Do It Yourself Activism

Tens of thousands of young activists are challenging repressive regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

By all accounts, these remarkable people are acting outside of traditional organizations like political parties or old school non profits.

We think those young change agents are part of a larger trend of individuals all over the world creating their own grassroots efforts.

Columnist Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times calls our local American version of this trend the 'DIY (Do It Yourself) Foreign Aid' Revolution.'

Kristof describes a wave of inspired individuals making a difference personally and directly.

'You have a confluence of factors driving these people,' Kristof says. 'The rise of social entrepreneurship, powerful tools like Facebook and Twitter to get the message out, and people searching for meaning in their lives.'

We couldn't agree more.

We created Visions Made Viable to support passionate individuals and give their projects a chance to succeed. By offering a combination of fiscal sponsorship--administrative services--consulting we help change agents get right to the mission at hand.

Don't get us wrong. We're good with traditional organizations if they get the mission done and do it with reasonable efficiency.

But traditional approaches can rarely turn on a dime the way new and innovative approaches can. They also often burn up lots of money on bureaucratic build up that could have been used far more effectively. Far too many of them don't work

In a world where the challenges appear ever more fast and furious, and where resources are increasingly scarce, we think the Do It Yourself wave of up and coming leaders is one of the best places to invest.

If you want to be a part of that wave and you've got a project you think can make a difference, we want to talk to you.