Hey everybody! This is Peter Joseph of The Zeitgeist Movement
with a June 2016 update.
As has been talked about for some time,
I'm here to finally announce that the Zeitgeist Movement is officially a
501c3 nonprofit organization.
For those unfamiliar, a 501c3 NPO is a tax-exempt institution
designed to not only take tax-deductible donations in the US,
but to have the advantage of obtaining reduced rates in general commerce,
such as discounts on renting event spaces, and so on.
In short, this new element of TZM is designed to improve
our most core administrative tasks,
something that has been needed for a good while now.
In form, as required by US law, an NPO consists of a board of directors,
and this team oversees the core global administrative tasks.
As far as the specifics, examples of current needs include
funding website work, covering admin and hosting fees,
improved development and promotion of global event days
such as the Media Festival and Zeitgeist Day,
expanding public relations work
including better social networking strategies,
and so on. Lots to be said.
There's also an interest to create a better communicative structure,
specifically to help chapters,
while ensuring reliable and even full-time
working project heads when needed,
to help assist volunteers and increase efficiency.
In fact, as many know,
projects such as the Global Redesign Institute
unfortunately really can't develop without this new level of support.
I get asked all the time about GRI and the reality is
there's simply limits to what an all-volunteer structure can accomplish,
given such heavy ambitions.
Needless to say, as a fundamentally grassroots and volunteer-based movement,
we all still have day jobs, bills, debt, health issues and other
basic liabilities that exists outside of our activist interests.
Time is, sadly, literally money in the current society,
and as I've often said, activism is really kind of a “luxury.”
The kind of mobilization really needed for true social change
is constantly inhibited by the grand inefficiency
and survival pressures of our market-driven world.
And while TZM has worked around this problem for years with
great progress and consistency,
it now requires increased time and resources,
and hence the need for increased financial support.
And to give some perspective, which I hate to point out,
but believe it or not well over a $100,000 has been spent in support
of TZM Global alone (that’s not including regional chapters)
over the past 8 years.
And that money has come from very few people,
creating a disproportionate burden. Now, as an aside,
anyone who has been with TZM for a while knows that I personally
have been against this kind of incorporation since the beginning.
Money and markets are the deepest source
of corruption and dehumanization on the planet today,
and the last thing I ever wanted to see
was TZM turn into anything that looks like a business,
which is the fatal flaw of most NPOs that profess to do good.
And while cynics will of course condemn this move
as being against the values promoted by TZM,
if there's anything that the global administration has proven
in our 8 years without taking direct donations,
8 years of total dedication without any solicited external support,
we've proven that there is a deep integrity,
transparency and trusted intent with the Movement.
So to be clear, the core work of TZM is still volunteer at all internal levels.
The board of directors of the NPO does not - I repeat does not -
take a salary. The board are volunteers like everybody else,
with allocated funds going to related expenses
on the external, such as web site administration again, programming,
hosting event needs, audiovisual labor,
project organization and so on.
The money goes to specific Movement tasks to improve efficiency
and get things done right,
not the NPO administration directly; it's very important to point that out.
It's also not a blind kind of donation thing which is common where people give,
and you really have no clue where anything actually went.
Everything donated and allocated will be explained in a report
that's issued annually by the NPO at the end of the year.
So that's about it. Now,
there's a donation button at thezeitgeistmovement.com under Support,
and there will also likely be
periodic crowdfunding projects that we've been talking about
in the near future as well, for specific purposes.
For example, one idea is to create a pre-hosted
global website infrastructure for all chapters,
allowing increased ease of use with little needed website admin skills
and zero cost to the chapter coordinators themselves.
It would be a great thing to provide to ease things.
Another idea is to work with a professional public relations firm
to assist bringing TZM’s message
to major TV shows and larger order press outlets.
As of now, we have been working solely by word of mouth organically,
with literally no direct public relations strategy; very organic.
So it's time we
start to think about this in a different way and get more serious.
Overall I personally see this as a new phase of the Movement,
turning our global mission into a more streamlined machine,
carving the way towards a truly positive future.
If you have any questions or concerns, an email has been set up:
npo@thezeitgeistmovement.com.
You can also see more data under the Support link,
and much more will be discussed about this new development as time moves forward.
www.thezeitgeistmovement.com