This was just going to be a quick post to update everyone on our progress in raising money to purchase the domain names CreatingTheFuture.org and .com.
But something happened this morning that moved me so deeply, that I wanted to share. So first, I hope you will bear with me as I share a story.
The Future We Are Creating
As most readers here know, the Community-Driven Institute is choosing to be its own experiment this year, addressing the question, “Can an organization make all its decisions openly, transparently, publicly?” The first issue we tackled in full public view was the renaming of the CDI. With several months of dialogue and input from hundreds of blog comments, tweets, Facebook notes, emails and one-on-one conversations, we are changing the Institute’s name to Creating the Future.
One of the participants in that discussion has been an active supporter of our work overall. She has shared The Pollyanna Principles with everyone she knows. She has shared our work across all platforms of social media over the course of many months. I like her and her partner immensely.
Given how intimately she knows our work, and given the degree to which she had engaged with us about the name change issue, this week I asked her to help with a donation. And here is her reply – the reply that stopped my heart. (I have changed the names for obvious reasons.)
Thanks for asking! I’m honored to be part of what you are creating. What *we* are creating, really.
Unfortunately, we’re not in a position to help financially, as Susan’s upcoming surgery is very expensive and we have no medical insurance. Can we help instead by spreading the word and asking others to help donate to the cause? Do you have a page with a donate button?
In the old days building the Diaper Bank, our 1st Executive Director had her baby while working with us, so we created a nursery in the office. Diapering Chris’s baby every day reminded us why we were doing the work we were doing.
That’s how I felt when I got that note this morning. It reminded me of the dramatic, visionary, stupendous social change we have the opportunity and responsibility to create.
Yes, it got me mad at first. And then it got me energized. Because we are all creating the future, right now. And the future I intend to create is one where a grown professional woman – someone who is GRATEFUL that we asked her to help, and who feels so connected that she wants to find a million other ways to help – doesn’t have to give up everything that matters to afford medical attention.
This present circumstance, this today – it is simply the future someone created with decisions and actions in the past.
And so I am now more energized than ever to have our name – and our domain names – reflect the fact that we intend to create a future that is healthy, vibrant, humane, resilient, compassionate for everyone.
And now, our total so far:
As of 12 noon US Pacific time today – barely a week after deciding to go for it – we have raised $1,636.00 of the $9,500 needed by July 10th.
Having just started this campaign in earnest over the past few days, we are excited! (And especially given that we hadn’t planned a campaign before starting, as we didn’t know what the decision would be about moving forward!)
Thank you to everyone who has helped so far. This is a great beginning. What a future we are about to create!!!
If you have found our work to be helpful, inspirational, encouraging to you over the years, please help us purchase the URL that will be our portal to the world.