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  • From: "Melissa Reeder" <melissa AT creativecommons.org>
  • To: cc-info AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [cc-info] ccNewsletter #9 - Build the Commons
  • Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:12:16 -0700

Dear All,

The past couple of months have not been easy -- living in uncertainty never is. What is certain, though, is that we need to increase creative problem solving and innovation on a global scale. As I sit here thinking about innovation and how it happens, I've come to realize that we've been able to highlight only a very small percentage of the progress made possible thanks to the tools CC develops and provides for free that enable people to harness the power of the Commons and the open Web -- and that gives me hope. It gives me hope because it means that there are millions of projects, initiatives, thinkers, and doers out there making advances in every realm of thought, and that have the potential to help solve some of the world's biggest problems -- and just think about the innovation possible if all that information was free and accessible!

The past three newsletters have highlighted various CC projects: Creative Commons International, Science Commons, and Culture Commons, and their impressive accomplishments over the past year. While this newsletter adheres to the previous format of highlighting some significant CC accomplishments over the past two months, its main focus is to update you on a part of CC that is vital to each of our programs and projects, and yet rarely gets acknowledged -- the development department. Not development as in software, but development as in community building, outreach, and the ever important -- fundraising. You may see the word fundraising and immediately your eyes glaze over -- but please, keep reading! If you care about what we're doing, if you think it's important, then you will want to know what's going on with the part of the organization responsible for making sure the (CC) things you care about are actualized.
 
Our annual fundraising campaign is CC's most important fundraising initiative. It raises vital unrestricted funds for CC's core operations, and it encourages our community members to rally around CC, proving to us, to others, and to the U.S. government that we are a publicly supported organization -- that we're important and necessary. This newsletter will walk you through the concept and components of the recently-launched campaign, so that you can get a better sense of what CC is doing, where our priorities lie, where we want to go, and how we need you -- the community -- to help us get there.

All best,

Melissa Reeder

Development Manager
Creative Commons

Build the Commons
On October 15th, CC launched its fourth annual fundraising effort - the Build the Commons campaign. I would like to take this opportunity to extend a hearty thanks to those of you who have already joined in our efforts. We're off to a pretty good start, but but there is still much more we can do! We've set some pretty ambitious goals for this campaign (we want to raise $500,000 by December 31!), but as long as each of us does our part to rally the community and show our support of CC, I am certain we can meet those goals. We must keep up our momentum, throughout the campaign and beyond, to continue broadening CC's reach and ensuring a long-lived future for both CC and the Commons. We've only got two months to make the 2008 campaign the most successful yet, and with so many ways to support CC, there's no reason we can't exceed our own expectations!

There are many skeptics who think this is a precarious time to launch a major fundraising initiative; we disagree. This is an opportunity. An opportunity to call our community members to action -- to help us make sure that the Commons continues to grow and be supported. The innovation I spoke of before stems from collaboration and knowledge exchange, both of which are facilitated through access and sharing, and all of which are made possible by the Commons. An incredible example of the kind of innovation the Commons inspires is the beautifully-made short film about CC, A Shared Culture, which was directed by Emmy-award winning filmmaker Jesse Dylan, and released in support of CC's 2008 fundraising campaign. You can watch the video at http://creativecommons.org/asharedculture/.


This campaign is not just about raising money, though as a non-profit organization, that is a very important component! More than anything, our campaign is about building community and awareness around CC. As more information becomes digital and is born digital, it is imperative that the Commons and its community grows apace. Otherwise, the Commons runs the risk of stagnation and restriction -- the antithesis of innovation. CC is dedicated to making sure this doesn't happen, but in order to do that we need your help. We're asking people to help Build the Commons by using CC licenses and CC licensed work, evangelizing CC and the openness we stand for, educating others about CC (because your reach is much further than ours), and joining the CC Network. By doing any or all of these things, you are actively building the commons -- the pool of content freely and legally accessible to EVERYONE to use, re-use, and re-purpose -- a vital public resource in this digital age. There are many ways to participate in the Build the Commons campaign -- below are just a few. For more ways to participate, please check out http://support.creativecommons.org.

CC Network

This is a brand new feature of Creative Commons. While it was launched in conjunction with the campaign, it is a year long, permanent option for CC community members. By joining the Network, you will become part of a worldwide community dedicated to building the Commons and bringing open content to all corners of the globe. When you donate $50 or above ($25 for students) to Creative Commons, you will receive a profile page, where you can list all your CC licensed works; a button you can put on your works that shows the world you are part of the CC Network and helps authenticate your ownership; and a Creative Commons OpenID.

Double Your Impact: Donate by November 3rd
We've teamed up with Safe Creative to give you a way to double the value of your contribution: from now until November 3rd, Safe Creative will be matching every donation dollar for dollar — up to $4000. We are honored to partner with Safe Creative, a very cool project working to build a global intellectual property registry for creators to use (for free) to accredit the rights of their work. When you register your work with Safe Creative, you are given the option to CC license your work. So, if you want to register your work, which helps protect you as the creator, check them out at www.safecreative.org. We couldn't be more excited to have them participate in this campaign — continuing to show the world their support for Creative Commons and for a global sharing culture!

CC Videos Project

Another way we are asking people to help Build the Commons is to submit a short 90 second video clip of you explaining why you support CC to our CC Videos Project. CC and the Commons exist because of creative community members like you! As CC and the Commons continue to grow, it's important to capture and share the stories of how our worldwide community uses CC. We want to hear and see your stories of how CC has helped you make and disseminate your work. Tell us, and the world, why CC is important to you. For more information about this project, please visit http://support.creativecommons.org/videos.

Commoner Letter Series
We are honored this year to have five exceptional members of our community voicing their support of CC and the Build the Commons campaign through the Commoner Letter email series, sent out between now and December. This year's "Commoners" are Eben Moglen, Renata Avila, Richard Bookman, Jonathan Coulton, and Jimmy Wales. The first letter, which was sent October 20th, was written by Eben Moglen, founder of Software Freedom Law Center. You can read Eben's letter and sign up to receive future letters at http://support.creativecommons.org/letters.

A handful of unique ways to support CC

Looking Forward
We're at an important juncture in the life of the Commons. We can either work together to ensure the Commons continues to grow and thrive, or we can use it and not give back to it -- or worse, ignore it altogether -- and watch it be restricted and/or stagnate. A healthy and thriving commons is the key to a future full of creativity and innovation across borders, mediums, and disciplines. It is a resource we cannot afford to lose. And just as there is currently a worldwide concern about depleting, contaminating, and destroying the earth's vital natural resources, I believe that if we don't all come together right now, we may feel similar concerns about the Commons as well. We've just barely begun to tap into the potential that CC and the Commons have the power to inspire, so please: help us Build the Commons and join the CC Network today (http://support.creativecommons.org/join).


Some recent and exciting CC news items:

CC News

Flickr Co-founder Caterina Fake Joins the Creative Commons Board.
* http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/8953

American presidential candidates show support for "open debates."
* http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/9910

CCinternational

Launched! Creative Commons Romania reports on a successful event.
* http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/9339

CC Jordan: First Arabic Version 3.0 License draft in public discussion.
* http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/9778

Former CC General Counsel to lead Australian government digital economy push.
* http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/9510

Australian National Innovation Review recommends Creative Commons.
* http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/9293

Culture Commons

Featured Commoner: Brad Sucks, a CC license-using pop/rock musician and one of the most remixed artists at cc Mixter.
* http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/9750

dublab and Creative Commons launch Into Infinity, a CC-licensed art and music project themed around the infinite possibilities of creative reuse.
* http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/8998

ccLearn

Latam Commons 2008: ccLearn to host a three-day conference in Santiago, Chile on "open licensing, open technologies, and the future of education in Latin America."
* http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/9920

Bill Enabling Community Colleges to Establish OER Pilot Program is signed into law
* http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/9783


=============
We rely on our supporters to continue our work enabling
stories like those listed above. Check it out --

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This newsletter is licensed under
and remix!

Creative Commons was built with and is sustained by the
generous support of organizations including the Center for the
Public Domain, the Omidyar Network, The Rockefeller Foundation,
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and The
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, as well as members of
the public.

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  • [cc-info] ccNewsletter #9 - Build the Commons, Melissa Reeder, 10/27/2008

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