… in the info, inspiration, tricks and tools help people kick off real changes, with considerable impact on kids’ and people’s lives? People admire young hero*ines, and how they activate schools. So, … why don’t youth, teachers, citizens, organizations also activate schools, create public presence, raise $5,000@ monthly, work with hero*ines, generate positive news? They don’t know how.

This is like an ongoing workshop – online – because I cannot multiply myself for 10,000 daily workshops all over Earth.

… that few are willing to commit. Look, I am not an internet nerd that loves spending his time in a cave staring at pixels eating pizza.

Remember : Greenpeace etc also live on donations, and their staff coming over for presentations for free can only do so because … they are paid staff, paid by donations, … or they do it as an intern, a student living on parents’ money, or do it as a hobby beside their paid job.

I work on YL double full-time, 10-16 hours a day, day and night across timezones, and 7 days a week. That is how one can sustain the communications required for these services and partnerships. It’s okay. I was able to sustain this for years juggling side jobs, but it is no longer possible, having to be mobile for workshops, spend ever more hours in production, consulting, giving workshops, coaching volunteers, … I just need to be liberated to do so. My monthly expenses are low.

Unfortunately, awards don’t mean recognition by those that don’t know these awards. And who shall I work for? Which organization would pay me for doing international work on youth leadership and positive news media and cangemaker clubs at schools… if they don’t even know those topics exist?

Much of my work is pioneer work, building things before they take effect, to show a model ready for launch. Testing it with real world people. also, innovation never fits funding, because geniuses don’t work in administration or funding offices, hence the people there don’t even recognize innovation, nor does it fit their current topic focus.

This is not my frustrated egoistic view; the Right Livelihood Award, run by able people, honored Wangaari Maathai “discover” geniuses decades before the Nobel Council does, which gets nominations from governments (that have zero competence in positive change) in 1984, when she was running The Green Belt Movement (view) The Nobel Prize honored her in 2004.

YL programs evolve organically, hence it is not possible to predict exactly how many schools, teachers, students will be touched by date X, (a) because promotion requires a huge budget), and (b) since one cannot tell how they respond, also because new regulations, tests, holidays or crisis interfere.

Funding programs, like EU programs, often require to squeeze into tight and suffocating “straight jackets”, like this: requires multiple program partners in X countries, one must finance 50% oneself (from donations, public or own money; yo, like $100,000, no problem), is forced to under/pay staff according to specific guidelines, has to document every single penny, requiring a half-time secretary (“full-time!” tell me frends in NGOs), if a penny is missed, one may have to pay back everything. Also, one must not start the project before the funding is granted (and if you don’t win the grant, another year has been lost waiting). Oh, not to mention that sometimes, one receives part of the money after completion of the project. Whereas that really makes zero sense, much of the other makes sense, but

… it simply doesn’t work for what I do, and for innovation.

Another anecdote. A major global social entrepreneur funding network ran a competition on “innovation in learning”. There were 100s of applicants, and I did pretty well, just missed the final. 3 of 4 prizes went to their own fellows (well, it’s smart people, but still…) and the $25,000 prize went to an already running program with a million dollar annual budget … burning off the 25K in a single month. But they are actually already finance, just get this award on top. So, … how much is this a competition for supporting “innovation”? Staff agreed, and considered rethinking their process for next time. I am not complaining … it is just an anecdote on how not easy it is to get funding for good innovative programs via TOP-DOWN finance.

And – do you want me to finance myself and YL programs via big corporates? I swear, they like sponsoring “youth at school doing good stuff” and take photos and show off on tv and big magazines and facebook. I do not accept this. Local company support for local teams is fine, since there is a human link. But tagging YL programs or myself with a big logo coming with corporate thinking and contracts … no way.