I don’t need to tell you that big brains roam around Boulder County. But it’s fun from time to time to share stories about those who apply their intellectual firepower to doing others good.
Take, for example, two talks that happened on the CU campus today:
First, consider that this week is the Conference on World Affairs. The New York Times calls this gathering of 110 geniuses on more than 200 panels, plenaries and performances “a week-long extravaganza of discussion and debate.” (If you live or work in or near Boulder County, you need to attend at least one of these sessions. They are food for the brain and the soul. Find the schedule here: www.colorado.edu/cwa)
One of today’s many talks was titled “What’s left over for philanthropy?” During the panel, it was revealed that the number 37 has played two prominent roles in philanthropy over the past couple years.
$37 billion is the amount that Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have committed, through the Gates Foundation, to take on world health issues.
$37 is the average donation given to Barack Obama’s successful presidential campaign.
Those numbers, separated by the space of nine zeros and three commas, illustrate philanthropy’s dual challenge. We must continue to engage our modern day robber barons in major giving. But we must also pay attention to the fact that small donors can effect massive change if moved en masse by a common call to action.
There were many other talks at the CWA today worth noting. But the second one I’ll call your attention to had nothing to do with the conference. It was tonight’s Boulder-Denver New Tech Meetup — a monthly meeting of software engineers, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists that has gathered a standing-room-only cult following in recent months.
The format is simple: Five companies take the stage for 10 minutes each, five minutes to demo and five minutes to answer questions. Oh, and there’s free beer and snacks. (To sign up for the next one, go here: www.meetup.com/bdnewtech. But you better be on your game. Registration filled up inside an hour for this month’s meeting.)
Tonight’s highlight was a presentation about iVolunteer, an iPhone application being developed by a couple of altruistic Boulder entrepreneurs who office on their laptops at Saxy’s Cafe off Pearl Street. iVolunteer is a component fund of The Community Foundation, meaning we’re so taken by their idea that we’ve lent them our nonprofit status.
Here’s why: The goal of iVolunteer is to develop a button for your iPhone that lets you know where you can go volunteer, wherever and whenever you find time to do it. Want to help them get off the ground? Find out how at www.actionfeed.org
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