Philanthropy: Giving Back to the Future

I find that I've been wearing another new hat lately -- resulting in half a dozen speaking invitations this year alone -- regarding the field of philanthropy. We all do what we can to help make a better world. Some ideas offered here are on the grand scale... others put my money where my mouth is. Here are some of my articles, interviews, essays and ideas about philanthropy.

Disaster Preparedness

I am known for offering quirky and interesting... if sometimes weird... perspectives on our world. In the aftermath of the Asian tsunami and the preventable destruction of New Orleans, I've posted a political essay about how disasters are worsened when professionals and citizens interfere with each other.

Another, more philanthropic, essay discusses Proxy Activism, a convenient way modern folks can hire others to save the world for them.

Finally, there's a notion (cribbed from my novel Earth) about how it might be time to let the Mississippi take its natural path to the sea.

(Note: all of these have been discussed on my blog.)

Use Science Fiction to Teach

If you are a student or teacher, you may be interested in some of the stories that I've posted for free online that may serve educational purposes. Some of these stories have been used to illustrate or express ideas that are discussed in modern classes, ranging from physics to history. To find out more, click to a page of information about stories that teach.

The Eye of the Needle Foudation

Widespread interest has been generated by my concept for EON: the Eye of the Needle Foundation -- an entirely new kind of charitable institution, one that offers hope of dramatically enlarging the pot of modern generosity by offering the super-wealthy (and many of the rest of us, too) some unique incentives. Something for the man or woman who has everything.

Over fifteen trillion dollars may transfer between generations during the next decade or two, in the United States alone. If even ten percent of this transfer went to interesting projects, many wonders might be achieved that neither governments nor private capital would even imagine -- all spurred by the imagination -- or "whims" -- of the super-wealthy. This notion has roused considerable interest in the philanthropy community, at presentations in Washington DC, Seattle, Santa Fe and Monterrey. With only a small initial seed, something like EON might leverage added billions for fascinating and ultimately helpful projects, by persuading some of today's super rich to buy a little history.

Webs of Wonder

With the aim of helping kids develop a love for reading and the future, I have begun offering Cash Prizes for Web Sites that help Teachers and Kids! In conjunction with Analog Magazine, I am proud to help launch the Webs of Wonder (WOW) Contest, offering a $1,000 prize for quality web sites that vividly link good Science Fiction stories or novels to school curricula used by teachers, struggling out there to teach a new generation.

To learn more about this exciting contest, go to the Analog Magazine site.

Reading for the Future

For another way to help kids, please look into Reading for the Future, an international advocacy campaign geared to help get children and secondary school students reading high-quality science fiction. But the best way to get good science fiction into the hands of kids is to give it to them yourself! And share your excitement with the literature that seriously ponders change in the human condition.

Here's a helpful hint: teen readers seem to love the Out of Time series!

Science Fiction in Academia

Slowly, some sites in academia are becoming reputable centers for scholarship of and about science fiction. The Eaton Collection, at the University of California, Riverside, has long been such a center of excellence. So has the English Department at the University of Kansas, led by the eminent author and professor, James Gunn. Lately the Merrill Collection at the University of Toronto has joined the ranks of august SF-adept institutions and strong efforts have taken place at Temple University. At the University of Liverpool, Andy Sawyer has made tremendous efforts for the Science Fiction Foundation.

I have made all of these sites places where I regularly donate and deposit copies of my works -- including all foreign editions -- as a small way to help these institutions create useful collections. Now comes word that another of my longtime depositories -- Georgia Tech -- has their SF collection website up and running. I urge my fellow authors -- and anyone interested in helping the field get the respect it deserves -- to help these worthy efforts any way they can.

For some other excellent academic SF links, see the list Georgia Tech put up at their site.