Fully Funded Rewards

   From the contributor's point of view:
Funded Rewards are the result of people running their intended contributions through the Dream Machine. Funded rewards are unilateral contacts with an expiration date.

Suppose Acme Company decided to contribute art supplies worth roughly $500 to Jefferson School. The VP in charge of corporate giving at Acme, noticed VO150 on Jefferson's page; a wish for a volunteer instructor. He recognized an opportunity to leverage Acme's donation. He posted the following:

FF98 "Art supplies for Jefferson School   Exchange = art instruction at Jefferson, Wed 9-12 for 9 months. Offer good until March 30,1999. Anyone who accepts will be recognized formally at the party in January honoring Friends of Jefferson School."

Acme is offering to exchange X for Y. In the example above, X is "art supplies" and Y is "the time of a volunteer teacher." Acme's  offer is not binding  (the company doesn't have to keep this promise) until its offer is accepted.

  Suppose retired art teacher, Edith Hamilton, browsed the Funded Rewards area and decided to volunteer some time to Jefferson's art department. Her decision became an acceptance of Acme's unilateral contract when she notified Acme that she intended to volunteer her time in exchange for Acme's art supplies. She formed a binding contract with Acme by accepting the offer presented in FF98.

There would be no need for the Dream Machine if both Acme and Edith made their donations independently. Jefferson would have received both supplies and instruction. This is what communities depend on now. This is the status quo, and it sometimes works very well. However there are times when the Acmes and Ediths in our communities would not know about the need at Jefferson school without the Dream Machine database. There are times when the offer of an Acme is the incentive it takes to get an Edith to volunteer time. The promise that an Edith will volunteer may be just the thing that is required to get an Acme to honor some material request. One thing is certain; Acme and Edith multiplied their contributions and each felt better about the experience and would be more likely to repeat it.

   From the reward-seeker's point of view:
Dan, a reward-seeker, clicks on the desktop of a computer at the local library.   An  icon titled Dream Machine Database comes into view. Hecan browse a description of any item offered and the opportunity hours required to earn the reward by typing in a key word like "movie passes" or "mentor."

For example "motorcycle" might bring up fully funded reward FF92 "Used 650 Honda motorcycle. Comes with ten hours of maintenance instruction. Exchange = 50 volunteer hours, organization of your choice. Offer good until 12/31/99."

By typing "all" (which may be the only option offered until this section is well stocked) Dan can browse all the funded rewards currently available under the category "motorcycle."

Sure, someone might have given a motorcycle away and Dan might have volunteered without the Dream Machine. But this way the volunteer was rewarded and the motorcycle gift encouraged a good deed and went to someone who was willing to work for it.

To those who say Dan should have worked for an unselfish cause, we say shoulds often discourage. You have to start with what is. There is nothing wrong with working for something you want. In time more and more people will be able to work for something for someone with a greater need, or an idealistic cause. Working for others is not more noble than working for yourself or your family; it is different. There are stages that people reach at different times in their lives and on their unique time-tables.

As Hillel said: "If I am not for myself, who is for me. If I am only for myself, what good am I. If not now, when?"

                                                                                               

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