Funding Sources

Revenue Streams

Empowerment could perform a number of useful services for the public to raise funds.

• Opt-out banners could allow page views to generate revenue for anyone who elects to view adwords.
• The numerous references to literature, film, games and other materials could be Amazon affiliate links, earning a percentage
• Products could be provisioned for a sliding scale all the way from free to asking price to contribution.

Non-Profit and/or For Profit

The Empowerment's organizational legal structure is not yet determined. It is likely to involve a hybrid between a non-profit for-progress charitable organization and a for-profit corporation that handles related business ventures.

Mozilla is a good example of such a hybridized progress/profit pairing.

Open Source / Commercial Hybrids

Large open-source projects are more successful when they partner with commercially funded enterprises with a vested interest in their success. The open-source development group funded by many Linux-based companies is a driving force employing open-source developers full-time.

External Funding

National Science Foundation

NSF funded WolfQuest with $500,000 to produce a learning game about wolf ecology.

They have a Social, Economic and Behavioral program that could possibly fund Empowerment. Empowerment could also fulfill environmental advocacy learning outcomes.

Grant Proposal Writing Guide

Google.org

Google.org hires people to do socially entrepeneurial and philanthropic projects and collaborates with outside groups to help improve the world and solve global problems.

www.Omidyar.net

Omidyar is probably the best fit as a funder with a track record of supporting empowering projects.

They'll Call Us

"By definition, that's how Omidyar Network works: we do our own research, then we approach potential partners (investees/grantees) and ask them how we can help them. But you may be saying something different... we will probably not do a "Request for Proposals" process."

Write The Proposal And They'll Come

Suppose any group solicited a funding proposal tomorrow. We should be ready to answer that solicitation immediately with a well-prepared proposal that thoroughly explores all angles of our proposition.

Government Grants

There are many government agencies that give grants for specific kinds of social enterprises. We need to identify what opportunities exist.

Sunshine Transparency Grants

The Sunlight Foundation offers "transparency grants" for the development and enhancement of databases and websites that enhance publicly disclosed information on Congress, lobbying and federal contracting. Our goal is support groups and individuals who are going beyond the traditional, single subject public disclosure database and who are interested in using a Web 2.0 model that enables the media, bloggers, and citizens to sift, share and combine this information in ways that are useful for them.

Funder Participation

Empowerment appeals to investors who are interested in participating in the project in some capacity. Contributors may want to pony up some of their dough to support the project. Big donors may want to provide helpful guidance and resources to further our efforts.

Grant Proposal

We are developing a formal grant proposal to give investors a chance to put their money to excellent work changing the world.

Visionaries Who Might Fund Us

Visionaries

Steve Wozniak

Woz is a brilliant guy who worked in education because he's passionate about learning and technology. He might be interested in funding and working on Empowerment.