Greetings! I hope this finds you well. There is a new reality upon us. We all sense it and we each experience it in our own unique way. We are more connected than ever and are discovering new ways to combine our power that are literally changing the world. Witness the youth-led, networked revolution started in the Middle East demonstrating the power of collective action.
We don't have to all agree on everything to advance our vision for a just and sustainable world. We can make this happen by participating in networks that promote the social good.
“Individually we’re a drop; together we’re an ocean.”
What we need are supportive, transparent networks that offer mutually reinforcing activities such as educating, informing, communicating, transacting, and sharing.
I recommend two such networks:
Ideal Network: Saving is Good; but Saving While Giving is Ideal!
The Ideal Network combines group buying with giving back to local causes. This social enterprise makes daily deals meaningful and grew out of our work on the Interra Project
For each sale, 25% of the purchase price goes to support local community projects. Yes 25%!
We launched four weeks ago in Seattle and have already generated more than $4,000 dollars in support of 16 great causes:
One Day’s Wages, Habitat for Humanity, People for Puget Sound, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Seattle Works, BF Day School, Facing the Future, Sustainable Seattle, Neighborhood House, Stewardship Partners, Woodland Park Zoo, Humane Society, Summer Search, Ashoka Seattle, the Just Garden Project, and the Compassionate Action Network.
Please subscribe and share with your friends. Introduce us to ideal causes that can run community projects on the Ideal Network platform.
The Compassionate Action Network (CAN): Awakening Compassion in Ourselves, Our Children and the World
CAN is a network of self-organizing groups who share a common vision for a compassionate world. Seattle was the first city in the world to affirm TED Prize winner Karen Armstrong’s Charter for Compassion. The Mayor and City Council issued a joint proclamation in support of the Charter and the Ten Year Campaign for Compassionate Cities. The Fetzer Institute has funded CAN to build learning exchanges with other cities interested in spreading a compassion movement.
You can learn more about The Compassionate Action Network here. You can designate CAN as your default cause on the Ideal Network by going here.
Mindfulness in the marketplace is a powerful tool; applied collectively it can be transformational. Through our collective participation we will all benefit from a greater awareness of what is happening in our communities, what is working, and what is not working. This awareness will create learning and capacity building.
We can build these networks together. Your unique gifts and contributions are essential to making the changes that we seek. Let’s commit to turn what we have into what we need and turn our ordeal into an opportunity for all of us.
In community,
Jon Ramer
