Beth Lynn Goldman

There are lines everywhere. Lines being drawn, crossed, walked around, and even erased when necessary, or when someone has the power to do so. There is an ugly, unjust line that isn’t serving any of us, and killing many who live below it. This is the poverty line. Today, 1.2 billion people around the world live at or below the poverty level, and they exist on $1.50 per day. This sounds unfathomable, but it’s a real fact and a real crisis. To address the issue, the Global Poverty Project created the Live Below the Line campaign challenging everyone to spend five consecutive days eating and drinking on just $1.50 per day.

The challenge runs from April 29 to May 3rd. I started a couple of days early on behalf of UNICEF. Since I’m traveling most of this week, I figured it would be wise to begin the challenge while I’m stationary and more in control of my schedule. So far, so good.

My breakfasts have consisted of oatmeal, bananas and honey. For lunch, I’ve been eating a baked potato a day, and for dinner I’ve been gobbling up  half a cup of rice mixed with vegetables.

Am I hungry? A little. Am low in energy? No. Am I truly living below the line? No. To do that I would need to experience living without a roof over my head, clean running water, sanitized food, and a number of other elements I’ve taken for granted, which would be viewed as luxuries to people surviving in impoverished communities across the globe.

Am I becoming more and more conscious about what my body consumes, and how gluttonous and wasteful I normally am? Oh, yes. There is no need to eat nearly the amount of food that I ingest on a regular basis. The sugar, the large portions, the plastic and paper packaging of food, and the money that goes into it all is JUST. SO. EXCESSIVE.

Someone asked me if I felt that participating in this campaign was life-changing. I don’t know that I would describe the experience as such, but I will say that it is life-affirming and awakening. I have so much to be thankful for, and I don’t count my blessings nearly enough. To have a voice, the ability to write, and the means to pursue all my heart’s aspirations is a gift. More so than that, it’s a miracle. I say this because I entered the world without a family. Fortunate enough to be adopted, I’ve lived a charmed life. There were times that I struggled. There were times I was broke. But there has never been a time that I lived below the line, and that is because of the good will and compassion of others.

So, this just makes me wonder. If thousands of people collectively bestowed their good will and compassion to those in need, could’t more miracles arise?

There are people across the globe, some in the backyards of our very own cities, who have no voice because no one is listening. And if they continue to endure living in poverty their children will grow up in poverty, and their children’s children will be raised in poverty. And these crimes against humanity may lead to those children leading lives of crime, in order to survive. Counter-productivity, the loss of goods and services, and the tragedies that occur because of such extreme aridity are just a few reasons to combat destitution to the best of our ability.

While the Live Below The Line campaign is about engaging our moral fiber to benefit those who cannot help themselves, its potential impact can transcend that monumental summit and shift the human condition. Global poverty affects all of us, and we can all do something to squash it.

Thanks to everyone who has donated so  far, we’ve already surpassed my initial  fundraising goal. Thank you and good luck to the thousands of people around the world who are participating in the program starting today. It is an absolute privilege and honor to be in your company. Together, we can erase the poverty line and make miracles happen.

Since the dawn of social media, there has been great debate over whether or not online activism constitutes “real activism.” The term slacktivist evolved when supporters of digital social change campaigns began to participate in droves via cyberspace. This is a pointless argument. There are always going to be people who do their part to contribute to a cause by retweeting, downloading Twibbons, and liking a campaign’s Facebook page. In the same vein, there are going to be humanitarians who form committees, travel to conflict and post-conflict regions to aid victims of war and natural disasters, and put their own safety on the line. Social media isn’t turning people into slacktivists. Social networking behavior is reflecting the already existing mindsets and priorities of  people using social media.

Instead of squabbling over the validity of various forms of social engagement around a cause, we should be doing more to celebrate the individuals who are making strides both online and offline to have a positive impact on the world. Within the digital society, there are activists who are on the ground floor diligently using emerging technology to create and share stories around social and political movements. There are leaders pioneering the use of video and social media for change. Mark Horvath, widely known as @HardlyNormal, is among these activists and leaders.

With great rigor and commitment, Mark has bestowed a face to homelessness—a number of faces, actually. His site Invisible People challenges stereotypes of the homeless by showing the journeys and struggles of many people who once had solid jobs and homes to call their own. According to the Hunger and Homelessness Survey released by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, of the 25 cities surveyed last year, 21 have seen an increase in homelessness and the remaining three said it stayed at the same level. The report relays that 46.2 million Americans, or 15 percent of the population, were living in poverty, and the number of homeless people on a single night in January 2012 was 633,782.

The numbers are alarming, and they are mocking the foundation of our country.

To take his crusade to end homelessness to the next level, Mark is working with a group of change makers on the @HOME  campaign and documentary, which will use the power of storytelling, social media, and a smartphone game to expand his work. Mark, the Kindling Group,  and the @HOME team, which includes Danny Alpert, Susanne Suffredin, and Heidi Boisvert, are spreading the word via Indiegogo to raise $100,000 to fund the project.

Take a look.

To learn more about how you can support @HOME, go here!

• John Hafernik: Biology, San Francisco State University – Revealed a parasitic fly responsible for the worldwide honey bee disappearance. Bees are responsible for pollenating about a third of the U.S. food supply.

• Nate Silver: Statistics, New York Times – Predicted 2012 election results accurately adding to his impressive resume of statistical prediction.

• James Cameron: Filmmaking, National Geographic – First person to visit Earth’s deepest area in a solo craft.

• Rolf-Dieter Heuer: Physics, CERN – Urged his colleagues to go public with their discovery of the so-called “God” particle, the Higgs boson, which was one of the most exciting announcements of 2012.

Source: Best College Reviews

When I was a little girl growing up in Michigan, my parent’s garage was my study, the swamp down the street was my amusement park, and the lagoon in my backyard was my basin of fun and adventure.  I was the only girl in my neighborhood, so helping my dad, now a retired electrical engineer, fix things in the garage was status quo. I didn’t think of myself as a tomboy. I just loved learning about how things worked. I thrived off of collecting and studying tadpoles, walking sticks, frogs, and other interesting creatures that lived in the swamp. I read countless books about the moon and the Milky Way, and my favorite animal was the Brontosaurus. When I was nine years old, my parents enrolled me in a class held at the community college for kids who loved science. It was a pool of endless colors and pure bliss.

By the time I became an adolescent, my interest in science declined. Somewhere along the way I was told, “girls aren’t good at science and math. They’re only good at english and subjects that fall under the humanities.” It wasn’t until my late 20s that I started taking an interest in science again. It wasn’t until adulthood that I started appreciating how much physics, math, engineering (all the subjects that bored me to tears in high school) keep the world turning and evolving,

I know I’m not the only female to experience the shift of pro-science to no-science during adolescence. It’s a huge problem in American society—one that is jeopardizing our country’s prosperity, health and competitive edge. That’s why STEM and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math) should be everyone’s favorite acronyms now and every day after. That’s why new school models, such as New York City’s Quest to Learn and the Santa Monica-based PlayMaker school are garnering attention. And, that’s why big brands like L’Oreal are promoting women in STEM.

Working to combat the shortage of females in the sciences, the cosmetics giant recently launched the platform For Girls in Science, a place for young women to experiment with science and meet other girls with similar interests. If you’re ever looking for a dose of beauty and inspiration, check out the site’s Women in STEM section. The luminaries featured here have pushed boundaries and explored the impossible and made it possible. They are heroes who have made it their life’s work to benefit humanity. They have paved the way for young girls across the U.S. to reinvent the future. I’m in awe of their tenacity and strength.

My desires are simple. I want the impossible to be realized, and I want the future to get here faster. With today’s technology and advances in the sciences, it’s really not a tall order. While we may not have hot tub time machines in our backyards to expedite the process, we do have some titillating products on the market that are opening minds to what is possible on a tangible level. Yes, I’m talking about 3D printing. All the rage at SXSW, the Kairos Society summit, and across the Maker community, 3D printing machines are the sexy items du jour. Since they hit the market, I’ve been pondering how they can be used for social impact. Then I met Easton LaChappelle and it all became clear.

Easton recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to develop a humanoid robotic hand and arm that’s much lower in cost than any other available. This 17-year-old began his bionic journey three years ago, and there’s no stopping him now.

Ingenuity runs through Easton’s veins. Two years ago, he designed a new hand with computer modeling software, and then asked MakerBot Industries to print the plastic bones. To control the limb, he used a Nintendo Power Glove. He then made a brain-based  controller by hacking the headset of the board game Mindflex. Now he’s ready to take his mission to the next level.

To lend a helping hand (pun intended) to Easton’s project, check out his Kickstarter page and spread the magic!

By Myles Dannhausen

Last year, when Roxanne Spillett came under fire for receiving $988,591 in total compensation as the CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of America in 2008, Dan Pallotta decided enough was enough. The Boys & Girls Club, which receives millions in federal funds, was attacked first by the media, then by Congress when Senator Chuck Grassley launched an investigation into the organization’s compensation practices.

Pallotta was incensed by the controversy. The firestorm focused solely on Spillett’s compensation with nary a discussion of whether or not Spillett was actually worth it.

Most reports neglected to mention that the Boys & Girls Clubs brought in $107 million in 2008. During Spillet’s 16-year tenure, the organization grew from 800 clubs to 4,000, and the combined revenue of the national office and local clubs grew from $438 million to $1.4 billion, according to a New York Times report.

Such compensation at a for-profit entity of the same size as the Boys and Girls Club would never be questioned, Pallotta argued. He cited Lockheed Martin, the defense contractor that receives nearly all of its revenues from federal contracts and compensated its CEO to the tune of $30 million in 2010.

Spillett was forced to resign even though the Boys & Girls Clubs were ranked among the nation’s best and most efficient charities for years.

In 2010 Pallotta ignited a firestorm in the nonprofit world with his book, Uncharitable, in which he scolded the sector and its critics for spending too much time begging, putting too much focus on administrative costs, and for not thinking big enough.

“We preach the power of capitalism” Pallotta says, “but we refuse to let the tools of capitalism rectify the inequities of society.”

This argument have been scrutinized by the nonprofit community, particularly by charity watchdog groups like Charity Navigator. Its president, Ken Berger, argues that nonprofits simply shouldn’t operate like for-profit entities.

“To assume that you’re going to become a millionaire or a multimillionaire, running a public charity that’s supposed to provide a public benefit, is just absurd as far as we’re concerned,” Berger told Bloomberg Businessweek in September.

Pallotta is unbowed by such arguments. He released another controversial book, Charity Case, this year, and has now formed the Charity Defense Council, an organization aiming to “change the way people think about changing the world.”

How do you do that? At his first Change Course conference held in Boston in October, Pallotta outlined the five pillars of the council:

1. Form a Charity Anti-Defamation League:  To respond and correct inaccurate reporting on the sector and individual charities
2. Launch a daring ad campaign:  To change the way the public thinks about charity
3. Create a Legal Defense Fund:  To challenge counterproductive regulations and laws that constrain the ability of charities to make an impact
4. National Civil Rights Act for Charity and Social Enterprise:  To create a thoughtful statutory code designed to help charities change the world
5. Organize the sector:  to do grassroots organizing to bring the nonprofit sector together as one powerful voice

Pallotta argues that these steps are necessary to change the conversation about charity from one focused on overhead percentages and an ethic of martyrdom to one that talks of impact and moon-shot goals, like curing breast cancer by 2020.

Pallotta, who is much more measured in person than his impassioned, often angry writing would suggest, believes that a massive educational effort can change our idea of charity the way ad campaigns changed the impression of pork, eggs, and milk.

“These are not bad people,” he says of those who argue against the idea of competitive compensation in the nonprofit sector. “They just don’t know.”

What do you think can be done to help change mindset around charity for the better?

 
Myles Dannhausen is a freelance writer and digital content strategist who has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations and municipal committees. He lives in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood, where he writes frequently about the nonprofit sector.

This past weekend, I went to see the DreamWorks animation “Rise of the Guardians,” which follows the story of Santa Claus, the Tooth Ferry, the Easter Bunny, the Sandman, and Jack Frost as they come together to protect the children of the world against Pitch Black, aka the Boogeyman. Suffice to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and it got me thinking about the rise of human guardians roaming the real world–the change makers who dedicate their lives to improving society through entrepreneurship and philanthropy. There are many among us, and their stories are invaluable to us because they have the ability to inspire, educate, and spark movements.

That’s why I was thrilled when news about Dell’s #Inspire 100 list landed in my inbox a few weeks ago. As part of Dell’s “Inspired Giving” holiday campaign, which encourages shoppers to give the gift of inspiration, the tech giant curated a list of 100 cause crusaders who are using technology to empower others. Among the #Inspire 100 honorees are influencers such as Casey Rotter (U.S. Fund for UNICEF), Chrysi Philalithes ((RED)) and Penny Abeywardena (Clinton Global Initiative); Entrepreneurs including Gina Bianchini (Mighty Bell), Scott Gerber (Young Entrepreneur Council) and Jose Ferreira (Knewton); Creatives like Grace Bonney (Design*Sponge), Ross Martin (Scratch/Viacom Media Networks) and William Yan (WilliamYan.com); and Tastemakers including Dina Fierro (Eye4Style.com), Giuliana Rancic (E! News and FabFitFun) and Josh Rubin (Cool Hunting).

Last week, I caught up with Fara Howard, executive director of North America Consumer and Small Office Marketing, to find out how the company came up with the list, which is running through December 21st, and what the campaign goals are. Here’s what I learned:

Kids can fly.

Dell wants to promote how technology can help customers achieve their dreams.  ”It’s not about the technology itself – but about the experiences that customers have because of the technology they use,” said Howard. “They’re able to pursue their dreams, bring their passions to life, experience true success.” Case in point: young Annie – the 5^th grader featured in Dell’s back-to-school advertising that ran earlier this year. She uses her imagination and Dell laptop to produce a video of her dream, flying, and proudly presents it to her class.  Dubbed “the girl who can fly,” the ad featured some of the latest innovations from Dell that inspire imagination, creativity and innovation.

At least 100 influencers are redefining tech.

The #inspire 100 are the thinkers, the designers and the risk takers. They’re the social entrepreneurs that sink their last dollar into making the world a better place, the writers who report on it, designers who use technology to innovate. Tech tastemakers are not influenced, they create influence and they do it through amazingly bold and inspiring action. They are redefining the world of tech and showing the world how tech tools can be used to empower dreams and change the world.

To develop this list, Dell brought together a group of judges to help curate the creatives that go above and beyond to make a difference every day. The judges include:

•    Elliott Bisnow – Founder, Summit Series
•    Josh Kopelman – Founder, First Round Capital
•    Ingrid Vanderveldt – Entrepreneur in Residence, Dell
•    Shauna Robertson – Partner, Crowdrise
•    Tina Wells – Founder & CEO, Buzz Marketing Group

Here are a few change makers who made the list.

Alexis Ohanian, investor and entrepreneur and co-founder of social news website reddit, social enterprise Breadpig, which publishes popular web comic books like xkcd and Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, and donates its profits to charity.

Rakia Reynolds, Philly 360′s Fashion Ambassador and owner of Skai Blue Media, a boutique communications agency.

Adam Braun, Founder and CEO of Pencils of Promise, the nonprofit organization that has broken ground on more than 90 schools worldwide and delivered over 3 million educational hours in just over four years.

President Barack Obama did not just win re-election tonight. His victory signaled the irreversible triumph of a new, 21st-century America: multiracial, multi-ethnic, global in outlook and moving beyond centuries of racial, sexual, marital and religious tradition. ~Howard Fineman

Who says Los Angeles doesn’t have heart and depth? On October 24th, 20 of LA’s most promising nonprofit entrepreneurs are sharing their freshly minted communications and business skills during the culmination of the Social Innovation Fast Pitch, a free two-month training program that connects nonprofit leaders with business mentors and funding opportunities. During the event, 10 finalists will make three-minute pitches to a panel of judges and an enormous audience filled with investors, philanthropists and foundation executives. The grand prize is $45,000 in awards. Presented by Los Angeles Social Venture Partners, the Fast Pitch competition is a chance for trainees of the program to share their growth, commitment to their causes, and engage potential volunteers and supporters.

For me, watching entrepreneurs pitch their businesses is one of the most educational and inspiring experiences a fellow entrepreneur can have. So…come out to Beverly Hills and join us for an evening that is sure to demonstrate that tomorrow can always be better than yesterday.

Social Venture Partner chapters hold fast pitch competitions across ten North American cities under varying monikers in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Minneapolis, Dallas, Cleveland, San Diego, Calgary, and Seattle, the city where SVP started nearly 15 years ago.