CharityFocus Blog

Generosity Entrepreneurs

Here is something that I'm really excited about.

Who is a Generosity Entrepreneur?
A Generosity Entrepreneur creatively leverages new ideas and technologies to promote a gift economy. By personally living in a way that is congruent with the gift economy, a generosity entrepreneur also holds a deep commitment to "being the change".

What is a Gift Economy?
A gift economy is an economic system in which goods and services are given freely, rather than traded. In a market economy, one can hoard one's goods without losing wealth; indeed, wealth is increased by hoarding--- although we generally call it 'saving'. In contrast, in a gift economy, wealth is decreased by hoarding, for it is the circulation of the gifts within the community that leads to increase--- increase in connections, increase in relationship strength.

How can I join the revolution?
You can help in two ways -- either become a generosity entrepreneur or give a gift to help support such an individual.

What does it mean to be a Generosity Entrepreneur?
Each selected Generosity Entrepreneur will be gifted very basic "food, shelter, clothing" and given an opportunity to implement a gift-economy project that makes him/her come alive. A network of generosity entrepreneurs will also gather every quarter to create a loose community of material, intellectual and spiritual support.

How do you select Generosity Entrepreneurs?
We select candidates with an unwavering commitment to generosity. It is our belief that anyone anchored in generosity will naturally manifest solutions that are relevant and useful for the world.

How can I support a Generosity Entrepreneur?
To support a Generosity Entrepreneur, you can either make a financial contribution or an in-kind donation. An in-kind gift will imply that you are able to host an entrepreneur with the basic "food, shelter, clothing" necessities for a pre-determined duration of time.

How did this idea start? Where does it go from here?
The idea spontaneously emerged during a conversation between Nipun Mehta (CharityFocus) and Richard Rosen (Miriam's Well). To start, CharityFocus will incubate the initial project and Miriam's Well will host a Generosity Entrepreneur. As we learn from our pilot projects, we hope to partner with other incubators and retreat centers. We also hope to host gift-economy workshops, at the end of which, all participants would agree to loosely support a self-selected Generosity Entrepreneur amongst them.

Posted by Nipun Mehta at February 20, 2007 02:34 PM