Peter: a wealth of rich stuff over here:

http://www.omidyar.net/group/psc/news/13/

Look particularly at Katherine Freund and ITN America. I was blown away at that time by her project, and I still am impressed today!

This is a GREAT topic.

Thanks Lenore,

Appreciate the folding back into the community. Will catch up on the thread.

Lenore said:

Peter: a wealth of rich stuff over here:

http://www.omidyar.net/group/psc/news/13/

Look particularly at Katherine Freund and ITN America. I was blown away at that time by her project, and I still am impressed today!

This is a GREAT topic.

ya, great topic...i want a face lift...can i get funding for that???

or really, i just want to settle into my old age and have enuf food, meds, and internet connection...maybe a bottle of wine occasionally. and to be able to grow old with a smile instead of a grimace of worry.

most our oldsters today, after working all thier lives, get shuttled off to a 'rest home' and their own homes confiscated by the rest home to pay for thier care. have you seen how many old family homes are on the real estate market nowdays? farms that have been in one family for generations, sold out from under the family. its truely a sad thing.

growing old well and gracefully would indeed be a blessing in america....not losing everything to age is a bigger blessing.

Nora,

In the spirit of the Q4 Funding Project ... any thoughts/recommendations re organizations that contribute/advance the opportunity to ...

growing old well and gracefully would indeed be a blessing in america....not losing everything to age is a bigger blessing.

Also have invited some others to help flesh out this thread.

[edit: style issues]

as far as i am aware, there are no org's devoted to saving the homes of older americans.....maybe someone else knows of something that would fit the bill? i would stand behind that 100%!

Followed a suggestion, in a PM from David Bank, to read through the profiles of the Innovation Network Fellows.

From that reading thought the following would be suitable candidates for funding ...

If you know these people, would appreciate you letting them know about this theme within the Q4 Funding Project. Other suggestions?

Will work on the workspace over the coming days.

Also, still seeking four others to support this theme.

And somehow ... Sipho Mamba.

Actually ...

Here's a video of

And a link to Generations Online

i love this onet neighborhood!!! thanks Peter for aging well :D

Ran upstairs to pull Learning from Hannah from my bookshelf. I am also an Eden Alternative advocate (dormant --> reactivated).

Please tell us more about your Eden Alternative experience :D

Thanks Anne Marie!

Will happily expand on my experience of the Eden Alternative as the thread develops.

two of my favorite intergenerational groups here in MA:

Generations Inc programs build mutually beneficial intergenerational relationships between older adults and children, and may involve other generations as well.

Discovering Whats Next is the premier resource for mid-life and older adults who seek to contribute to the vitality of their communities and enrich their own lives.

off to visit Kallimos :D

Thanks for the additions.

It has been a while since I weighed in at Omidyar, but I would like to try to add something to this thread and propose an idea for a project where I think a contribution of $5,000 would make an enormous difference. First, I think I need to say a little about where we are, here at ITNAmerica, since I first joined the Omidyar Network. In addition to the work with our first affiliate communities, we have received a large grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies. The Atlantic support has provided the resources to build our management team and to rebuild our software so we will be better able to support the national network as it grows, and also to support many more kinds of volunteer and community transportation services. As I am sure you know, it is extraordinarily difficult to capitalize the growth of a non-profit organization, so this grant from Atlantic is a life-changing event for us.

For those reading this message who are unfamiliar with ITNAmerica, it is the first, national non-profit transportation network for America's aging population. ITNAmerica helps communities across the country replicate the very successful Independent Transportation Network in Portland, Maine. ITN recreates for older people who need to limit or stop driving the comfort and convenience of the private automobile. ITN also serves people with visual impairments. ITN uses cars to provide door-through-door service, 24/7, with a combination of paid and volunteer drivers. ITN relies on reasonable fares from the people who use the service and a diversified base of voluntary, local community support. After the initial start-up phase, ITN does not use taxpayer dollars for operating or capital expenses. In other words, it is an entrepreneurial, market-based, non-profit approach to a vast social need, designed to connect both through the internet and directly with the grassroots of the community, and to scale with the aging of the population.

Finally, it is worth noting that ITN has a broad and flexible approach to resources. For example, older people may trade their no longer used cars for rides through ITN's CarTrade Program, volunteers may store volunteer driving credits for their own future mobility needs through ITN's Transportation Social Security Program, or they may contribute their credits to a fund for low-income riders through ITN's Road Scholarship Fund.

The organization I would like to propose for this $5,000 grant is ITNSantaMonica. This ITN affiliate community is the first ITN replication in the United States. There are several others since ITNSantaMonica, and we have a dozen more communities starting in 2007, but ITNSantaMonica has been our first effort. For this reason, this affiliate has been the pathfinder, the pioneer. It takes a lot of courage to be first, because it means, inevitably, that there will be mistakes. Organizations, like people, will stumble and they will fall. Every time this has happened for ITNSantaMonica, they have picked themselves up and gone on.

ITNSantaMonica has now completed all of the planning to start ITN service, but they do not have enough capital to fund the first several months of service, which is essential. They also need to have their first two fleet vehicles donated.

ITNAmerica is completely committed to Santa Monica's success, and we are doing everything we can to help and support them. But as I am sure folks at Omidyar Network well understand, there is no substitute for grassroots support from the people. To help ITNSantaMonica raise the necessary funds to begin providing rides, I have pledged to walk through the community over a 24 hour period November 21 and 22, right before Thanksgiving. ITNSantaMonica is calling this their "Walk for Rides," and with the funds they raise, they hope to begin providing ITN rides for seniors and people with visual impairments in the ITNSantaMonica service area.

I am sure everyone is familiar with the tragedy of the Farmer's Market accident, and the recent trial and conviction of the elderly driver who lost control of his car and caused such devastation. ITN creates what I call "a positive space for people to move forward into." I can hardly think of a better place on the planet to take a stand for healing and for positive, forward movement. To make good personal choices about safe driving, older people need dignified, sustainable alternative transportation.

So, I would like to propose ITNSantaMonica as the grantee for Aging Well. ITNSantaMonica has applied for but not yet received 501c3 status, so the grant can either go to ITNAmerica for ITNSantaMonica, or it can go through the Center for Healthy Aging, the courageous local non-profit organization that sponsored the first ITN affiliate in the nation.

I am available to answer any questions or help in any way I can.

Best regards, Kathy

Thanks for your informative post Kathy!

I assume from the title, Peter, that you are familiar with the fanastic book, Aging Well?

Nora, one option for elderly with homes can be reverse mortgages. It can't save the farm, but it can liquify cash for elderly folks while keeping them living in their homes.

Kathy,

Good to have an update and your participation.

Jean,

Yes. I am familiar with Aging Well. Though I must confess, it wasn't in the forefront of my mind when naming this thread/theme.

Good to have you here.

Took another small step in the Q4 process ... set up the proposal workspace. Needs some TLC.

More work to do - nothing too onerous.

Another discussion thread will need to be started and dedicated to the proposal and the specific orgs within the proposal - nb ... when we get to that stage.

Just a quick hop-in here with a potential project for you. Andrew Hessel, here on ONet, sent a note about his recent projects in OPEN SOURCE BIO, life-altering sciences based on your genomic signature and tailor-made just for you:

Hi Evonne,

I'm in Boston right now. We've got all the igem teams that have done open source genetics coming in this weekend (see http://igem2006.com), so I'm swamped until next wednesday, but the potential of these ideas are staggering. The teams made very sophisticated biological machines in just a few months -- and shared all the technology! We already has a 501(c) called the BioBricks foundation.

Oh, and those links:

http://www.omidyar.net/user/u735392364/

http://www.biobricks.org

How does this help us age well? The next generation of medication is not one pill for everyone; it is one pill just for you that understands and repairs without painful side effects or overmedication. The future of bio care is here: http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7854314

Hello there and thanks for jumping in -

In order to keep things organized, could someone from your team members fill in some info about their proposals at the Q4 Proposal Summary workspace?

This will be a central place listing links to the official proposal workspaces, discussions, and team member profiles.

Thanks so much.

Haney,

On the list of "to do"s ...

Haney said:

Hello there and thanks for jumping in -

In order to keep things organized, could someone from your team members fill in some info about their proposals at the Q4 Proposal Summary workspace?

This will be a central place listing links to the official proposal workspaces, discussions, and team member profiles.

Thanks so much.

Evonne,

Thanks for the ideas.

Appreciated.

Evonne said:

Oh, and those links:

http://www.omidyar.net/user/u735392364/

http://www.biobricks.org

How does this help us age well? The next generation of medication is not one pill for everyone; it is one pill just for you that understands and repairs without painful side effects or overmedication. The future of bio care is here: http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7854314

BTW

Still seeking members to join this proposal - we have until Nov 14th, but let's not wait.

Here's some detail ...

Team members - Some teams may form before October 30, and while waiting until the last minute is not a good idea, you have until Nov. 14 to publish the final list of team members in your proposal workspace. Each team must be sponsored by five team members who have a feedback score of 50 or more by the time the voting begins. An omidyar.net member can join/sponsor only one funding team. Team members should explain clearly their affiliation with any of the nominees and any financial benefit they might receive as a result of funding their proposal. They should also state any plans for ongoing involvement with the focus area if it's selected for funding.

Join by adding your name ... here.

Keeping a promise ...

Added the Aging Well proposal to the Q4 Proposal Summary workspace.

I said:

Haney,

On the list of "to do"s ...

Haney said:

Hello there and thanks for jumping in -

In order to keep things organized, could someone from your team members fill in some info about their proposals at the Q4 Proposal Summary workspace?

This will be a central place listing links to the official proposal workspaces, discussions, and team member profiles.

Thanks so much.

Will be adding more possible funding candidates and setting up a designated thread to discuss the proposed benficiaries.

Thanks to all for reading and encouraging.

Still hoping to attract another four O.netizens to support this funding category.

Lenore,

Thanks for joining this category. I'll add you to the workspace as a supporter.