A Blanket of Rights from Pivot and MEC

This is a picture of a Pivot staffer, David Eby, displaying the new Pivot/MEC Rights Blanket. What's the Rights Blanket?

A little over a year ago, the idea was to stencil the contents of a Pivot Rights Card onto a space blanket. Space blankets don't like direct heat.

MEC knows a thing or three about design and protection from harsh climates, so when MEC heard about the blanket idea phone numbers were exchanged and introductions made to create ...

A joint project between Mountain Equipment Co-Op and Pivot, the Rights Blanket is light-weight, rugged, and easy to pack. Made of the same material as MEC’s high-end rain jackets, the Rights Blanket acts like a large, light-weight tarp with foot pockets, drawstrings and a built-in "stuff sack".

It wraps around a sleeping person, their clothing and insulating blankets, protecting them from water and wind. Silk-screened onto the inside of the Blanket, in 26 point font, are various need-to-know rights for homeless people, including their rights in relation to panhandling, security guards, housing, policing, and welfare.

Congratulations to both Pivot and MEC for sticking with the idea and creating the blankets.

Buy the blankets and share them.

The first run of 500 Rights Blankets will soon be gone, but Pivot is already taking orders from the general public for the next batch. Interested people can provide a Rights Blanket to a homeless person for $50.00. Donors have the option of picking up the Blanket themselves to give away to someone in need, or having a non-profit agency in the Downtown Eastside give it away on their behalf. People who wish to donate a Rights Blanket can place an order online or call Pivot at (604) 255-9700.

Oh ... the need to know rights are here - in case you haven't had a chance to order your Rights Blanket.

Covered by CBC Vancouver - online. They wrote:

David Eby, a lawyer with Pivot, hopes the blanket campaign will raise awareness about the homeless situation in Vancouver, where there are only 700 shelter spaces available for the estimated 2,300 people who live on the streets.

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Tags for information about: for:vsef, MEC, Pivot Legal, Rights Blanket

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Purpose Prize | Who will you nominate?

Once again, we're pleased to encourage support of US based Civic Ventures and the Purpose Prize.

Civic Ventures has opened nominations for the 2008 Purpose Prize, a major initiative that invests $100, 000 in people over 60 who are leading a new age of social innovation -- domestically and abroad.

The prize propels the work of social entrepreneurs and publicizes a trend of adults in the second half of life combining their creativity and experience to tackle some of the world's biggest challenges.

Eligibility

To be eligible for The Purpose Prize, the nominee must:

• Be at least 60 years old (by the deadline of March 1, 2008).


• Be a legal resident of the U.S. (including U.S. territories).


• Be currently working in a leadership capacity in an organization or institution (public, private, nonprofit, or for-profit) to address a major social problem in the United States or abroad.


• Have initiated important innovations (in a new or ongoing organization) after the age of 50, and have demonstrated creativity and leadership within the past five years or so with the promise of more to come.

Please note that elected officials are NOT eligible for the Prize. Individuals working in faith-based service organizations that have a broader social mission are eligible AND ENCOURAGED TO APPLY, but the purpose of their project cannot be strictly religious or sectarian--in that it is confined EXCLUSIVELY to individuals within a denomination or for THE SOLE purpose of expanding the religious mission of the denomination or faith.

Here's the link to the nomination page.

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Interested in learning more about social enterprise? Take a browse through the Vancouver Social Enterprise Book Store (Vancouver | United Kingdom | United States) and see what other social entrepreneurs recommend reading.

Tags for information about: for:vsef, Purpose Prize, Nonprofit, Civic Ventures

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Twitter Me to Safety

Over a coffee this morning while reviewing a PowerPoint with an uber smart fellow, Jon Husband, I had a Twitter revelation.

I'm no fan of Twitting (sic?) it seems ... it seems ... unnecessary.

But Jon's presentation referenced a use of Twitter for social activism, namely assuring the safety of activists in dangerous places.

The example was given of Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El Fattah, who has been detained many times and who uses Twitter to constantly let people know where he is, as a form of personal protection through publicity - if he stops twittering, his friends know that something is wrong.

With this example and being aware of the actions of the Junta in Burma, mobile Twittering takes on a greater importance.

On-line activism such as petitioning using Avaaz, or creating an on-line digest like Burma Digest, and posting videos like this one to You Tube or Google ...



feel like an established practice for digital activism that help the World become aware and witness social outrage.

Twitter could be a much more powerful tool in the hands of activists who don't have the benefit of an existing broad public profile.

Imagine, now I have a reason to recommend using Twitter.

[note this post also appears at ned]
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Tags for information about: for:vsef, Social Activism, Technology

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OXJAM - See How Oxfam is Using Technology as a Path to Engagement

What is OXJAM?

Oxjam is a music festival with a difference. Across the UK, from now until the end of October, people like you will be putting on Oxjam music events to raise money for Oxfam.

And we are asking musicians, promoters - in fact, everyone - to get together this month to make music, raise money and help end poverty.

Fancy yourself as a bit of a player? Well, there is still time to organise your own Oxjam event - big or small. See below for ideas on how to get started.

Aside from using on-line sign-up forms and links to media sponsors, the folks at Oxfam are actively courting their supporters.

Take a look:

• You Tube
• Flickr
• My Space
• Technorati

[Photo Credit: Guardian Unlimited: 24 hours in pictures, October 2 2007.]
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Tags for information about: for:vsef, NGO, Oxjam, Oxfam

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[Opportunity] Director of Social Enterprise - Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network

Founded in 1989 the Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN) does a lot of things very right as a social enterprise. The VSEF is very pleased to pass along the announcement of an opportunity to assume responsibility as PLAN's "Director of Social Enterprise".

PLAN’s mission is to help families secure the future for their relative with a disability and to provide you with peace of mind. This means ending isolation and loneliness, creating financial security, enabling everyone to make a contribution, ensuring choice, and creating genuine homes.

Here's a video to help you understand PLAN a little better:

About the role:
Founded in 1989, PLAN is an award-winning social enterprise that assists families in securing a good life for our relatives with disabilities. We are looking for a passionate, self-directed and entrepreneurial individual with a track record in business or social enterprise, combined with some experience in the financial sector. Demonstrated writing skills and e-business savvy are critical.

Job Goal:
Generation of revenue through business activities, development of corporate partnerships and grant-writing

Responsibilities:

• Overseeing, developing and implementing business activities that include product and service development, which support our mission and generate revenue


• Maintaining and developing corporate partnerships


• Developing new markets


• Grant-writing and fund development

Qualifications:

• Relevant University Education


• Business experience, preferably in the financial sector


• A successful track-record in business/social enterprise start-up

The successful candidate will be self-directed, energetic, committed and entrepreneurial. He/she will possess:

• Knowledge/experience in business planning, corporate structuring, and equity financing


• E-Business savvy


• Demonstrated writing skills

To learn more please contact Alexis Pidlisecky or visit the PLAN website.

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Interested in learning more about social enterprise? Take a browse through the Vancouver Social Enterprise Book Store (Vancouver United Kingdom United States) and see what other social entrepreneurs recommend reading.

Tags for information about: for:vsef, Social Enterprise, Nonprofit, PLAN

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Social Entrepreneurship: Ten Questions with David Bornstein

David Bornstein is the author of of How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas. Guy Kawasaki posts ten questions he asked David.

Here's one of Guy's questions:

Question: How can social entrepreneurs attract talent when there aren’t high salaries and options?

Answer: By offering people employment opportunities that align with their talents, interests, and values. By inspiring them with a vision of changing the world, of being part of something bigger than themselves. We have to think about an assumption behind this question—namely the notion that people seek to maximize how much money they make. Certainly, we all care about making money. But choices that people make every day—becoming teachers, having children, giving money to charity—indicate that we are complex creatures motivated by many different things.

We are also at an interesting point in America’s history. With all our wealth and freedom of choice, we seem to be obsessed with finding happiness. Everyday it seems another book is published focusing on how we can make ourselves happy. Most Americans today are phenomenally wealthy compared to their grandparents, yet many studies show we are no happier, and we actually may be less so. At the very top of the list of things that make people feel happy and fulfilled are doing work that you find challenging and deeply meaningful with colleagues whom you respect and care for. Social entrepreneurship offers this.

Great questions, better answers.


read more | digg story
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Interested in learning more about social enterprise? Take a browse through the Vancouver Social Enterprise Book Store (Vancouver | United Kingdom | United States) and see what other social entrepreneurs recommend reading.

Tags for information about: for:vsef, Social Enterprise, Nonprofit

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Doonesbury marks a philanthropic generation gap. Way ... cool!

While BC Business extols the new face of philanthropy in British Columbia, Doonesbury notes a benchmark.

The image links to Sunday's strip, then you can read the exchange between the characters.

[A nod to Lucy for beating us to the post.]
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Interested in learning more about social enterprise? Take a browse through the Vancouver Social Enterprise Book Store (Vancouver | United Kingdom | United States) and see what other social entrepreneurs recommend reading.

Tags for information about: for:vsef, Social Economy, Nonprofit, Philanthropy

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