Our Key Projects
- Film - The Concert for Hope - (coming soon!) a visual and auditory brocade of inspiring words and music celebrating an historic moment in the new smart war on domestic poverty and inequality, a moment in time which caused a ripple, bringing waves of change we are still feeling.
- Book - Tracks of Hope - America's Runaway Train of domestic poverty and inequality; together we can get this train back on track.
- Film - The Faces of Poverty - our first awareness-raising film, a joint effort with the San Damiano Foundation. Featured in film festivals in Calgary, Los Angeles and Washington. Now showing, regularly, on Starfish TV (a satellite TV channel).
- Film Prize (awareness raising) - Our $10,000 Campus Moviefest / Elfenworks Social Justice Category calls student filmmakers to tell stories of how people are making a difference in poverty and inequality. Event details are listed on their site.
- CD - Tammy Hall Rejuve - music to comfort and soothe, released with the Greater Bay Area Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
- Awards - In Harmony With Hope & Elfen Works - spreading the word about change-makers who walk their talk by working towards positive, measurable and sustainable change. 2007 award recognized visionaries including Rosalynn Carter, Dr. Paul Farmer, Paul Minorini and Joyce Dattner. Our Elfen Works awards are a grass-roots involvement-building tool. Private citizens who nominate others may be more likely to get involved in helping others themselves.
- Ripple Campaign - - Help one help many - start a ripple! Your involvement matters. We show you how you can start ripples of change in your community. Today.
- Good Capitalism Campaign - a socially responsible agenda is pragmatic, good for the country, and good for business' bottom line. Support for academic centers on-topic at Mills College and Saint Mary's College.
- Web Storytelling Campaign - for storytelling and citizen marketing efforts to further the causes we consider important and to raise awareness about America's runaway train of domestic poverty.
Initiatives Seeking Partners
- Effectiveness and Best Practices - covers a number of sub-topics and is looking for partnerships.
- Unintended Consequences- how laws and actions don't always have the effect we intend, and how we can do better.
- Building Bridges of Understanding - Why? Because when we marginalize and stigmatize, it's bad for our nation as a whole.
Methodology
To maximize impact, our team of social entrepreneurs identifies key needs and concentrates on a few key projects at a time within an area of interest (currently domestic poverty, and reinvesting in education and innovation as a long-term strategic solution). We will bring this agenda to the forefront of the national debate by working in harmony partnerships with the visionary leaders a who are unwilling to accept the status quo.
We have chosen to subdivide the primary causes of want in our land of plenty into five major areas for focus. Why five? Adam Smith's 'invisible hand 1' has let too many slip through its fingers, so these five serve as a symbolic reminder that we can all extend our hands to lend support and succor to those living in poverty:
- education
- inequality/social justice
- health care (includes mental health)
- sustenance (food, shelter, a job)
- non-violence and freedom from fear
It is in our enlightened self-interest to foster an abundant future landscape in which our children will live. We feel this can be brought about by recognizing and investing once again in our areas of historical strength which we have long been neglecting. For this reason we also advocate for investment in science and technology education, research, and infrastructure:
- American Innovation Campaign - advocating for investment in our historic source of comparative advantage as our best hope for a bright future. We can choose a long-term view and invest in science and science education.
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1Adam Smith - in a free market the greater public good will be
served by individuals pursuing individual interests.
See also
Poverty, Inequality, and the Role of Government: What Would Adam Smith Say? (Baum)
