Million Dollar Ideas on UserVoice

Buddy system for financial advisors/fundraisers [updated]

2011-04-21T14:03:39-07:00

Pioneer a side by side and on-line training and a “buddy system” for financial advisors (the gatekeepers to giving) and fundraisers. Create a sensitivity to the differing values and reward systems of the two groups both of whom serve the affluent client-donor. PhilanthropyNow research on that relationship.

JJ said:

sounds great

DRIVE OREGON: clean transportation, green jobs and livable communities. [updated]

2011-01-01T22:52:22-08:00

MMT should fund Drive Oregon, a coalition of Oregon companies and interest groups engaged in the electric vehicle industry, and in issues surrounding transportation electrification – with an emphasis on job creation and economic gardening. Drive Oregon’s mission is to catalyze the growth of Oregon’s electric vehicle (EV) industry to ensure Oregon develops and maintains its competitive advantage and maximizes the economic development potential of this emerging industry. Drive Oregon is a collaboration of Oregon companies, public entities, and other stakeholders in the process of forming a formal tax exempt organization with the following high-level goals: • Attract existing federal resources and private financial support to enable local companies to overcome commercialization barriers for clean vehicles, EV and EV-related products and facilitate opportunities for external collaboration. • Leverage and connect Oregon University System institutions, utilities, state and local government entities and Oregon electric vehicle (EV) industry stakeholders to efficiently develop and commercialize next-generation transportation technologies. • Foster collaboration between Oregon's existing clean tech, advanced manufacturing, software and high technology sectors to participate in the EV supply chain, both locally and globally. • Aid in the creation of skilled, family-wage jobs to build the next generation of transportation solutions. Context: Oregon is at the forefront of Electric Vehicle (EV) deployments, having garnered attention internationally as an early-adopter market as exemplified by our high hybrid electric vehicle concentration. Transportation Electrification represents the transformation from a fossil-fueled, combustion based transportation system to one that increasingly powers vehicles with electricity as the motive force. Electric vehicles have much higher energy efficiency than internal combustion powered vehicles and are significantly cleaner. Beyond the environmental benefits of EVs, there are significant benefits from energy security and retained wealth in the local economy not transferred to purchase petroleum. While there are undeniable regional benefits for being an early EV market, so called “green dividends,” as well as transitory job creation through EV charging installations, there are significant long-term benefits available to Oregon. Seed funding from Ideas 4 Oregon can enable focus Oregon’s efforts on transformative economic development. Oregon’s vision is to be a leader in EVs. Governor Kulongoski recognizes EVs in his climate change and sustainable transportation agenda; having issued Executive Order 08-24 creating the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Infrastructure Working Group (hereafter AFVI). The group produced a report issued in February 2010 providing recommendations to the Governor. Cited within the report of the AFVI Report is the recognition of an Oregon electric vehicle cluster and a call to action to support this cluster for long-term sustainable advantage. The AFVI Report contained well over 6 pages dedicated to job creation opportunities and recommendations. Highlights include opportunities in the component and subsystem level for existing local companies; software and embedded electronic systems for Oregon firms, recognition of Oregon's advantages in "niche" vehicle segments; development and manufacturing of EV charging infrastructure (actual charging stations and the associated grid connectivity, communications and control); as well as job creation including design, engineering, analysis of software, systems and process to integrate into hardware, networking and devices that support the evolution of smart grid and on-board services. Furthermore, the AFVI Report also advanced recommendations for creation of a “world-class, multi-disciplinary transportation electrification and “smart mobility” center of excellence” as well as a “center of excellence for Smart Grid integration of electric vehicles.” Funding from MMT would provide seed / development funding to leverage federal funds, state funds and other private sources to start up such a center. Oregon has a strong manufacturing capability and expertise throughout the region to support a clean vehicle industry, with a correspondingly robust supply base in existence that serves commercial trucks (i.e., Freightliner/Daimler in Portland and PACCAR in Washington) as well as recreational vehicle makers. There are opportunities for existing Oregon companies -- or people-- to diversify, create new divisions, start new companies, or join emergent companies. Despite the economic downturn and scarcity of capital investment, Oregon’s pioneer spirit has launched in excess of 14 local companies over the last several years as evidenced by the cluster formation through start-up entrepreneurial activity. Oregon already has well over 40 companies actively working on transportation electrification and vehicle efficiency technologies, many are listed at http://DriveOregon.org/members. By harnessing the resources of this broad array of companies, fostering collaboration and attracting additional complementary firms, Oregon is well positioned to capitalize on the growth in the electric vehicle sector. Meyer Memorial Trust’s support as an economic gardening approach will create local jobs and bolster an emerging local industry. Now is the time to Drive Oregon towards a prosperous electric vehicle future. Meyer Memorial Trust should leverage its investment with a $1 million "challenge grant" that will serve as a catalyst to attract other dollars; especially one-time start up funds from other foundations, private industry sources, and key federal granting agencies. A MMT placement can position Oregon in a leading position to secure a portion of the $11 billion in federal funding through the Electric Vehicle Deployment Act of 2010 co-sponsored by Senator Merkley. A Meyer grant will also send a strong message to the Governor, Legislature and the Oregon Innovation Council that future jobs in Oregon will depend on public/private investments in clean vehicles, clean energy and technology. Clean transportation, green jobs and livable communities. Drive Oregon.

Lindsay Jim said:

Here is my million dollar idea. DriveOregon should partner with organizations like hospitals, E bike stores and E vehicle companies to sponsor an Annual Portland E-Vehicle Bridge Crossing Event to be held in Portland each summer. Much like the Providence Brige pedal mobilizes support from the community for bicycle participation, the E Bridge Crossing event would mobilize public interest and support for E vehicles in Oregon. There would be various categories such as E-bikes and E-cars and so on. There would be contests such as the lightest E-vehicle to complete the course, and the most innovative E-vehicle to complete the course, or the fastest E-vehicle to complete the course, and the most laps of the bridges that an E-vehicle could make without a recharge. The public would get to see and experience these E vehilces from all around the country and showlight Oregon as the hub of the E-vehicle world. I work at Emanue Hospital in Portland, and could ask my hospital to help sponsor such an event if there is interest in this idea. A hospital sponsorship is good since the E vehicles are good for the environment, good for the planet, and good for our health with no toxic emissions. Wht do others think about this idea? If interested you can post here or email me directly at jnl@hevanet.com.

DRIVE OREGON: clean transportation, green jobs and livable communities. [updated]

2010-11-30T20:10:09-08:00

Ernest Hagel said:

I tried to volunteer at Mcminville High scholl to teach a after school club about electric cars about 3 years ago, I was willing to donate cars, time and also had Les Shwab on board. It was going to be a community effort. Unfortunately they shot it down. If we don't start teaching our young people more than just how to point and click, well lets just say that, we better be willing to buy everything we want from other countries.

DRIVE OREGON: clean transportation, green jobs and livable communities. [updated]

2010-11-30T20:01:12-08:00

Ernest Hagel said:

My goal is simple but yet cutting edge, recycle cars by converting them to be fully Electric. I want to Employe young people that want to learn about the futher of transportation, Check out my website www.voltwagenepc.com

signaling device [updated]

2010-09-07T19:24:20-07:00

I invented survival technical gear for example if the big hit's we will lose communication. Many will need to be rescued. My device for the signaling rescued. It can be use anywhere and the other invention can tell the direction of the sound for sea rescue in darkness and fog. What it does it takes sound amplify it up to 400 times then display the sound using led's Light emmitting diodes. This technology I created will save manny lives. I have many more invention to come. My biggest will turn lighting into energy unlimited supply order of 1 google watt of power Benny_Allen

Benny Allen said:

This device can be as away to detect Earthquakes and help locate survivers or scare away Animals Bears, Mountain lions Device unopen is 3ft tall 3"wide when unfoled stands 6' tall and 6' wide 8'with stand recharge able 8volt lithum ion batteries

Support Open Source to make it easier for local nonprofits to do their work. [updated]

2010-08-18T15:20:48-07:00

No open source software is better suited to helping nonprofits than Drupal. From a small site that does nothing but tell you about a nonprofit and accept donations, through community sites to powerful sites with a CRM to help nonprofits better use and mobilize their supporters, donors and volunteers... Drupal does it all. And Drupal puts the maintenance and ownership of these websites into the hands of nonprofits and takes it out of the hands of expensive developers. A small software team could use a fraction of that money to set up and maintain three (or more) Drupal distributions, one for each of those scenarios. What does this mean? It means a powerful website is within the reach of most nonprofits for a fraction of their current costs. Each distribution will be more than software, but will also contain extensive configuration, and it is the latter that usually costs the most. Currently, a nonprofit seeking a web presence can lay out $3,000 for something basic, all the way through to tens of thousands. These distributions will make it possible for all nonprofits who don't require extensive customization to get the same websites for a cost of hundreds of dollars, or possibly thousands if more customization is required. At ***** it will save most nonprofits thousands of dollars. And why do they need a web presence? Because it helps them get their word out, shows people that they mean business and are capable, helps them get more donations and helps them make better use of the people who help and support them. The result is better-organized, more-effective nonprofits. Further, Drupal is almost endlessly extendable, so they can make it even more powerful, as they grow and their needs change. An added benefit is that while these Drupal distributions would benefit most nonprofits in Oregon, they will be free and open source and could also be used/customized by nonprofits, NGOs and charities anywhere in the world. This would mean that while we make Oregon a better place, we also make the world a better place, which in turn would bring prestige to Oregon and help us to think of ourselves as innovators and trendsetters, rather than just a struggling State.

Grant Kruger said:

Of great interest to those interested in this idea is the new Drupal distro announced yesterday by OpenSourcery. It sounds like it is essentially the realization of the more basic of the Drupal distros proposed here, and most likely was in the works before this idea was proposed. Still, it adds validation and also shows that others are moving in similar directions.

OpenSourcery blogged about it here: http://www.opensourcery.com/blog/marcus-estes/meet-donor-rally-drupal-distro-social-fundraising

And the distro's home is here: https://www.opensourcery.com/donor-rally

Oregon Energy Systems and Technology Research Administration (OESTRA) [updated]

2010-08-01T13:17:25-07:00

Oregon needs to exploit its unique position as a lead state in developing clean energy. We have already invested billions of tax dollars to attract companies to develop our renewable resources. However, we invest almost nothing to develop a world class talent pool that will provide the innovation and technical skill necessary to make our state the ‘go to’ place for renewable energy education, research, and innovation for the foreseeable future. A team of citizen volunteers have been working on a proposal (OESTRA) that follows the recommendations of the Pew Charitable Trust and uses some of the best from successful programs in other states like Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina. Tobias Read, Chairman of the House Sustainability and Economic Development Committee, is preparing legislation based on this proposal. The proposal would bring eminent scholars to Oregon to teach top decile students, establish applied research labs that will employ and train graduate students, capture Federal grants, and stimulate investment in renewable energy innovation and technologies. At a cost of $4 million/year it will establish Oregon as the center for renewable energy innovation, provide a basis for reducing utility costs, lowering dependence on fossil fuels, and building an economic development model based on clean energy and family wage jobs. A significant part of this proposal is the inclusion of an ROI model that can measure the benefit from these investments. The American Innovation Council, let by Bill Gates and Jeff Immelt, has embraced this approach. The Obama Administration is in the process of implementing the Council proposals. The recommendations include putting an additional $16 billion into renewable energy research and development projects that will enable us to become energy independent and reduce our carbon footprint. The next six years will be a critical time for Oregon to capture these research investments and build an important public/private partnership. This alliance will elevate our higher education system, provide job growth in applied research around clean energy, and grow the number of technology based companies so necessary for Oregon’s future. Meyer should leverage its prominence in Oregon's non-profit community with a $1 million "challenge grant" that will serve as a catalyst to attract other dollars; especially one-time start up funds from other foundations, private industry sources, and key federal granting agencies. A Meyer grant will also send a strong message to the Governor and Legislature that future jobs in Oregon will depend on public/private investments in clean energy and technology. Josh Bratt, CIMA® Vice President | Wealth Advisor Senior Consultant, ICS Morgan Stanley Smith Barney | Global Wealth Management Group 1001 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 2200 Portland, OR 97204 Phone: +1 503-552-3368 Fax: +1 503-221-8602 Toll: +1 800-767-7824

josh bratt said:

Ideas like Drive Oregon could be key initiatives within OESTRA. It would be up to a consortia of private industry, the Oregon University System (think ETIC), and Business Oregon (think Oregon InC) to determine, through an RFP process, priorities (smart grid, battery technology, offshore wind/wave, etc.) that would provide the greatest return on investment in terms of permanent family-wage job creation.

Grab a larger share of Federal SS Dollars by replicating the faster B.E.S.T. model [updated]

2010-07-23T19:30:56-07:00

On the OPB program, the Meyer Trust's CEO said that in this difficult economic environment, we need to develop new models for delivering scarce social services. There already is a great model for this in Portland that is bringing tons of new Federal dollars into the city, but it is only available to a couple of agencies and should be replicated throughout the state. The model is simple: Get disabled folks the Social Security Income they need by changing the "rules" of the application game. Instead of two thirds of SS applicants waiting two years to be denied their benefits, this new model has shown they can get 90% of applicants their benefits in only 90 days! And for each person who gets their benefits, they receive a minimum of $674 per month that goes INTO the local economy for housing, health care, food and basic needs, and there is ONE LESS person needing local safety net dollars. This stretches these scare resources to more people. How do they do it? Instead of handicapped people trying to play the SS application game without knowing the rules, a specialist takes control of the application process. They fill out the forms FOR SS instead of simply providing information and they arrange medical evaluations rather than relying on SSA doctors. These and other "shortcuts" have earned the local B.E.S.T. program 100% increases in funding from the county this past year. The county increased their funding because every dollar that is spent on benefits specialists, returns an estimated 4 dollars in Federal Funding into the local economy. A huge number of disabled people, and their families, are homeless. 25% are veterans and many are children, and the numbers continue to grow. Now there's something we can do about it. I saw a friend's life change when they got SSI, and the medical treatment they needed. There is a pile of money that we can gain access to for our most vulnerable citizens if we expand this model. I would give a million dollars to to train more specialists in this innovative process for every county in Oregon, which would generate approximately 4 million in Federal dollars. The ripple effect in local housing , health care and social services agencies could not come at a better time. This concrete and measurable work results in restored hope and restored lives.

Mellani said:

1:4 is a conservative ratio

More charter schools [updated]

2010-07-23T12:15:00-07:00

Each charter school spends 20-50% less than traditional schools in the same district-- and most show equal or better educational quality,

Steve Lamb said:

I'm curious about this statistic's source. Can someone cite please?

Guarantee two years of college to every high school graduate [updated]

2010-07-23T09:06:25-07:00

We in Oregon seem to view a college education as an individual "privilege" for the few rather than a public good for the many. Yet, increasing the higher educational attainment of our community -- and especially of our young people of color -- is the one sure way we can increase the economic prosperity of our state and maintain our quality of life. This will take more than $1 million for sure, but it's a BIG idea -- one that will transform our state and its future.

Ken Cowdery said:

A big but simple idea that will have immediate impact. Sometimes the simple ideas have the biggest impact.

Website that taps the cognitive surplus of the world to solve real problems [updated]

2010-07-22T21:24:16-07:00

There are many pressing problems in Oregon. I would put unemployment near the top, and I like the idea of incubators, but it doesn’t do any good to start a company, and then have it fail later because lack of capital to take it to the next stage. The best use of funding would be to use it as leverage to greatly multiply its effects. My idea is a variation and an expansion of the MMT’s own contest idea. The idea is to channel the vast cognitive surplus of the world to solve real problems. See: http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cognitive_surplus_will_change_the_world.html People of the world have over a trillion hours a year in free time. How large is the untapped market of brilliant, creative people, with time on their hands? While it’s good to exercise your brain, think of the millions of people that use their cognitive surplus to only “solve” crossword or seduku puzzles everyday? My idea is to create a website to assist people to collaborate on solving meaningful world problems. After the initial startup and development costs, the website would be self sustaining. The website itself would create jobs in Oregon, and could also spin off new local startups, but Oregon would also benefit directly and indirectly as world problems are addressed. Any problem that needs to be solved is fair game - political, social, technological, etc., but the focus would be much more than a sounding board or brainstorming forum, it would focus on taking solutions past the “good idea” stage, and making them happen. The website could be hosted and run anywhere in the world, but by having it in Oregon, we would be best placed to access and reap the rewards of the words brain reserve. The website would basically be a forum type of website where registered members join for free and can suggest a problem to work on, or help solve listed problems. The website would be highly structured and organized to allow for easy scanning. It would use hierarchical nested replies, and have other useful features, like, interesting topics and replies are automatically moved to the top (as voted on by members). I like the nested topic/reply format found on many websites, but to be more useful for real collaboration, the information bandwidth has to substantially increase. In addition to text and links, the replies also need to be able to support embedded graphics, videos, logic diagrams, flow charts, stored files, etc – everything needed to do real innovation. Contributors would participate for several reasons: 1) They are contributing to making the world a better place. 2) People are motivated to increase their “rank” and social worth. Doing tasks to get a merit badge, advance to the next karate belt, or increase your characters “hit-points” are all motivators using the same principle. On the website, people increase in social worth by getting points by contributing good ideas (or even supplying a reason why an idea won’t work). Points are given by other members (votes from members with higher points carry more weight). 3) Unlike some inventor websites, where an inventor has to pay to submit their good idea, small prizes and money can be awarded to people with the “best” idea, or as they reach certain point levels, as determined by members. Substantial prizes and money could be awarded by sponsoring companies. 4) The website would make use of the standard social networking tools, like allowing members to network with chosen friends, having private chat and messaging, etc. The usual stuff. For real problems that are being solved, members can offer good ideas, suggest critical feedback, play off of other good ideas, and even revise or rework the problem statement. True collaboration requires the problem and solutions to morph as needed, and the website would graphically track the changes so that a topic doesn’t become overwhelmingly cluttered. The website would go much farther than just developing good ideas, the website would help to link up solution providers, investors, other contributors, NGO’s, non-profits, etc., to turn the idea into reality, and then continue to track it’s success. I can’t list all the great features of the website in this pitch, but one suggestion is that if a user registers him/herself as an expert in “x”, they could choose to be directed automatically to problems that need their expertise. Once the site is up, it can be self supporting in several ways: 1) Advertisers: A collection of “creative people actively participating in solving world problems” is a demographic that many advertisers would like to tap into. 2) Sponsors: For a fee (sliding scale), non-profit and for-profit companies can have their own “problems that need solutions” featured. 3) Since the website is designed to be used for innovation collaboration, “private rooms” with encrypted data could be rented to companies for private use. Oregon certainly has the resources to make this website happen, and it could start immediately. This is a shovel ready project. And, once the website is up, it could be used to refine and implement all the other good ideas submitted in the MMT contest. Everyone’s a winner, here.

jesse.gravenor said:

Phil, this is a great idea and similar to one that I have kicked around with friends a while back. It never got much traction. Seeing Clay Shirky's Cognitive Surplus TED talk, and the Dan Pink's Surprising Motivation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrkrvAUbU9Y) talk both brought it back into my mind. This would make a great Kickstarter.com project too. Feel free to call upon me if you want to pull something together.

redefine this contest [updated]

2010-07-21T17:02:49-07:00

Although I hope the one or two really visionary yet practical and financially feasible ideas for effectively leveraging $1M are in here somewhere, the noise is somewhat overwhelming to a casual observer like myself. In my opinion, the best ideas come from people with a vested interest in seeing them through. That interest may not be purely wealth but for recognition and for responsibility in bringing the idea to fruition. So there may be some reluctance on the part of people with really good ideas to post them in such a public forum. This is a noble experiment, but the description does not make clear what participation a winning idea's creator may expect in carrying it out. So with all due respect to the intentions of the staff of the Meyer Trust, if you find that $1M can not be used to further every political and social agenda embodied by the ideas posted here; if you want new ideas with a long term potential to change Oregon; if you want ideas with background consideration of financial feasibility and statewide financial impact, then my idea is that you re-start this project. Make it a true competition with grants to the winners allowing them to try to implement their idea. (Perhaps even quit their job for a year to see it thru.) Require only brief 2-3 page (750 word) submissions and promise to keep the submissions private. I dont think that reserving the right to limit the number and value of awards based on the quality of the submissions would be very discouraging and would leave you a way out if no submissions fit your mission.

m8and8t said:

Judith -- MMT needs to sort through all the current ideas here anyways, the majority of which are either the same old thing or vague. (Not that the same old thing is bad, but I mean this is the same kind of thing MMT gets grant requests for on a regular basis.) The "due diligence", should MMT even decide to do it in on the current website ideas, would be to get an idea of what the impact of each idea might be. Submitted ideas, on the other hand would already contain enough information to make a guess about the actual impact of the idea. (I believe that they would also be less of the same old thing.) MMT evaluates similar requests all the time for the usual types of grants that they make. (And by the way, such grant requests by non-profits are themselves serious sales pitches. So saying that written proposals for new ideas would be sales pitches is somewhat disingenuous.) These grants allow the nonprofits who get them to go about their business, so in a sense, MMT is already a venture capital firm for non-profits. They just get a different kind of return for their investment than the usual IPO gets.

WIth regard to your estimate of having "a gazillion" proposals submitted, that seems very unlikely. Look at how many "anonymous" submitters here could not even take the time to register, much less give any kind of quantitative estimate of impact of their idea. In contrast, this very forum is the type of format that invites gazillions of not well thought through ideas. A nice way to get blog-fodder, but doesnt seem to me to be highly conducive to hearing about new "bold and innovative" approaches.

I dont think that MMT's main point is to get a sense for the ideas that people like. They are interested in ideas that MMT likes! Opening this up for a vote might give users a sense of participation but due to the unpredictability of "people" there is no way they could commit to funding the proposal that got the most votes.

The one thing I would have liked to see here was some way to order ideas based on the number of comments they have. More people tend to comment on the better ideas. (Or the most ridiculous...:-) This could have encouraged more people to participate and help identify and refine the better ideas.

E-Government [updated]

2010-07-21T16:31:02-07:00

Encourage all employees to telecommute whenever their jobs allow. Reduce traffic - improve response time - save space rent and utility costs

m8and8t said:

Or work with two or three state govt agencies to sponsor a small study of tools for govt employee telecommuting. Analyze potential cost savings and feasibility. Then depending on the feasibility analysis do a 6 mo to 1 yr trial in these agencies to put test the claims.

Guarantee two years of college to every high school graduate [updated]

2010-07-21T16:26:43-07:00

David Rozell said:

Imagine the difference it would make in the social makeup of Oregon if every child knew that they could get 2 years of college. More hope, less despair!

The Million Dollars that Won't Go Away [updated]

2010-07-21T10:26:56-07:00

This Million Dollars Never Goes Away How to make a million dollars last forever? Set up a revolving loan fund to seed dozens of businesses/year with $10,000- $25,000 low interest loans. Match that with screening criteria similar to those used by angel investors and high-growth entrepreneurs to achieve the biggest, fastest economic impact that touches the most lives. It's proven. Look at the impact of Angel Oregon on the Oregon economy. Angel Oregon is the largest angel investment competition in the region, where individuals each put in $5,000 each to invest in promising local companies. As last year's Chair, I was stunned to learn what we'd been able to accomplish on just $1.25 million of invested capital over 6 years: For every ONE DOLLAR invested, companies: Generated $68 in revenue (68X) Attracted an additional $54 in capital (some from outside the region) (54X) ONE MILLION DOLLARS created 445 jobs. Imagine the tax revenues generated and the Oregon vendors/service providers who were hired as a result, and all the ways that those funds trickled through the Oregon economy. Yes, a million dollars can last forever and circulate tangible, meaningful economic results around our state. - Angela Jackson

John said:

Angela,
Your idea leads in the right direction. How should MMT administer? Perhaps a partnership with ***, OAF or some other angel forum (I'm trying to remain objective). On the Mission related investing side, could they create a partnership for MRI with OGA, OIF or one of the other large insitutional foundations that are also interested in regional growth/success?

The opportunity to make a big impact on Oregon's recovery is ripe. What we all need is leadership organizations like MMT to lead the way.

Support for local entrepreneurship [updated]

2010-07-21T10:17:15-07:00

Make investments to embrace and support a culture of entrepreneurship statewide. Small businesses are the backbone of a healthy, sustainable economy! Entrepreneurship should be a social value and source of inspiration for future generations.

John said:

I agree with the sentiment, but how should MMT execute on this. They aren't staffed to make direct investments. So should they seek venture and private equity firms that truly have a presence in the region and will commit to seeking/building companies here? Could they carve out a small percentage of their investment funds to pursue mission-related, profit-driven funds locally? The answer should be "yes" to these questions. For Oregon to prosper again, it will require bold steps by those who are able to make them. Charity/philanthropy is noble and always needed, but building profitable businesses are the path to sustainable prosperity.

Study ideas for better intermodal rail/truck transportation of goods [updated]

2010-07-20T17:39:30-07:00

Fund a study for a plan to use intermodal container transport, making it available in small communities, where a small single axle truck can access ocean containers from a local rail siding in each town. These can then be returned for shipment, to be sent to any ocean port, or to anywhere by rail throughout North America. This should greatly reduce truck traffic, and energy use, especially in our urban areas where the Ocean ports are located.

Jim Azumano said:

There are a number of fairly competent transportation management system software programs that can consolidate partial loads into a full load in a shorter amount of time than it would take for some small producers to fill a full container. A route can be planned and can become efficient with regular producers and orders. The empty backhaul to the small community becomes the energy gap. If the original shipment went out of the small community on the backhaul of some inbound freight, the outbound load would be an example of socially responsible logistics planning.

Lower the Poverty Rate with the Save Together Model [updated]

2010-07-18T21:11:42-07:00

Despite a growing economy between 2000 and 2007, the poverty rate in Oregon remained constant. It is now rising, thanks to the recession and a high unemployment rate. Our state suffers from a long-term failure to reduce the poverty rate – the key to assisting not only those living in poverty, but to a healthy economy for every Oregonian. Each year Federal and state governments provide $500 billion in tax incentives for higher education, home ownership, business and retirement savings. The lion’s share of these tax incentives flow to the top 20% of tax payers, while less that 3% reaches the bottom 3/5 of American families. Yet, we know from 20 years of rigorously evaluated demonstrations that given the opportunity, low-income and even very poor families will save, learn, work and invest and ultimately, go to college, start businesses, buy homes, save for retirement and craft economic futures for their families and their country. I suggest that the Meyer Memorial Trust take the bold step of establishing a matching saving program that will address the long-term needs of Oregonians living in poverty. This program would leverage the savings of low wage workers and attract additional funds from individuals, corporations, institutions, and foundations. The successful Save Together model would serve the state well and has already been tested in Washington and Massachusetts. Bringing this model to Oregon would not only assist individuals and families struggling to get out of poverty, but would increase education levels in the state and make it more attractive for businesses, expand the number of Oregonians able to purchase a home, contribute to financial literacy, and strengthen the economy of the entire state. Here’s how the Save Together program works: Low-wage workers committed to becoming financially secure save their own money toward a specified goal, such as higher education, a home, or a small business. Their stories and photos are featured on a website and social media to inspire other people open up economic opportunity for all Americans. Their savings are matched by everyday people to multiply their savings. Each dollar donated by an individual is matched again with funds from an experienced non-profit partner organization. The partner organizations would be chosen and funded by Meyer Memorial Trust to implement the Save Together model to select, train, and advise the participants. A website and social media are then used to spread the word and create networks of Oregonians willing to help. Donations designated for a specific saver are distributed to the partner organization that is supporting that individual (a 501(c)3 organization to provide a tax deductible contribution) and is deposited into the pool of match funds that is used toward the creation of new matched savings accounts at that organization. Savers are encouraged to become donors once their savings goals are met and they are financially stable. This unique model of community-enhanced savings and investment strengthens economic and social ties. It builds social capital at the same time that it builds individuals, families, economies, and the state. For over 20 years, non-profit organizations have offered matched savings programs and proven that when given the opportunity, low-wage workers will work, learn, and save to buy homes, start businesses or pursue higher education. A matched savings program provides secured savings accounts, along with matching incentives and financial education classes, for low-wage workers. Modest savings can mean life changing opportunities. For my immigrant grandparents, working in factory jobs, their savings meant that they could buy an apartment building and collect rent from tenants – and forgive rent payments for tenants who were out of work. For myself, a savings account meant a college education and access to well-paid work. For others, it may mean having a predictable mortgage payment instead of an unpredictable rental situation, being able to attend community college, start a small business, or repair a car that is key to transportation to a job and livelihood. Meyer Memorial Trust plays a leadership role in introducing the Save Together program and leverages its role as a leader in the nonprofit community and a catalyst to motivate other foundations and individuals to participate. As a funder, a partner of many of Oregon’s nonprofits, and a facilitator and convener, MMT has a role to play in directing a laser beam on poverty in our state and the life-changing role that even modest savings can make in helping Oregonians out of poverty . Most importantly, a public campaign, social media, and a high profile focus will leverage the ability of Oregonians to assist Oregonians, creating a stronger and more robust economy for every citizen of our state. The poverty rate is measurable. I think this kind of campaign and a $1M investment would go a long way toward helping us identify an achievable, measurable, goal that we can all participate in achieving – lowering the poverty rate in Oregon.

dylan said:

As the founder of SaveTogether (http://www.savetogether.org), we would love to partner with an Oregan-based community organization to help them raise matched funds through our website. Feel free to email me at dylan@savetogether.org

Oregon Should Become a World Leader in Developing Enlightened Community (EC) Systems [updated]

2010-07-18T07:29:40-07:00

New Minternet (i.e. Mobile-Internet) - based EC Systems will enable towns, cities and counties around the world to: (1) reduce traffic congestion and many other transport-ation, energy and environmental problems; and (2) create a wide variety of new business, employment, education and recreation opportunities for local residents, at a low cost to both users and taxpayers. The million dollars that the Meyer Memorial Trust (MMT) is making available to the "Ideas 4 Oregon" program could be used to attract millions of additional dollars from federal, state and local government agencies and from high-tech corporation to form a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) -- under one of several existing federal PPP programs -- that would develop and test these four core software packages for all EC Systems here in Oregon and license them for use throughout Oregon, other states and other countries. These four core packages have already been designed using funds from the U.S. Depart-ments of Transportation and Energy and concepts developed in other countries. The EC Systems that use them will give ordinary citizens and their local business, government and community leaders new tools to help them make existing public transportation, education, economic development and other systems much more cost-effective.

Robert Behnke said:

I am an Information Technology (IT) consultant with more than 50 years expereience designing and developing computer-based information systems for clients in business, government and industry. During the past 25 years I have specialized in designing Enlightened Community (EC) Systems, including Advanced Public Transportation Systems (APTS), as part of the federal government's multi-billion dollar, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) program.

I submitted this entry to the Meyer Memorial Trust (MMT) as part of an effort to create a new, multi-billion dollar, "green" industry in Oregon that would enable rural, urban and suburban communities -- throughout the world -- to use low-cost palmtop computers (including some "smart phones") and Minternet (e.g. WiMAX) services to improve the quality of life of their residents, at a low cost to both users and taxpayers.

In the brief description of my entry, I recommended using the MMT funds to form a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), under one of several federal PPP programs, to develop and test -- here in Oregon -- the four software packages that will be the foundation for all Minternet (i.e. Mobile-internet) EC-Systems. Let me provide more information on these four packages.

Package I will match would-be drivers and would-be riders in Smart Jitneys (also known as Single-Trip Carpools) to provide comfortable and convenient transportation services in corridors where and when bus and rail services do not make economic sense. Independent market research studies show that adding Smart Jitney services could make public transportation services much more cost-effective, particlarly in the low-density communities where most Oregonians and most Americans now live and work.

Package 2 will integrate Smart Jitneys with conventional transit and paratransit (e.g. taxis, dial-a-ride minibuses, shuttles, carpools, vanpools), using an approach that was developed in Germany. Independent market research studies show that this could reduce the use of Single-Occupant Vehicles (SOVs), traffic congestion, gasoline consumption, air pollution, parking and mobility problems, at a far lower cost than building new lanes of highway or adding conventional bus and rail transit services. It could also significantly reduce the cost of the proposed new Interstate Bridge on I-5 between Oregon and Washington. (Note that; (a) the use of SOVs for commuting; (b) traffic and parking congestion; and (c) taxpayer subsidies for public transportation have increased dramatically in the Portland area since 1980, just before the addition of new rail services .

Package 3 will provide billing and collection services for Smart Jitney transportation services and for any individual, company or government agency that wants to use the community's EC System to provide Minternet-based goods or services to its residents.
France used this approach in its Minitel system to create millions of new jobs throughout the country.

Package 4 will also make communities that use it much "greener". No more details are available at this time, because of possible patent issues, unless I receive a non-disclosure form from a would-be reader.

DRIVE OREGON: clean transportation, green jobs and livable communities. [updated]

2010-07-16T15:37:38-07:00

Jesse Oliver said:

A very opportune time to invest in this emerging industry. The Drive Oregon EV industry cluster is positioned to very positively impact the ability of local companies to enter and grow in this market adding revenue and much needed jobs. Additionally, the whole idea of clean transportation is synonymous with Oregon and the Northwest.

Funding for Seed-Stage Companies [updated]

2010-07-16T15:33:42-07:00

Collect and compile business plans from Oregon based seed-stage startup companies (those with no previous Angel or VC funding) from local VCs and Angel funding groups. Group them by projected annual revenues in their fifth year - three groups: under $1M, $1M-$10M, over $10M). By random draw pick 10 companies from each group and give them $10k, $30k, and $60k each within each group (total $1M). Alternate allocation would be 10 companies in the $1M-$10M group to receive $50k each, 5 companies in the over $10M group to receive $100k each. The funds would be unrestricted for use however they are expected to be paid back to the trust from later profits if the companies become profitable.

Michael Miles said:

One of several good ideas in getting funding dollars started. Several others that are self-sustaining for seed and early -stage entrepreneur development are similarly proactive in jumpstarting new and vibrant business in Oregon.

DRIVE OREGON: clean transportation, green jobs and livable communities. [updated]

2010-07-16T15:29:18-07:00

Michael Miles said:

Definitely a valuable focus for investment. Oregon has several commercial interests across the state that are a core for investments from within and from outside Oregon and which can propel Oregon to be a national resource for future transportation technology.

Oregon Energy Systems and Technology Research Administration (OESTRA) [updated]

2010-07-16T09:25:41-07:00

Drive Oregon said:

Oregon can take the lead while building value for our community - great idea to develop a center for renewable energy innovation, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and building an economic development model based on clean energy and family wage jobs. See here for another similar concept from Drive Oregon: http://www.ideas4oregon.org/forums/59917-million-dollar-ideas/suggestions/907311-drive-oregon-clean-transportation-green-jobs-an?ref=title

redefine this contest [updated]

2010-07-16T07:54:54-07:00

Judith said:

I only agree in part. I think there are better ways to have an ideas campaign. They needed voting for one thing. That is Uservoice's strength and would have helped lower the noise level, while also getting a good sense of ideas that people like.

But I don't think the rest of your idea would work. Much too complicated! Due-diligence would be scary. These guys are philanthropy, not a business incubator or venture capital firm. They'd spend the million just getting consultants to sort thru a gazzilion long sales pitch appeals for investment capital.

Positive Focus News [updated]

2010-07-14T18:31:01-07:00

Create news providers that report with a positive bent and don't focus on negative sensational stories or present with personal bias. We need a balance to all of the negativity that the public is constantly bombarded with.

breasin said:

Check out HappyNews.com

Engage men in the prevention of sexual assault! [updated]

2010-07-14T16:31:11-07:00

Sexual assault is a problem that affects ALL Oregonians. The CDC reports that one in six women in Oregon has been a victim of rape in their lifetime. According to the Justice Department, more than 93% of all sexual assaults are perpetrated by men and 10-20% of men will be sexually assaulted in their lives. Despite these facts, there is a striking lack of work being done to engage men in sexual assault prevention. While most perpetrators of sexual assault may be men, most men DO NOT sexually assault. Those of us who are not violent have a responsibility to do something about it! Men who are not violent have the capacity to prevent sexual assault by challenging attitudes and behaviors that support violence. If we, as a state, seek to prevent sexual assault in our communities we MUST engage men in the effort. One million dollars could go a long way in supporting programs throughout the state that engage men in sexual violence prevention.

ethan said:

SUPPORT, for reasons stated below

redefine this contest [updated]

2010-07-14T16:05:27-07:00

m8and8t said:

Yes, that did not escape me either and it is kind of a surprise given that this forum was discussed on OPB. Although Ive seen some more interesting/relevant postings since I originally suggested they redefine the contest, I think the lack of broad interest suggests that this forun is indeed not reaching the people that MMT really wants to reach. I reiterate that I think this format is not going to motivate publication of the kind of "bold and innovative approaches" that Doug Stamm said that MMT was looking for.

BTW, I added a few thoughts that came to mind as I read the more specific suggestions you added on the EV parking idea. I guess that in addition to specificity, I thought that MMT was looking for ideas with a focus other than what people in non-profits usually think of as social causes. I thought MMT was trying to expand their usual definition of "social benefits" to Oregon to include things like job creation and lowering the cost of government. (I also include improving the quality and cost of public education as the third major problem facing Oregon but that borders the traditional scope.) I suppose the traditional nature of the ideas we see here are due to participants being from the traditional nonprofit arena.

Install electric charging stations in parking public parking areas around the state [updated]

2010-07-14T15:26:46-07:00

Install electric charging stations in Public parking areas around the state to help create an infrastructure for electric cars in the state.

m8and8t said:

SmartPart sounds like something fundable with $1M, although I worry that there are already efforts funded by others to do the same thing in Portland. That said, it could also be a positive things to have multiple groups doing this to show that there is broad support. I would add that on their part, SmartPark should commit to street visible signage at each facility advertising the avalability of these charging stations. For example, they could somehow add the number of available charging stations to their "# spots currently available" street signs/displays. Preferably they are also some of the best parking locations in each building that patrons have to drive by as they enter the facility.

Apply neurological brain research to nonprofit fundraising [updated]

2010-07-14T15:14:40-07:00

Compile and translate the neuro-anatomy and neuro-chemistry brain research being done at U of Wisconsin Madison (Richard J. Davidson), http://psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/ and University of North Carolina http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/positivity; www.positivity.org Dr. Barbara Fredrickson into practical fundraising practices for nonprofits.

m8and8t said:

So in other words, help nonprofit fundraisers do a better job asking for money from people with money and jobs. Too bad so many ideas here are about how to get more money from those who have it rather than about how to generate more jobs for the people who need money to survive. Ideas like this one seem to assume that funding non-profits are the best way to generate jobs. As a general rule, my guess is that this is not true except in limited cases where a nonprofit helps grow businesses or an industry. I'm not against nonprofit philanthropic goals but I cringe as I read idea after idea that imply funding them is the best way to use $1M to help Oregonians.

Build Freddie's Vegetable Gardens [updated]

2010-07-14T15:03:51-07:00

Oregon is one of the five most “hungry” states in the country according to the USDA, with food insecurity affecting as many as 235,000 people. This proposal outlines a solution to food insecurity by building gardens – in abandoned or vacant lots, at schools, on open space - wherever there is room to grow food. The Courthouse Garden in Eugene is one example of how these gardens might work. The University of Oregon Urban Farm program uses the garden as a teaching site. The Federal District Court Re-entry program gives parolees the option to do public service work in the garden. St. Vincent DePaul and the Relief Nursery and other non-profits distribute food to their clients. There are other models in San Francisco, New York, New Orleans and other cities where people are creating edible schoolyards. Students 6-18 are learning not only how to care for a garden, but also how to prepare fresh fruits and vegetables for their families. **** Meyer bought locally and helped local farmers establish new crops. Imagine him in the produce section polishing a red delicious apple on his apron and saying with pride that the Hood River crop was in. He might check the filberts from Yamhill County and the pie cherries from the Eola Hills. He might even hand a customer and onion and say that Walla Walla sweets are the best in the world. I think he would be proud to know that the generation he fostered would care for people who need food, not by giving a hand out, but by teaching them to grow and use their own produce.

m8and8t said:

If used to benefit people who can afford to travel to the gardens, buy seeds/plants, and spend time caring for them that would help them feed their families better food in a sustainable manner. But if used to give away free food to those without jobs it could simply encourage more unemployed or unemployable to take up residence in Oregon and cost the taxpayers in the end. So it is a fine line to walk. This does not seem to address the most important needs we have, to increase jobs, to improve public education and to cut the costs of government.

Engage men in the prevention of sexual assault! [updated]

2010-07-14T13:49:01-07:00

Kelsey Pine said:

I am so excited to see that prevention of the epidemic of domestic and sexual violence has made it to this forum, and that it involves men. Thanks for suggesting this Cliff. I would be so joyful if this received the funding it deserves.

Work Connector [updated]

2010-07-14T11:43:08-07:00

Develop A Work Connector Oregon needs people working and we need nothing to get in their way. The unemployment statistics are only the tip of the iceberg. College graduates not yet employed, those whose unemployment benefits ran out, under-employed consultants and contractors, early retirees — all of these are the basic cause of our Great Recession. We need people working, spending their pay so others can work, and paying taxes so our society continues to work. Every person not working is a personal tragedy and a part of world societal and financial failure. There is a great deal of work to be done. There are people, organizations, and businesses that have money and need work done but with current uncertainties do not want to commit to adding employees. Most of this immediate work will not be in a 40-hour a week job with an employer. But, the workers are ready, money is there, and work needs to be done. What is getting in the way? Mostly, our failure to see our work lives differently and reluctance change from a full-time employment model. Often a job to be done takes only a few hours, days, or weeks. Often a person or business limps along rather than look for a worker. In times of economic uncertainty they may not consider a part-time, let alone a full-time worker. An innovative and efficient Work Connector would have few limits. Office workers, business planners, landscapers, painters, day care workers, computer experts, nurses, and mechanics — people in all these occupations could be working. How it works now Some people have transitioned and learned how to be sole proprietors, marketing their services and taking care of bookkeeping. Others work essentially “under the table”— they hear about something needed from an acquaintance, do the work, and get paid. They may or may not report the income. The majority, especially those formerly with full-time employment, don’t feel comfortable or know how to make the transition away from being an employee. Those needing workers search commercial listings, talk to friends, perhaps call a commercial temporary employment agency, or maybe consider hiring an employee. What is needed is an efficient link between the worker supply and demand beyond current systems. SPECIFICS Technology can provide the tools needed, but it should never get in the way of making the connection. Many people, both on the work supply and demand side will not or cannot use technology. Technology needs to be at the backbone of the Work Connector, but telephone or face-to-face interfaces are essential. Workers register what they can do, how much they charge, when they are available, and how to be contacted. People needing work done can easily see who is available, what they can do, and how to contact them. The Work Connector is not a website. It is a physical office that uses a database accessible through the web. How Much Can We Do For A Million Dollars? A lot. Smart, competent, creative people are ready to go to work to get a local Work Connector going. Office space is cheap. Technology is cheap. If the Work Connector is set up with true non-profit motivation, which means not looking to grow to be as large a nonprofit as possible, and not as a private business looking to maximize profits and growth, things can get done pretty cheaply. The Work Connector is a novel concept: a totally, truly non-profit organization devoted to encouraging capitalism. An example Sam has worked for a local manufacturer for thirty years and was laid off. For the last five years he has been helping his daughter renovate a fixer-upper she bought. He has become a good painter. He has never used a computer so he goes to the Work Connector office, tells someone sitting at a computer what he can do and how much he charges and his phone number. He leaves with a booklet telling how to deal with clients him to keep track of what he gets paid and expenses. The booklet says he can either learn to do his own bookkeeping and taxes or come back the Work Connector and they will do it for him for a reasonable fee. Someone needing a painter can either search the website or call the Work Connector and have someone give them Sam’s information over the phone. Another example Mary worked in-house corporate public relations for ten years and was laid off. She logs in to the Work Connector website and fills in her skills, rates, and availability. The website refers her to websites and books about working as a consultant. The XYZ corporation has a four-week project to get some promotional writing done. The human resources person searches the website, contacts Mary and she goes to work on the project. Yet Another Example Ben does yard work. On days when he does not have work, he goes to the Job Connector office, gives them his rate and cell phone number. They type in this information, hopefully someone sees it, he gets a call and goes to work. QUESTIONS How do you make this an ongoing, sustainable operation? Many people just want to do their work. They don’t want to do bookkeeping, promotion, or planning. After the supported, two-year pilot period, The Work Connector will provide these services at a fair cost sufficient to keep the free parts of the operation going. Advertising revenue from the website is a possibility. Charitable contributions are an additional possibility. Doesn’t craigslist and classified ads already provide this service? They do not have structure, focus, or face-to-face assistance The Work Connector provides. One goal is to have the Work Connector become a trusted source for workers. Doesn’t Oregon State Unemployment Services already do this? They are completely overburdened by the great numbers of unemployed. Plus, they are deeply enmeshed in unemployment benefit oversight creating some unease with workers. There is also some established bureaucracy and legislated requirements creating inefficiencies. Aren’t you setting yourself up for legal liability if a worker steals something or messes something up? Just as with a newspaper ad, eBay, craigslist listing we can tell everyone that the Work Connector is not a contractor or employer and it assumes no responsibilities. It sounds like the Work Connector might get involved with some personal disputes between workers and clients. What will you do when issues arise? An ombudsman will listen to both sides and publish his findings on the website. Won’t the Work Connection undercut established businesses? Individual workers using the Work Connector will not be able to do everything established businesses do. An established business is welcome to use the Work Connector’s free services. The Work Connector will be ready to provide for-fee services like bookkeeping and promotion if an established business needs them. Won’t this whole idea just keep people in low-paying, insecure temporary work? Getting paid is better than being desperately unemployed. Good work typically gets rewarded and recognized quicker on the open market than in a full-time employee situation. Often, temporary work leads to the offer of employment. Unlike commercial temporary service businesses, the Work Connector will have no restrictions or barriers to transitioning directly and immediately to employment with a client. Mini-business Plan Pilot Service Area: Hood River Valley/Mid Columbia Two-year Budget: Office: $100,000 Initial Website Development: $10,000 Employee Costs: Manager: $260,000 Web Tech: $130,000 Ombudsman $130,000 5 Phone/Computer counselors: $70,000 each, $350,000 (Any bookkeeping or business services provided clients will be at least revenue neutral the first two years.) Total 2 Year Budget: $980,000 Possibilities and Goals If successful, after two years, this program could be expanded to other locations using similar start-up funds. Existing non-profits could possibly provide mutually supporting services. Summary Our current economic model is to have advocate organizations for business owners, like the Chamber of Commerce, and seemingly endless specialized industry advocates. On the other side, workers align with unions and sometimes special trade groups. The Work Connector advocates for neither side, only for a fair, efficient, working economy.

Jason Tracy said:

This is the same basic idea I was going to post. It is exactly what is needed both for employers and the unemployed. People need to be able to sell their skills in ways other than the traditional full time employment, and employers can't "carry" full time people to do part time jobs in this economy.

to open a safe house for victims of sex trafficking [updated]

2010-07-14T11:42:29-07:00

In a 2008 nationwide FBI sting, Portland had the second highest number of girls rescued. Rural towns in OR have also seen an increase, as noted by New York Times. Local girls are being bought and sold. Currently, there is no safe place for girls to leave their abusive pimps. This issue has brought together a rare and unusual coalition of non-profits, churches, government, community members, schools, and law enforcement from across the state. All believe that we can create an innovative program and safe house in Oregon where girls can be safe, cared for, and empowered.

Mollie Ruskin said:

As someone who has been working alongside anti-sex trafficking advocates, it has become abundantly clear that the most important thing we can do to support survivors is give them a safe and comfortable place to stay.

to open a safe house for victims of sex trafficking [updated]

2010-07-14T11:22:35-07:00

Alex Berke said:

This is an idea that we know will work, and we owe it to the too many girls around the state who are being trafficked to give it a shot.

to open a safe house for victims of sex trafficking [updated]

2010-07-14T10:51:08-07:00

olsendre said:

This shelter will help address an issue that consistently goes overlooked in our communities and our state. Currently, law enforcement is often forced to put these victims - who are as young as 12 years old - in juvenile detention, where they are punished for being the victims of rape. With a safe, secure place to take these victims of child sexual exploitation it will be much easier for providers to begin to treat them for their injuries, and for the pimps and thugs who are trafficking them to be prosecuted. This safe house would go a long way towards addressing an issue that is plaguing our state and is occuring without much of the public or citizenry realizing it even exists.

Test program that uses elders

2010-07-14T09:20:52-07:00

an anonymous user suggested:
Pilot test programs that will identify, train and put to work Oregon elders as mentors, role models, wisdom sharers and acknowledgers

Buddy system for financial advisors/fundraisers

2010-07-14T09:20:15-07:00

an anonymous user suggested:
Pioneer a side by side and on-line training and a “buddy system” for financial advisors (the gatekeepers to giving) and fundraisers. Create a sensitivity to the differing values and reward systems of the two groups both of whom serve the affluent client-donor. PhilanthropyNow research on that relationship.

Develop giving simulation-animation game

2010-07-14T09:19:29-07:00

an anonymous user suggested:
Fund development of a “giving simulation-animation game” for schools like the Oregon Trail Game. Pilot test it in Oregon then use viral marketing to distribute it world wide and make it shareware and encourage others to improve it like Wikipedia. Utilize the software and media development expertise in Portland to produce it. PhilanthropyNow work around the givers high and donor fatigue may be helpful.

Apply neurological brain research to nonprofit fundraising

2010-07-14T09:18:48-07:00

an anonymous user suggested:
Compile and translate the neuro-anatomy and neuro-chemistry brain research being done at U of Wisconsin Madison (Richard J. Davidson), http://psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/ and University of North Carolina http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/positivity; www.positivity.org Dr. Barbara Fredrickson into practical fundraising practices for nonprofits.

The Elders

2010-07-14T09:17:53-07:00

an anonymous user suggested:
Create a team of Elders (http://www.theelders.org) for the state of Oregon, who are tasked with identifying major initiatives and areas of need for Oregon, and receive $1MM from MMT as the first committed investment for a lending/investment/social venture fund for which they raise an additional $50-$100MM in matching funding, and deploy leadership, operational expertise, and funding to empower Oregonians to solve a variety of problems in these areas of need, over the coming years and decades. How To Do This: Create a 5-10 year term 12-person group of leaders in Oregon, similar to Richard Branson's "The Elders", with representatives from chosen from experienced, proven leaders from local and state government, private sector, public policy, education, employment, philanthropy, technology, sustainability, apparel, clean teach, agriculture, humanities, recreation, nonprofit, and other representative sectors which are heavily influenced by, or heavily influence, the economic, environmental, and educational systems in Oregon that collectively result in what it means to live, work, invest in, and experience being in Oregon. Have the group solicit and analyze feedback regarding pain points from major and minor organizations and individuals in Oregon, and outline major initiatives for Oregon's future, across sectors, systems, and regions, similar to the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals-- http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals-- (End Poverty & Hunger, Universal Education, Gender Equality, etc.) For example, Oregon's might be Decrease Length of Unemployment, Increase Access to Capital, Stabilize Rural Small Business Ecosystems, Catalyze Commercializable Sustainability & Clean Tech Innovations, Decrease High School Drop Out Rate/Increase Retention of First Year College Students, Increase Nonprofit Capacity to Deliver Social Services & Innovation, etc. Seed the first group of Elders with individuals who are known for being decisive, have good judgment, understand long-term investment strategies, are able to fundraise, and can provide compelling leadership for a state in economic distress and some degree of hopelessness. Provide them with operational funds to gather data in a quick, compelling, and meaningful way and begin to market the campaign of Oregonians working together to identify, fund, and solve our own problems together. Empower them to have a seed fund, lending vehicle or endowment and to raise additional funds from every major entity and organization in Oregon, to leverage Meyer Memorial Trust's $1MM contribution, up toward $50MM or $100MM. Organize the fund in a revolving way that deploys capital quickly in compelling organizations who are results driven and able to pay back funding through loan or investment standards, and meanwhile make a significant social impact and are poised to create additional significant and timely economic impact to the workforce, business community, communities, families, and educational systems. Provide required leadership and mentoring by the Elders and executive volunteers from the other contributing funding entities, to these organizations as they scale up to deliver solutions in areas of high impact for Oregonians. Why This Idea Over Another Oregonians need leadership and impact across a variety of sectors, not only quickly and judiciously in the immediate year or years, but over a span of time that brings some of our poverty, economic distress, uncertainty, and social challenges into the public eye in a way that is actionable. Funding one or two ideas alone will not be enough to change the direction of the state or the attitudes and practices that have degenerated into cynicism and inactivity and created the results and conditions under which Oregonians now live. A group like The Elders, empowered to act and drive social innovation for a variety of relevant initiatives, as brought to awareness by an investigation into the needs, painpoints, and breakdowns in the macrosystems that drive Oregon, could truly have the impact and leverage that MMT is seeking to deliver through the $1MM Ideas 4 Oregon campaign.

Transform K-12 Education System for Sustainability

2010-07-14T09:17:15-07:00

an anonymous user suggested:
We are not interacting with one another and with our environment in a way that can sustain itself over time. Oregon’s most important resource in our quest for a sustainable future is the young people in the K-12 school system, however the value of this resource is not recognized and the current K-12 system does not allow the potential to be realized. Education for Sustainability (EfS) utilizes the entire education system to provide students with the attitudes, skills, values, perspectives and knowledge they need in order to transform our societies to achieve a sustainable future that supports human, environmental and economic health for generations to come. This education should come from the content of the classroom instruction, as well as from the model of sustainable practices provided by school operations. This project would help communities and their schools to develop a sustainability vision, and to jointly recognize the fundamental role of the school system in attaining the vision and goals. There are already some examples both of districts leading their communities, and communities leading their districts, with others ripe to follow. Education for Sustainability includes core content areas such as cultural preservation and transformation, responsible local/global citizenship, systems & change, sustainable economics, healthy commons, natural laws and ecological principles, inventing and affecting the future, multiple perspectives and sense of place. This project would establish an infrastructure to train in-service and pre-service teachers in education for sustainability. It would assist district administrators to assess their curriculum, identify gaps and make needed adjustments. Together, the work will be able to simultaneously move forward both in a top-down and a bottom-up direction. This project would identify the ecological footprint of our K-12 school system, a system large enough to contain 20% of Oregon’s population. It would provide a coordination function of the multitude of resources already in existence that can help school staff to integrate sustainable practices into operations and to manage their sustainability impacts. It would also identify and fill the gaps. This project would share case studies and best practices from around the country in order to expedite the transformation. Educating all of our young people for sustainability will transform Oregon’s jobs and economy for sustainability and will support the health of Oregon’s citizens and environment for all future generations. Schools and education for sustainability are rapidly developing around the country and the world. Oregon school districts are gaining interest but without the supportive infrastructure that this project could provide, their transformation will be slow and limited, and we will not experience the potential of our youth to lead the transformation.

The city that teaches

2010-07-14T09:16:24-07:00

an anonymous user suggested:
We are in one. One of those times in history where we will look back and say things like, “I never thought it was going to get worse and then it did...” It’s going to be awhile before we see some good light at the end of this tunnel. And what do we do in the meantime? We need to do everything we can. In the midst of all this--it will be the long term changes that we work on right now that will make the landscape that exists when we pull out of this recession something that we can be proud of. The Portland metro area has been a leader in the development of a sustainable and livable metropolitan area--a metro area that makes sense with a vibrant and multi-faceted public transportation system that incorporates and supports a multitude of options including an incredible number of cyclists for such a rainy clime; a comprehensive and well thought out watershed management system, one that is dedicated to the importance of nature and community; a city that that has a creative collection of individuals, nonprofits, companies, schools and agencies that reuse, recycle, garden and compost not because it’s trendy but because it works and it’s necessary if we are to plan for the increase in population that statisticians are forccasting; a metro area where words like bioswales, green streets and rain gardens are commonplace. Is it perfect? No. The list of troubles may be equally as long. But the number of organizations, agencies, committees, groups, neighbors, and individuals working together on solutions to this area’s issues is enormous. And this is what keeps Portland and the surrounding metropolitan cities on the top of many lists of Best Places to Live. It is a living think tank--and people from all over the US want to live here to learn from this area’s thinkers and be a part of the movement. And those of us who live here and work on these solutions easily imagine it to be the last place we will live during good times and bad. And it is in the darkening times that we must still pull each other up and keep the movement going--for it will be the ideas and solutions that come from the collaborative efforts of many that will lead the world in creating a city that our great grand children will thank us for--and more importantly, passionately work to continue. And it is with this mindset that I put forth an idea, one that has been tested to some degree and one that has yet to come to complete fruition. ---Examples---  I’ve seen what happens when young, smart, committed college-aged individuals are placed in solution-oriented situations with seasoned professionals. It hinges on magic. Working together, a learning novice with ambition, enthusiasm, and a willingness to take on substantial responsibility and a professional who knows and understands the problem, its history, and the solutions tried to date. Not to mention the established systems and navigation required for efficiency. These two together along with a network of colleagues and community members many times find an unexpected path toward solution. Take the City of Gresham’s Dept. of Environmental Services, who for years tried to establish a volunteer base of citizens who would be willing to join in the effort to develop healthy natural areas for community members to respect and enjoy. They tried for years with City employees and got few results, as their appeared to be resistance to help ‘city employees’ do their “job”. Once the Department began to use [AmeriCorps]volunteers to be the “on the ground” face and voice of the City for conservation events and outreach, things did change. After two years the City has a substantial volunteer base that continues to grow and in return citizens have taken ownership in their city’s natural areas that are no longer choked by invasive and noxious plant species but filled with native plants and the associated return to healthy natural area. Or take Multnomah County’s idea to take a small plot of land, in a historically small farm neighborhood, overgrown and unproductive and turn it into a small farm/garden that would eventually donate food produced to Oregon Food Bank. One [AmeriCorps] volunteer generated a volunteer network to help get the project out from under its state of overgrown blackberry and weeds and at the same time solicited donated seeds and supplies and a lot of hard work. In the first season they harvested and donated 10,000 pounds of food to the food bank. And then take Oregon Tilth, which was a research and education organization with one staff member and an assortment ideas for outreach and education for youth. After two years with an committed 11-month volunteer, they now have fully developed Organic Education Center with programs and services that teach people and youth about the principals, practices and benefits of sustainable organic agriculture. ---Concept--- The concept is the development of an internship and training program that teaches tomorrow’s leaders, solves todays problems and benefits those in need. A program that capitalizes on this model city [metro area] and it’s embedded thinkers and planners to deliver a career-oriented experience. The concept is the development of an program that continues brings together organizations, for profit entities, and agencies to work together for the good of the whole. A program that brings together the ambition, energy and intellect of committed interns and link them with organizations, for profits, and agencies that are working on solutions needed for today’s complex issues. A model program that capitalizes on this model city [metro area] and the current ongoing innovation and solution-oriented efforts of the organizations, companies and agencies working on creating a sustainable livable and affordable city. This city and all of its resources becomes the venue or learning lab for an entire class of interns that year after year not only learn from this city’s innovative programs and systems but add to the solutions needed for this city’s issues. It’s becomes a win win win. The City benefits, the intern benefits, and the community engaged and impacted by the intern’s on the ground efforts benefit. Portland can become not only the City that Works, but The City that Teaches. It would be a program that is scalable and replicable. This program could be replicated in any city/town that has some degree of cutting-edge action in place. And why not do exactly that, create a collective of cities and municipal areas that establish this model of program. And then the potential exists for interns and professionals to share research and innovations of ‘sister cities’, thus expanding the potential for expedited sharing of solutions. The program could offer a second year option for interns where they would take what they have learned in their first year and spend a second year/term in a city or town in need of their experience, knowledge and network of professional support. So eventually all of Oregon is benefitting from the efforts of this program and it’s national knowledge bank. This concept is built on the experience and historical successes of Northwest Service Academy, its staff and members. As Northwest Service Academy is making plans for closing their doors in Portland due to loss of federal funding, it seems only fitting to move forward with the spirit of that amazing and incredible landmark organization.

The "No NPO left behind [the technology curve]" Project [updated]

2010-07-14T09:13:14-07:00

(Building upon: http://www.ideas4oregon.org/forums/59917-million-dollar-ideas/suggestions/896147 and http://www.ideas4oregon.org/forums/59917-million-dollar-ideas/suggestions/888059) I've been building websites for NPOs for the last 5 years, before that I spent 8 years as a NPO organizer and fundraiser - as a "consumer" of these technology tools. There's been a lot of great advances in open source social networking platforms and CMS tools, such as Drupal. I agree with the two posts above that there's a significant opportunity to package these tools to provide a lower barrier to NPO's adopting them. But releasing these tools is not enough. I tell all my NPO Drupal clients to budget at least an equal amount of time and resources for training and staging content on the sites that I build with them. To really help NPOs leverage open source web tools, the tech community needs to invest in packaging these tools - as well as the training and messaging/marketing materials that these organizations need to use them effectively. My company partnering with two national river conservation organizations, East Coast funders, and an NPO messaging company called Water Words that Work, to build out a Drupal distribution and training program to help local watershed groups bootstrap the release of robust online communications, fundraising, e-advocacy, and volunteer management tools. You can read about the Drupal release here: http://drupal.org/project/drupalrivers. What's unique about this approach is that we've coupled written training materials and the Drupal distribution itself with a one-day "boot camp" in which we will be helping 20 watershed organizations build and staging content on their new Drupal site. This formula allows us to dramatically cut the costs for organizations to launch these tools (our market price for installation of the release, a year of hosting with a reputable shared hosting provider, the training and 2 hours of subsequent support) from upwards of $10K for one group, to just $2K apiece for each of the 20 organizations participating in the camp. This formula also immediately creates a network of peer organizations who can assist each other in training and support. And, it creates real deadlines and goals for these organizations to focus and launch their new sites quickly. Developing similar boot camps and Drupal distributions for other NPO sub-sectors would be relatively easy-to-do. Partnering with TACS and NTEN (two national NPO technology training organizations), we could easily connect and coordinate with folks working in other NPO fields. What's really awesome about this approach is that it's highly cost-effective. To be honest, it's economically viable without the support of MMT. What MMT could do to help this model substantially would be: * To help us incubate additional Drupal releases and boot camps. * To provide matching scholarships for NPO organizations that would like to participate in the boot camp program. Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? Cheers, Sean Larkin ThinkShout.com 760.223.0589(c)

Data Dude said:

Agreed! Many NP's spend good money on a website that they don't have the skills to use. Many NP website sits embarrassingly unused. Making the UX better & having plenty of documentation, videos, screencasts, etc is vital.

I agree with Jeff too, a one-stop-shopping website where NP's can pick a solution best suited to them. Not too complex tho, & finite in scope. Solutions should all be affordable & affordable to sustain.

Support Open Source to make it easier for local nonprofits to do their work. [updated]

2010-07-13T23:58:12-07:00

Data Dude said:

I think the idea is stellar. This would give 100s or even 1000s of NPs much cheaper sites. In turn that would make NPs much more effective. But don't stop with Drupal. Consider other OS projects, including frameworks. Likely it's best to stick to PHP. It sucks, but it's everywhere and simpler ramp-up than Phython & others.

Also, the idea needs to have both hosted and a downloadable option. Most NPs never update the software, so hosted suits them better.

I agree with some of what Sean said. Often distros will just be strong starting points, but still very helpful. I do think they would do most NPs on the simpler end.

To really kick butt you will have to emulate some of what Drupal Gardens and Buzzr are doing. Maybe even partner with them? Fact is, distros are still in their infancy. A project like this would need to be ambitious and seek to define how distros are created. Ambition & foresight will be required to take them to the next level. Maybe make them much more flexible. Maybe a series of setup screens that NPs fill in, resulting in a custom website with less fuss. If you make the UX simpler & NP-specific, you could narrow the gap & minimize some of Sean's concerns. You'll need a couple of experts.

And I agree that having a hub for a range of community-added specialized distros, not just three, is the way to go. One-stop-shopping for NP websites. It would be revolutionary. I can't imaging a better way to help all NPs at a stroke. Ideally there should also be a training component: documentation, screencasts, YouTube videos, etc. Open distro-recipes and plans would also help the community help you.

First, planning and getting community suggestions would be paramount. The team should be build of people with Sean's kind of experience, plus people used to using CRM tools, not just CiviCRM, but also consider interfacing with other CRMs, like Salesforce (super powerful & free to NPs). And you gonna need programmers, and a UX expert.

I like this idea plenty, but would be surprised to see philanthropy tackle something this tech-based. This would be leading from the front and that's not what you normally see here. Then again, who'da thunk philanthropy would try crowd sourcing?

DRIVE OREGON: clean transportation, green jobs and livable communities.

2010-07-13T23:43:59-07:00

Drive Oregon suggested:
MMT should fund Drive Oregon, a coalition of Oregon companies and interest groups engaged in the electric vehicle industry, and in issues surrounding transportation electrification – with an emphasis on job creation and economic gardening. Drive Oregon’s mission is to catalyze the growth of Oregon’s electric vehicle (EV) industry to ensure Oregon develops and maintains its competitive advantage and maximizes the economic development potential of this emerging industry. Drive Oregon is a collaboration of Oregon companies, public entities, and other stakeholders in the process of forming a formal tax exempt organization with the following high-level goals: • Attract existing federal resources and private financial support to enable local companies to overcome commercialization barriers for clean vehicles, EV and EV-related products and facilitate opportunities for external collaboration. • Leverage and connect Oregon University System institutions, utilities, state and local government entities and Oregon electric vehicle (EV) industry stakeholders to efficiently develop and commercialize next-generation transportation technologies. • Foster collaboration between Oregon's existing clean tech, advanced manufacturing, software and high technology sectors to participate in the EV supply chain, both locally and globally. • Aid in the creation of skilled, family-wage jobs to build the next generation of transportation solutions. Context: Oregon is at the forefront of Electric Vehicle (EV) deployments, having garnered attention internationally as an early-adopter market as exemplified by our high hybrid electric vehicle concentration. Transportation Electrification represents the transformation from a fossil-fueled, combustion based transportation system to one that increasingly powers vehicles with electricity as the motive force. Electric vehicles have much higher energy efficiency than internal combustion powered vehicles and are significantly cleaner. Beyond the environmental benefits of EVs, there are significant benefits from energy security and retained wealth in the local economy not transferred to purchase petroleum. While there are undeniable regional benefits for being an early EV market, so called “green dividends,” as well as transitory job creation through EV charging installations, there are significant long-term benefits available to Oregon. Seed funding from Ideas 4 Oregon can enable focus Oregon’s efforts on transformative economic development. Oregon’s vision is to be a leader in EVs. Governor Kulongoski recognizes EVs in his climate change and sustainable transportation agenda; having issued Executive Order 08-24 creating the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Infrastructure Working Group (hereafter AFVI). The group produced a report issued in February 2010 providing recommendations to the Governor. Cited within the report of the AFVI Report is the recognition of an Oregon electric vehicle cluster and a call to action to support this cluster for long-term sustainable advantage. The AFVI Report contained well over 6 pages dedicated to job creation opportunities and recommendations. Highlights include opportunities in the component and subsystem level for existing local companies; software and embedded electronic systems for Oregon firms, recognition of Oregon's advantages in "niche" vehicle segments; development and manufacturing of EV charging infrastructure (actual charging stations and the associated grid connectivity, communications and control); as well as job creation including design, engineering, analysis of software, systems and process to integrate into hardware, networking and devices that support the evolution of smart grid and on-board services. Furthermore, the AFVI Report also advanced recommendations for creation of a “world-class, multi-disciplinary transportation electrification and “smart mobility” center of excellence” as well as a “center of excellence for Smart Grid integration of electric vehicles.” Funding from MMT would provide seed / development funding to leverage federal funds, state funds and other private sources to start up such a center. Oregon has a strong manufacturing capability and expertise throughout the region to support a clean vehicle industry, with a correspondingly robust supply base in existence that serves commercial trucks (i.e., Freightliner/Daimler in Portland and PACCAR in Washington) as well as recreational vehicle makers. There are opportunities for existing Oregon companies -- or people-- to diversify, create new divisions, start new companies, or join emergent companies. Despite the economic downturn and scarcity of capital investment, Oregon’s pioneer spirit has launched in excess of 14 local companies over the last several years as evidenced by the cluster formation through start-up entrepreneurial activity. Oregon already has well over 40 companies actively working on transportation electrification and vehicle efficiency technologies, many are listed at http://DriveOregon.org/members. By harnessing the resources of this broad array of companies, fostering collaboration and attracting additional complementary firms, Oregon is well positioned to capitalize on the growth in the electric vehicle sector. Meyer Memorial Trust’s support as an economic gardening approach will create local jobs and bolster an emerging local industry. Now is the time to Drive Oregon towards a prosperous electric vehicle future. Meyer Memorial Trust should leverage its investment with a $1 million "challenge grant" that will serve as a catalyst to attract other dollars; especially one-time start up funds from other foundations, private industry sources, and key federal granting agencies. A MMT placement can position Oregon in a leading position to secure a portion of the $11 billion in federal funding through the Electric Vehicle Deployment Act of 2010 co-sponsored by Senator Merkley. A Meyer grant will also send a strong message to the Governor, Legislature and the Oregon Innovation Council that future jobs in Oregon will depend on public/private investments in clean vehicles, clean energy and technology. Clean transportation, green jobs and livable communities. Drive Oregon.

Create a 1-2 year temporary program offering clean tech internships to Oregon's unemployed grads

2010-07-13T23:41:52-07:00

an anonymous user suggested:
So many bright, well-educated graduates from our universities are unemployed or underemployed. Meanwhile, many entrepreneurs and small businesses are working to develop new clean energy, energy efficiency, green building materials and other clean tech technologies without the resources they need to achieve market success. If we leveraged the networks of many existing organizations, we could easily place unpaid or stipend-based interns (think Americorps scaled back) at these companies. These grads get resume-building experience and these businesses access inexpensive human resources for 6-12 months and get closer to market launch, adoption, or penetration or private investment they need to become self-sustaining businesses. These internships would also help support Oregon's leadership position in the clean technology sectors on which we are basing our economic development strategy.

Academic Mentoring-Closing the Cracks our Students are Falling Thru

2010-07-13T23:32:30-07:00

an anonymous user suggested:
I have been volunteering in the public schools for years. The last few, I have been mentoring high school and middle school students, in an "Academic Mentoring Program". This year the vice principal at the high school recruited more adult volunteers and I coordinated the program as well as mentored students. The volunteers work with specific students for one or two hours a week to improve their academic success. We work on organization, motivation, study skills, some tutoring but mostly mentoring - basically we work to help the students that have been falling through the cracks. These students are academically capable, but for many reasons are not academically successful. My idea is to use this money to fund Academic Mentor Program volunteer coordinators for our middle and high schools in Oregon. This person acts as a liaison for all involved people; teachers, counselors, parents, students and volunteers. The coordinator gets a referral from a staff member, interviews the student to make sure they are interested, discusses the program with the student's parent for input and buy-in, connects the student with a mentor, and works with the student, mentor and teachers to check on progress. Students get reminders on the days they meet with their mentor, and the coordinator works on making sure that calendar changes (absence, doctor, dentist, vacation, etc.) are communicated to both mentor and student. Also, the coordinator continues to recruit new adult volunteers from the community. The end-of-year feedback from the adult volunteers was almost unanimous in how much easier the coordinator makes things flow. I believe strongly in this program, and was able to get it started, with additional volunteers, in the middle school the last few weeks of the school year. I truly feel that the more positive adult connections we can make with our students, the better chance they have of finding their way.

Change attitudes to unwanted pets and disposable life

2010-07-13T23:27:19-07:00

an anonymous user suggested:
Help reduce the tens of thousands of unwanted pets euthanized in Oregon every year. Educate people and their children on compassion. Compassion is not selective. You cannot only care for people or only care for animals. You have to care about both to truly have compassion. Cruelty and uncaring in a society are part of why we don't help our neighbors in times of need. It's built in to our flawed fabric. If we tackle some of the "accepted" cruelties allowed by our society and try to correct them, we will in turn improve ourselves as human beings, as well as increase our compassion. Since MMT disappointingly doesn't fund animal rights, I'm guessing ideas like this will be ignored, but you did say you would consider all ideas and I'm taking you at your word.

A Highly Interactive, Community Enhancing Monument to Green Energy & Transit Technology Development

2010-07-13T22:59:32-07:00

Walter suggested:
Imagine a structure, large and elegant, spinning with the wind situated somewhere in the vicinity of OMSI. The wind sculpture is highly visible from Waterfront Park. There are two sources of energy that propel the sculpture: The wind of course, and also energy aggregated from many stationary bikes installed across the river at Waterfront Park. This idea embodies three key elements: * The first element of this idea is a wind (and possibly solar) energy harnessing sculpture, a bold statement representing Oregon as a center of innovation in all types of green energy technology development. ** Another element is the stationary bikes representing Portland as bicycling and green commuting hub. These bikes could be works of art themselves, each unique, commissioned collaborations between local artists and bike shops. They are situated throughout Waterfront park providing public benefit promoting cycling. The energy created from pedaling the bikes is converted to electricity and transported across the river to help spin the wind sculpture. *** The third element of this idea is community building and a human connection to nature – The turbine like sculpture is widely visible, iconic. There is a sense of community building based on collaboration with nature, pedaling the bikes to keep the sculpture moving. When the wind blows hard enough, the sculpture spins on its own. If the wind is slack, people fill in and pedal to propel the sculpture.

Jumpstarting "Jumptown" to Benefit Oregon's Disadvantaged Youth and Economy

2010-07-13T22:57:46-07:00

an anonymous user suggested:
The most pressing issue facing Oregon today is a lack of jobs due to a stagnant economy. To help turn this around, I suggest MMT seek to expand the Rose Quarter/Memorial Coliseum redevelopment project to include an elite, nonprofit academy/boarding school for at risk youth, similar to successful programs in New York and other cities. The addition of such an academy could be a catalyst to jumpstart the stalled redevelopment project by inserting a noble and lasting purpose that goes beyond entertainment, helps underprivileged youth overcome the obstacles of their circumstances, and lead them towards academic achievement, service to the community and productive careers. This proposed academy could be made an integral part of the redevelopment project, launched with funds from MMT and other foundations, the City of Portland, corporations such as the Blazers and Nike, and other stakeholders that will benefit from the redevelopment of the Rose Quarter. Long-term funding could be secured via the academy's development program, which would include innovative fundraising strategies. Short term jobs will result from the design and construction of the Rose Quarter redevelopment project. It is expected that longer term jobs will result from successful placement of qualified graduates from the academy, following their college or vocational education. By adding an effective, interventional academy to the Rose Quarter redevelopment project, MMT could help jumpstart the redevelopment project, set thousands of disadvantaged youth on track for success, create short and long-term jobs, alleviate a host of societal burdens and strengthen Oregon's economy. Respectfully submitted by Phil Brown, Brown/Armstrong, P.C.