INNOVATIVE IDEAS
INNOVATIVE IDEAS ... Get the Drift of Invention: After many years of experience, we love the fact that we often get to develop new and exciting project ideas, in hopes of identifying grants or investment money for innovative ideas. Traditionally it has been difficult to do this because many conventional funders shy away from ideas they perceive as being too risky to explore. Innovation, however, is now in the air. Below are a short samples of some of the most recent project write-ups that are in the development or in some degree of funding review process. I hope to let you know what the funders say as we go. If you have your own ideas, please feel free to CONTACT US and share your thoughts and suggestions. We may be able to arrange an affordable process for turning your ideas into a fundable, funded project! VENTURE CHARITABLE INNOVATIONS IN PROGRESS |
THE BUSINESS OF EARLY EDUCATION: April - May 2009
- Upwards of 20 new sources of funding potential have been created for educational institutions as a result of the federal stimulus
and reinvestment efforts. Some of these resources have been earmarked for innovative and expanding home or family childcare
institutions. But like other businesses of the day, the best models will be those that seek to balance good business practices
with great educational outcomes. At the moment we are working on at least two business plans and a country progress report
that will open many avenues of opportunity in this area.
WATER, WATER EDUCATION EVERYWHERE: March - April 2009
- The City of Benicia is undergoing an internal assessment of ways to address water and ecological sustainability issues. Part of
that project may be the chance to use some designated corporate funds to create community and regional educational projects
about the role of water in our history. Stay tuned to learn more about whether we succeed in getting this issue into language
about how seed funding may well work to promote all types of innovative sustainability efforts in the Northern Bay Area. Sorry ...
can't say much more at this point. It remains an evolving, collective process of input that still needs to unfold. But we can hope!!
FRUITVALE DRUG FREE PROGRESS ALLIANCE: March - July 2009
- Certain communities have made great progress in pulling their communities together around critical infrastructure
shortcomings. The Fruitvale District in Oakland, California, is one such community, having benefited on many levels from the
development of a commercial, transportation and housing hub. At the same time, this past focus left many other critical issues
with lesser attention than they require. The development of a new community collaborative model that builds in responsiveness,
flexibility and innovation into a youth empowerment model may be able to help refocus attention on issues such as how drug
use, abuse and experimentation varies quickly to evolving social opportunities. With the development of the proposed Progress
Alliance, we hope that youth inspired data collection and assessment efforts will blend well with a look at how computer and
communication technologies may well open new avenues to entirely different kinds of online and social networking solutions. A
grant proposal for this project is now pending before the White House Office of Drug Policy as part of the Drug Free Community
Support program.
Green Gateway Retail Partnership Possibilities:
Benicia First Street Merchants step up to the future
- As local Benicia merchants we are extremely excited about the possible benefits of partnering with the Green Gateway or other
visions for land development within our community given the developer's reconsiderations. We believe such collaboration will
directly contribute to including us “Mom & Pop” local commercial stake holders into the very intimate decisions about how the
project will benefit the community as a whole. Small town stores are the heart and soul of American commercialism. Benicia’s
residents continue to assert this fact. Putting this desire into practice requires that many of us stop our silo thinking in favor of
perspective that are more collectively good for the economic, social and environmental values that under gird a sustainable
future.
Doing this would also help put Benicia on the map as a model Gateway community. To ensure that this happens, several of us
have drafted these thoughts and suggestions about the role of retail in whatever development project evolves. This includes an
initial comment on the tone of the Green Gateway initiative, which we believe could set the tone for an across the board
enhancement of our regional business environment—one founded on openness, inclusivity, cooperation and collaboration.
Secondly, we have outlined some thoughts on the Green Gateway’s specifics components and offer some suggestions for
whatever retail elements are added.
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: December 2008 - January 2009
Director's Award for Innovation: Latino Research Center on Alcohol, Addictions and Community Sciences
- The (CLIENT), a California nonprofit agency serving Hispanics, is proposing to develop a Latino Research Center on
Alcoholism, Addiction and Community Sciences. The LRC will be a resource center grounded in community oversight and
involvement; a resource center that will work with other scientists (and internally) on a broad-range of behavioral, environmental
and biomedical promises for evidence-based prevention and treatment modalities free of known demographic limitations.
Current studies tend to fall short on these fronts, slowing the development of intervention strategies that can be used by alcohol
and other drug (AOD) practitioners. The major innovative elements of the LRC are that a) we are building this resource from the
theoretical bottom up (instead of modifying studies to conform to provider limitations), b) the Latino Commission itself is an AOD
provider with community credibility and access to 10,000 Latinos who reflect the spectrum of addiction challenges; and, as a
result, c) we will be able to establish trust within the Latino services community by ensuring transparency and empowerment in
the creation of the scientific Standards & Guidelines. We will build strong administrative and scientific components in the
Oakland, California, Fruitvale district, a Hispanic-rich area. Our reputation allows us to work in partnership with major Bay Area
scientific investigatory centers who are exploring genetic, biochemical and even cellular addiction understandings. Once our
core operational elements are set, the LRC will seek independent funding for research studies of our own using the model and
access we have to large target populations; studies blending behavioral, environment and bio-medical findings into community-
centered prevention and treatment approaches. Our PI was selected for his community and treatment expertise and will utilize
that professionalism to ensure that the LRC remains objective and scientifically respected.
Transformative Investigations 2009: Latino Institute for New Media Addictions
- The Latino Institute for New Media Addiction is trying a new approach to fix a very old problem. We are seeking to address the
most persistent and challenging underlying issues of alcohol and drug use and abuse by focusing on the quickly unfolding
predisposition of certain Latinos to utilize highly interactive, appealing interpersonal communication and social networking
technologies. By so doing we will be able to proactively understand and build upon interpersonal and socialization linkages
between this advancing connectivity to reduce addiction cofactors and to develop community- and peer-building intervention
strategies that are trusted and appreciated by the larger Latino population. We’re also seeking to develop a model of scientific
inquiry that builds on the ideals of stakeholder input, engagement and transparency to reaffirm core scientific values and
expectations toward objectivity. There is a growing but still unfocused degree of evidence that these new media advancements
are playing a measurable role in impacting the acculturation process of immigrant populations, and may well be contributing to
greater tendencies toward addiction, dependency and compulsivity. Piecemeal scientific evaluations and studies have been less
than effective in clarifying these conditions in part because of recognized demographic weaknesses in their theories and
methodologies (particularly regarding race and ethnic sensitivities), and because technological revolutions of this nature tend to
occur quickly, making it more difficult for independent observation to occur before the changing trends bring about additional
deleterious (or possibly even beneficial) impacts—a factor which contributes to the distrust and lack of confidence many
communities of color have regarding scientific conclusions. The development of LINMA will allow for the creation of theoretical
and methodological guidelines and understanding specific to these issues.
INTEL, Inspiration * Empowerment Challenge
- When pressed, most people will admit that the heart and soul of America’s Main Street commercial sector is the typical retail,
service or professional enterprise that they often find a neighborhood downtown setting. These are the businesses created by
motivated individuals or families, either to address a specific need or to enable them to share their professionalism without
giving up the conveniences and qualities of their locality.
But few actually realize that there is much more to this enterprising community than is readily apparent. These micro merchants
(some of which are sole proprietorships while others are small corporations) actually account for nearly ¾ of America’s total
absolute number of business firms; and though it may not seem like much in the midst of today’s economic meltdown, these
retail, manufacturing and professional services generate a sizable $1 trillion in annual revenues—nearly enough to match what
economists say would stimulate recovery.
It’s for this reason that we are proposing the development of a new, online, technologically motivated empowerment organization
to capitalize on the economic power and vitality of this community of micro entrepreneurs. With the development of this Micro
Merchant Business Association, we believe that we can literally create a new sense of innovation and economic credibility while
setting the stage for a better understanding of the newly recognized virtual economies of scale that are emerging as a direct
result of advances in connectivity and communication capabilities. By generating first a village of like-minded and passionate
small town entrepreneurs, we will offer them the chance to be readily available as the current administration reaches for the stars
of change—change that, as President Obama has said himself, of necessity must include connecting rural and Main Street
America to a new sense of optimism and opportunity. Then, once the organization has engaged a group of creative businesses,
we will seek to capture their spirit of inventiveness to generate recognized hardware and software support packages that contain
hands-on solutions relating to purchasing, merchandising and marketing micro business products, services and operational
models. We actually believe that within two years, we would be able to assemble at least three recognizable business support
packages capable of being sold at affordable prices to our members and other micro business adventurers. And that with this
support, we would be able to harness the capabilities of new generations of technological advancement for the specific purposes
of creating an entirely new understanding of virtual economies of scale that reward small town, Main Street ingenuity and
profitability.
REGIONAL CHILD CARE / EARLY EDUCATION VILLAGE: December 2008
NOTE: This proposal has not yet been submitted. It was requested and then placed on hold because of concerns about applicable
funding opportunities because of problems with the State of California's budget process and other funder issues. There remains
an expectation that the project will move forward as a regional economic stimulus opportunity:
- We envision this project as an effort to reach all children of poverty and the children of [CALIFORNIA] County’s working poor,
offering convenient, centralized child care and preschool assistance geared to their unique abilities and tied to their desire to
thrive academically and vocationally. We anticipate that our program will be operational 24/7/365: 24 hours per day, 7 days per
week, 365 day per year. The nature of our population in general and the projected growth of our economic base requires (as
does fairness) that we give all parents and families access to the type of comprehensive assistance they may need
independently of their employment choices. People work at all hours and on every day of the year. Some assistance elements
will be available online, particularly educational training courses for professionals and students who are able to learn in this
manner—a goal for all ages since we anticipate that all participants will advance in their computer capabilities as they grow.
In general, there will be day and night programs for infants through preschool children and after-school programs for young
people ages K-12. Children and families will be assessed for their need and placed accordingly. Our desire will be to enroll
children in need with the Regional Village components directly whenever possible. However, if they desire to make use of
alternative sites, such as qualified care slots from the Priority ONE Family Child Care Network, they will be offered assistance to
utilize these options as well.
Whether a family decides to enroll directly in one of our Village child care or preschool project or an identified Family Child Care
home, they will be eligible to make wide use of the supportive and integrated program components we have developed to
ensure that they receive comprehensive care. By achieving this goal, we can ultimately be assured that all children and families
have the resources they need thrive and, ultimately, to learn.
Contact VENTURE CHARITIES / 916-730-2801 / Allan@AllanShore.com
$1000 Business / Investor Plan? Yep - Click Here |
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