It's not what you've got, it's what you GIVE!
Chapter 13: Founder's Introspection
I've spent the last few days reviewing old blog entries, and I'm amazed at how far things have come along. At the same time; I can't believe how much has changed from my original vision, and a little overwhelmed at how much more there is to do. I confess that I at times get frustrated that my vision hasn't fully materialized. I've been at this since 2002, and have invested a great deal of time and money into bringing my vision into focus. My wife would tell you that over these last several months I have repeatedly asked myself whether it is all worth it. How long do I keep at it? Will this vision I have ever come into focus? As I read through my old blog entries, I have found the answer to these difficult questions. The answer is that I will stay at this for as long as it takes! I titled this blog entry as "Chapter 13: Founder's Introspection", but it's really a lesson in perseverance and following your passion in life.
I am truly blessed to be in a profession that has afforded me the opportunity to pursue my passion in life. I believe work and passion are often times separate from one another. It is a perfect world when your work and passion come together as one, but for many of us they are miles apart. I would say that I’m no different. My work affords me the means to pursue my passion, but with the long-term goal of bringing them together.
I manage partner relations for a global software company, but it’s not my passion in life. That's not a strike against the company I work for; I enjoy the company very much and happen to be very good at what I do, it’s just not my passion in life. I affectionately refer to the company I work for as my private investor that contributes to my life passion twice a month (pay day). I'm very greatful and fortunate to be in the position I'm in.
My passion in life is to help those less fortunate. I realize that’s a broad statement, so let me explain. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a soft spot for the elderly, the sick, the hungry, and the poor. As the owner of two dogs, I also have a soft spot for animals. The images I see on television, the Internet, and when I travel around the world often haunt me. I’ve always wanted to make a difference, but wasn’t sure how. When my Dad became sick with cancer; my perspective on life changed. My vision started to come into focus. This is when I launched GiveWithoutGiving.org.
When I launched GiveWithoutGiving.org, I saw it as the answer to how I could make a difference. I decided to leverage the experience and skills from my professional life, and channel them into something I could be passionate about. I truly believe the program I’ve developed can make a difference in the lives of those who are struggling. This blog entry has been therapeutic in that it reminds of why I’m doing this. It reinforces that I will stay at this for as long as it takes, and hopefully help a lot of people along the way.
I won’t go through all the history and revisions of GiveWithoutGiving.org, but I do want to share my vision now that I’ve made reference to it several times. Core to the vision of GiveWithoutGiving.org is the General Relief Fund. The ultimate goal of the tools and programs I’ve developed around GiveWithoutGiving.org is to feed the General Relief Fund. The vision behind the General Relief Fund is to grow a monetary fund that can be used to perform random acts of kindness to those in need. I would love nothing more than to draw funds from the General Relief Fund to help a family facing foreclosure, or to help a family that lost everything in a natural disaster, or to cover the medical expenses of someone who is sick, or to pay the tuition for a student who otherwise wouldn’t be able to go to college, or to pay for a surgery required to save a family pet. There’s a long list of things I would like to do with the General Relief Fund. Everything about GiveWithoutGiving.org is designed to ultimately feed the General Relief Fund. The tools and programs I've developed are free for anyone with a good and worthwhile cause to use.
So how do these free tools and resources on GiveWithoutGiving.org feed the General Relief Fund? On the surface, these programs are designed to raise money for their intended purpose. A virtual billboard can be used to raise money for an underfunded non-profit or an individual in need (i.e. animal shelter, church, youth club, health organization, PTA, cancer patient, accident victim, etc.). The “Pay to Play” game designates a non-profit beneficiary to receive a significant portion of the generated ad-revenues; while participation is driven by offering a percentage of the ad revenues as a cash prize. The “People’s Bailout Program” uses the generated ad revenues to pay off the outstanding debt on a property; while participation is driven by designating the now debt-free property as the prize in a random drawing. If the ad revenues fall short on paying off the outstanding debt on a property, the collected ad revenues will be divided between a designated non-profit beneficiary and a cash prize drawing. With all of these programs, GiveWithoutGiving.org retains a maximum 7% administration/processing fee. All of these programs ultimately feed the General Relief Fund -- “one block at a time”. For every ad-block that is purchased on any of the virtual boards for these programs, GiveWithoutGiving.org retains 7% adminstrative/processing fee. This 7% covers our operational expenses, but we recognize over time the ad revenues could far exceed our operational expenses based on volume participation. It is for this reason we have put a cap on our operational expenses; hence, any ad revenues that exceed this cap would be applied to the General Relief Fund. Here’s some simple math that illustrates how these program can collectively feed the General Relief Fund:
1 virtual billboard earning $1,000 = $930 to designated cause; $70 to GiveWithoutGiving.org
10 virtual billboards earning $1,000 each = $9,300 to designated causes; $700 toGiveWithoutGiving.org
100 virtual billboards earning $1,000 each = $93,000 to designated causes; $7,000 toGiveWithoutGiving.org
1,000 virtual billboards earning $1,000 each = $930,000 to designated causes; $70,000 to GiveWithoutGiving.org
10,000 virtual billboards earning $1,000 each = $9,300,000 to designated causes; $700,000 to GiveWithoutGiving.org
If our operational expenses were $200,000 annually, $500,000 would be applied to the General Relief Fund using the last example. What operational expenses do we have? Right off the top, 3% of the 7% administration/processing fee is consumed by PayPal for credit card processing. The remaining 4% is divided between hosting fees, development costs, compensation, and other operational overhead.
Imagine the number of people we could help with $500,000! If you think about it, these numbers are conservative when you consider all those that could benefit from our program. Think of how many underfunded schools and churches are in the United States, and the programs they support. Think about how many animal shelters and scouting clubs there are. As it realtes to the "People's Bailout Program", think of how many people are in over their heads needing to sell their home. We can help! While we're providing a solution for all these organization and individuals, we're also growing our General Relief Fund. Everyone benefits! This has been my vision from the beginning!
It’s not that I want to defend the numbers, but I think it’s important to have transparency. I frequently get asked how I monetize this program. Hopefully this helps answer that question.
Although this is blog entry is titled “Chapter 13: Founder’s Introspection”, I hope you now better understand the motivations and drive behind the program. This truly is a lesson in perseverance and following your passion in life. I will continue to stay the course and bring my vision into focus. It’s my hope and wish that you jump on for the ride! Collectively we can make a difference in the world.
With kind regards,
Greg Unruh
Found & "Giver"
http://givewithoutgiving.ning.com/profile/GregUnruh
I am truly blessed to be in a profession that has afforded me the opportunity to pursue my passion in life. I believe work and passion are often times separate from one another. It is a perfect world when your work and passion come together as one, but for many of us they are miles apart. I would say that I’m no different. My work affords me the means to pursue my passion, but with the long-term goal of bringing them together.
I manage partner relations for a global software company, but it’s not my passion in life. That's not a strike against the company I work for; I enjoy the company very much and happen to be very good at what I do, it’s just not my passion in life. I affectionately refer to the company I work for as my private investor that contributes to my life passion twice a month (pay day). I'm very greatful and fortunate to be in the position I'm in.
My passion in life is to help those less fortunate. I realize that’s a broad statement, so let me explain. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a soft spot for the elderly, the sick, the hungry, and the poor. As the owner of two dogs, I also have a soft spot for animals. The images I see on television, the Internet, and when I travel around the world often haunt me. I’ve always wanted to make a difference, but wasn’t sure how. When my Dad became sick with cancer; my perspective on life changed. My vision started to come into focus. This is when I launched GiveWithoutGiving.org.
When I launched GiveWithoutGiving.org, I saw it as the answer to how I could make a difference. I decided to leverage the experience and skills from my professional life, and channel them into something I could be passionate about. I truly believe the program I’ve developed can make a difference in the lives of those who are struggling. This blog entry has been therapeutic in that it reminds of why I’m doing this. It reinforces that I will stay at this for as long as it takes, and hopefully help a lot of people along the way.
I won’t go through all the history and revisions of GiveWithoutGiving.org, but I do want to share my vision now that I’ve made reference to it several times. Core to the vision of GiveWithoutGiving.org is the General Relief Fund. The ultimate goal of the tools and programs I’ve developed around GiveWithoutGiving.org is to feed the General Relief Fund. The vision behind the General Relief Fund is to grow a monetary fund that can be used to perform random acts of kindness to those in need. I would love nothing more than to draw funds from the General Relief Fund to help a family facing foreclosure, or to help a family that lost everything in a natural disaster, or to cover the medical expenses of someone who is sick, or to pay the tuition for a student who otherwise wouldn’t be able to go to college, or to pay for a surgery required to save a family pet. There’s a long list of things I would like to do with the General Relief Fund. Everything about GiveWithoutGiving.org is designed to ultimately feed the General Relief Fund. The tools and programs I've developed are free for anyone with a good and worthwhile cause to use.
So how do these free tools and resources on GiveWithoutGiving.org feed the General Relief Fund? On the surface, these programs are designed to raise money for their intended purpose. A virtual billboard can be used to raise money for an underfunded non-profit or an individual in need (i.e. animal shelter, church, youth club, health organization, PTA, cancer patient, accident victim, etc.). The “Pay to Play” game designates a non-profit beneficiary to receive a significant portion of the generated ad-revenues; while participation is driven by offering a percentage of the ad revenues as a cash prize. The “People’s Bailout Program” uses the generated ad revenues to pay off the outstanding debt on a property; while participation is driven by designating the now debt-free property as the prize in a random drawing. If the ad revenues fall short on paying off the outstanding debt on a property, the collected ad revenues will be divided between a designated non-profit beneficiary and a cash prize drawing. With all of these programs, GiveWithoutGiving.org retains a maximum 7% administration/processing fee. All of these programs ultimately feed the General Relief Fund -- “one block at a time”. For every ad-block that is purchased on any of the virtual boards for these programs, GiveWithoutGiving.org retains 7% adminstrative/processing fee. This 7% covers our operational expenses, but we recognize over time the ad revenues could far exceed our operational expenses based on volume participation. It is for this reason we have put a cap on our operational expenses; hence, any ad revenues that exceed this cap would be applied to the General Relief Fund. Here’s some simple math that illustrates how these program can collectively feed the General Relief Fund:
1 virtual billboard earning $1,000 = $930 to designated cause; $70 to GiveWithoutGiving.org
10 virtual billboards earning $1,000 each = $9,300 to designated causes; $700 toGiveWithoutGiving.org
100 virtual billboards earning $1,000 each = $93,000 to designated causes; $7,000 toGiveWithoutGiving.org
1,000 virtual billboards earning $1,000 each = $930,000 to designated causes; $70,000 to GiveWithoutGiving.org
10,000 virtual billboards earning $1,000 each = $9,300,000 to designated causes; $700,000 to GiveWithoutGiving.org
If our operational expenses were $200,000 annually, $500,000 would be applied to the General Relief Fund using the last example. What operational expenses do we have? Right off the top, 3% of the 7% administration/processing fee is consumed by PayPal for credit card processing. The remaining 4% is divided between hosting fees, development costs, compensation, and other operational overhead.
Imagine the number of people we could help with $500,000! If you think about it, these numbers are conservative when you consider all those that could benefit from our program. Think of how many underfunded schools and churches are in the United States, and the programs they support. Think about how many animal shelters and scouting clubs there are. As it realtes to the "People's Bailout Program", think of how many people are in over their heads needing to sell their home. We can help! While we're providing a solution for all these organization and individuals, we're also growing our General Relief Fund. Everyone benefits! This has been my vision from the beginning!
It’s not that I want to defend the numbers, but I think it’s important to have transparency. I frequently get asked how I monetize this program. Hopefully this helps answer that question.
Although this is blog entry is titled “Chapter 13: Founder’s Introspection”, I hope you now better understand the motivations and drive behind the program. This truly is a lesson in perseverance and following your passion in life. I will continue to stay the course and bring my vision into focus. It’s my hope and wish that you jump on for the ride! Collectively we can make a difference in the world.
With kind regards,
Greg Unruh
Found & "Giver"
http://givewithoutgiving.ning.com/profile/GregUnruh
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