping track.

Charter for Development of the Alaskan North Slope

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Government Business & Legal conocphilips BP

Maggie Anniversary Party Webcam [updated - Maggie has died]

[UPDATE August 5, 2021 - The ADN reports today that Maggie has died at age 41]

Dianne sent me the following email this morning, along with pictures her friend Chris took when they went to visit Maggie this year. There's a link to the Anniversary Party webcam - happening right now - but I'm having trouble opening the webcam myself on my Mac - guess they're getting a lot of traffic. I'm assuming that 11am is California time, so it's 10am here in Alaska.

For those who cannot celebrate Maggie's special day, in-person, the webcam will be focused on her from 11:00am - 1:00pm. To view the webcam, on Sunday, please click here or go to www.pawsweb.org and select "webcams" from the Quick links menu, located on the right side of the PAWS home page. At 12:00pm Maggie will devour her anniversary cake on the webcam. PAWS? Co-founder, Pat Derby, will bake Maggie?s cake. It will be made of bran and molasses, and will be adorned with raisins, Jolly Ranchers, and a carrot candle. As an added treat to honor Maggie's first year at ARK2000, Dr. Mel Richardson, PAWS Veterinarian, will give Maggie a very special pedicure. He will then save and package Maggie's foot trims to share with her human friends (after they are cleaned and polished of course). There will only be 10 packages available. Bidding will begin at $10 each. If you would like to bid on Maggie's foot trims please click here . PAWS? plans to create a unique line of elephant foot trims jewelry. The designs are in the development phase.

There's something about all this that bothers me. I'm not sure if it is making such a fuss over an elephant when there are starving people - especially children - around the world. But another part of my brain says that we can't individually take care of all the problems in the world so we should do the things we can. We don't have to bring everyone down to the lowest level, but those of us who live relatively well, should make sure that we are helping to dismantle the obstacles for others to do the same. Elephant toenail jewelery? Well, if Alaskan tourist shops can sell moose poop jewelery, why not?

The Price for Lunch with an Alaskan Politician

At Sunday night's Shining Lights dinner, Temple Beth Sholom's annual award dinner, which this year honored Anchorage School Superintendent Carol Comeau (I'll do more on this later) there was a silent auction. Among the many, many items up for auction were (separate of course) lunches with Mayor Mark Begich and with Senator Ted Stevens.

I got there just as bidding had closed.
$125 was bid for lunch with Ted Stevens. I'm pretty sure this was the final bid. A person was circling the final bids on each item and was a few items away from this one when I got this picture.
She'd already circled the Mark Begich lunch for $250 when I got to it a few seconds later.

Elton John in Anchorage

I don't have any John albums, but we do have some tracks on an old CCNY tape someone gave us long ago. The friends that we asked weren't interested. But Elton John is Elton John. And he's coming to Anchorage. J got in line a week ago. The line minders assured people well behind her that they would all get tickets. But in the end, J was about six people behind the last tickets. But they did tell her and others in line that there might be a second concert and took her name and phone number. They called Friday to ask if we were still interested. Yes. Come back Monday between noon and four, we'll have tickets for you - dry or wet side?

Today, J got the tickets. I don't think we've ever paid so much for a ticket to anything. No, the LA Opera last summer was more. Slowly I'm thinking in dollars again and not figuring out how many Baht that is. It would be obscene in what Baht could buy. What's EJAF?[As soon as I hit publish I started figuring it out, and then I had to check.]

Taipei (Taoyuan) Streets and Tzu Chi Foundation

The China Air hotel is in a suburb of Taipei called Taoyuan. I went out walking this morning. I don't have much time so I'll just post the pictures.

But I stumbled into the Tzu Chi Foundation, which is a Buddhist Charity that does some things like the red cross. They had a global warming exhibit and they found a volunteer named Alex who spoke English and spent a couple of hours showing me around.

Later, on the bus, I met a woman named Jo who's been living in Bali for the last ten years. Interesting stories, but you're lucky, I don't have time.












Bookstore at Tzu Chi Foundation.
Global warming puppet show. My being from Alaska had extra meaning for them.
Alex, my guide, with the bamboo bank. The master said every volunteer should put in 5 cents every day. I asked about other sources of funding. Alex's reply - our money is in everyone's pockets.
We had tea. The whole place was as elegant as this tray of tea.

And then vegetarian lunch.
There's even a proper way to hold the bowl.

Here's the Bali resident on her way to visit the US.

And a fancy porcelain vase on exhibit in the airport.