Social Actions is currently tracking 120 of these organizations and the list is growing almost daily. Each are unique, although some make better use of web 2.0 technologies than others. One that does this extremely well, and that comes to mind for this project — came to Sean’s, too — great minds think alike — is The Point (http://www.thepoint.com).

The Point provides the escrow-like service Tony describes above, permitting individuals to pledge a dollar amount that isn’t actually collected until a certain “tipping point” is reached. To reach that tipping point, successful campaigns often include a carrot or two – something that would motivate someone to make that pledge, because they know something favorable is going to happen if they (and enough others) choose to do so.

A campaign on The Point could use matching funds from a foundation as a carrot, although it might not be necessary to build that in. The carrot could simply be that CRW has completed its process and found that investing in FORGE’s near-term sustainability is a decision they’d support. It depends on what would instill the most trust among potential contributors.

Either way, CRW could be the campaign lead, responsible for presenting to the masses whether a long term plan for FORGE is feasible, and determining what the tipping point would need to be to get that plan off on the right financial footing.

And whether on The Point or not, it’s the broad invitation to participate — whether as observers and analysts to CRW’s planning process, or by providing feedback to FORGE in the form of donating (or withholding those donations) — that drives my excitement for what I see being created here. Sincerely looking forward to watching the process unfold ~

Will FORGE continue but with less impact/reach? I’d be very interested seeing Curtis and the CWR crew develop a contingency budget/plan in addition to a basic model that is set upon the premise funders will be found.

To be honest, I like the idea behind FORGE a lot and I’ve been thinking more about the model and whether it is the best fit, and I’m starting to believe that Kjersten’s decision to incorporate as a nonprofit does make sense. In the special circumstances surrounding refugee education, it’s hard to recoup an investment into refugee education, even if it ends up financially benefiting the refugees several times the cost of that investment. I think their team has thought long and hard about your theory of change – there’s always the risk that conviction might simply be misplaced delusion – but from what I can tell, it looks like they’ve assembled a smart and solid team (which mitigates the risk of delusion).

Is there a funder that can vouch for FORGE and say to others, “Hey, I’ve done the due diligence on FORGE and they’re a great organization?” It seems odd to me that there isn’t more transparency or analysis on due diligence – something many in the sector have reiterated. If FORGE really is a great grantmaking opportunity, I don’t see why all the foundations who do international work aren’t CONTACTING HER (it seems presumptuous for the foundations to let Kjersten run around in circles trying to contact all of them). And why not give the foundation who puts up $100K a seat on the board?

Personally, if I had oodles of money and was a philanthropist, I’d love to put a $100K into their organization, get involved as a board member, and listen to what FORGE needs and what it wants to do in the future, all while connecting with others from my alma mater. But I work for a social enterprise and don’t earn a lot of money. And as much as I’m willing to put something like $500 towards FORGE, I’m afraid that putting $500 in the bucket doesn’t do anything without a total investment of $100K and a sustainability plan.

But here’s where the long-tail of philanthropy might work. If FORGE can come up with a strong sustainability plan and others who have the ability to evaluate that sustainability plan (i.e. credibility) can say that it’s a good one, then it should be in theory very easy to get $100K from a foundation. But if not, I’m sure myself and many others would be willing to pledge something like $500, with the following unique condition: everyone’s individual pledge is only carried out when a total of $100K has been pledged. (Is there some kind of website or widget that does this?)

It seems only fitting that FORGE is going through this trial process and may eventually become stronger because of it – after all, that’s what happens in an actual forge.