Fund Raising for a Viable Future (standard:Creative non-fiction, 1120 words)
Author: GXD	Added: Nov 07 2008	Views/Reads: 3591/2179	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
The needs of a global society cannot be met by taxation alone. For many essentials it will take honorable and respected fund-raisers to generate the revenue needed for enhanced human welfare -- instead of galloping inflationary profits.

Fund Raising for a Viable Future 

I'm beginning to get the view of a new framework for a planetary
economic structure in the 21st Century. 

In very recent years, classes have suddenly appeared in Bellevue
College, University of Washington and elsewhere, offering courses to 
train professional fund raisers for nonprofit organizations (that is, 
non-government organizations -- NGO's --which carry out the essential 
tasks of a society.  Such organizations are formed for reasons that are 
not tied directly to the production of revenue.  NGO's are created by 
individuals and communities whenever the government of that society has 
not been charged with the responsibility for these tasks).  Together 
with other obvious trends in our local, national and global 
socio-economic patterns, by the year 2030, fund raising will be a 
widespread and honored profession, on a par with the professions of 
medicine, law, engineering and banking.  That will become the chief 
mode of sustaining human life and human health in the absence of formal 
governments on a planet that no longer is made up of "States" and 
"Countries".  Global management will be carried out by a relatively 
small world government for a planet that comprises millions of 
communities and ten billion inhabitants.. 

Apparently, much of the world's population will continue to perform
tasks they have not chosen and receive specie in return (these are 
called jobs).  A few of the world's population will create these jobs, 
and thus maintain the cash flow we have come to know as business or 
commerce.  Not noticeably different from the world we know now. 

However, the largest sector of our world's population will address
itself to pursuing arts and activities that characterize their personal 
individual and collective belief systems and interests: educating 
children, caring for the elderly and the handicapped, fostering social 
amenities for their communities.....and the funds to support this 
activity must continue to come from the sector of the population that 
still uses money or credit. 

The most respected and rewarded profession in the year 2030 will be that
of fund raiser.  Instead of Governments functioning as sources of 
funding for sectors of society that do not generate revenue, this will 
become the province of nonprofit fund raising corporations and 
cooperative  networks.  They will link the revenue-generating sector of 
each culture directly with those in their community who do not directly 
contribute to the flow of business and industry, commerce, 
construction, etc. (all revenue-producing activities consume Earth 
resources).  Fund raisers will employ their skills by offering each 
individual who is part of of the revenue chain an opportunity to  
IMPROVE THEIR LIFE QUALITY  by allocating funding  IN LIEU OF TAX 
PAYMENTS to support directly one or several nonprofit groups. 

The fund raiser now becomes a key decision maker in shaping the future
of societies around the globe.  When a revenue-bound institution (like 
Boeing or Coca-Cola or United Fruit and their millions of workers, 
suppliers and  subcontractors) becomes ready to invest in new market 
development, the first person they will call is a fund raiser.  The 
company will advance its proposals for development and expenditure, and 
the fund raiser will locate nonprofit organizations and individuals in 
each cultural area who provide services and benefits to their society 
that directly affect the company's well-being.  Through the fund 
raiser, the company diverts a calculated share of its revenues to the 
nonprofit groups  IN LIEU OF TAXES  and in turn receives support and 
market for its development.  Kind of a win-win. 

There is not enough revenue going round to save the world -- at least
until its population begins to decrease and the magnitude of its 
material needs is cut back to Earth-sustainable levels. Since 
revenue-generating processes depend on production and consumption, they 
will always be linked with removal (or conversion) of Earth substances 
and animal life.  So long as those resources are replaceable and the 
rate of consumption is kept down, a stable and sustainable economy can 
be achieved planet-wide.  The role of fund raiser here is to remain 
aware of long-term planetary survival needs, and provide fund raising 
assistance to those non-profits doing the most to insure quality of 
life for all involved: including the Planet.  Starting from this 
vantage point, we can expand on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which is 


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