The Dalai Lama Foundation runs primarily on small-to-medium sized contributions. We have two income streams – one is composed of individuals donating to support specific programs that are proposed and operated by third parties, and the other is individuals donating to Foundation-run programs. In the latter category are our general fund (lots of programs) and our peace and ethics curriculum fund. These are the most important programs in terms of our day-to-day attention, and are the programs we’re trying to expand this year.

I recently heard about my friend Alan M. Webber’s recently-published book Rules of Thumb. (Also see his book blog.) I have been reading the reviews and publicity – and I like what I hear, so I ordered Rules of Thumb as an e-book (lots cheaper than buying a paper book) and I’ll skim it later today. I met Alan just about two years ago, over an arranged brunch thanks to Betsy Burroughs, and then spent a day strategizing about the Waldzell Meetings.

One of Alan’s rules, chosen by Tim Ferriss for a review, is “RULE #24 – If you want to change the game, change the economics of how the game is played.” I like this idea. Here’s how I propose to start… [Read more…]