I will be upfront about it. I’m going to ask you for your money. But I’m going to do it without jerking your emotional chain, or showing you pictures of dead people and making you feel like crap. Do you think it will work? If you are still reading then please bare with me.
There is a term in the business world called ROI. It stands for Return On Investment. As defined in Wikipedia; Investment is the investing of money or capital in order to gain profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value. So the basic idea is that you invest with the assumption that you would gain something in return and will do your best to make that gain as large as possible, i.e. maximize your Return On Investment. It’s practically common sense. No?!?!
Is spending time with your children an investment? How about renovating your home? Purchasing stocks? Exercising? Aren’t they all investments that you hope in time will yield a return; be it the well being and future of your family, financial reasons, or your own health!?!? What is investment? Money? Time? Material?
In fact its all of the above and one can easily be converted to another. Here’s a simplified example. Try it. Start with how much money you make each year. Divide that by the number of working days in a year (default to 240 days), then by the number of hours you work per day (default 8). Thats how much your hour is worth in cold hard cash. Hypothetically thats how much you will be loosing if you spend it doing something else. If its spending time with your family and friends it pales in comparison. If it’s exercising, reading, etc.. it becomes a little more relevant. If wasting it then its something to be mindful of. And I think we are all mindful of it.
Think of it the other way around. Of how money translates to your time. The money you are dishing out to buy something translates to specific number of hours that was spent to acquire that amount, and depending on what you are buying; essentials, etc… your ROI varies. This is your investment of hours and minutes of your life. Is there anything more precious?
Which brings me to the subject at hand. Since the June election we have collectively spent countless hours in rallies, forwarding emails, signing petitions, reading and talking and educating ourselves. There is not a single gathering where we don’t engage in discussions about the present, the past and how we want the future to be. But think about it. Every signing of a petition has taken a specific amount of time for you to read, acknowledge and respond. Every rally, every bit of news you shared, they all meant that you believed enough in the cause to give of yourself in precious seconds and put your identity behind this great cause joining so many others. So many others that have taken part in this joint investment in time and effort. So many minutes and hours that have summed up to days, to months, to years. We did it willingly, with no thought of risk management or ROI. We did it because we cared. We did it because it was the least we could do from far in support of our brothers and sisters and their aspirations that they have so bravely stood up for.
So I ask you. Why wouldn’t we want to maximize our ROI on issues we care about? On issues that we have spent hours and days of our lives hoping to make a positive impact!? How is this any different than any other investment we have made? Why wouldn’t we want to match this investment in time and effort with dollars and cents? Aren’t they one and the same? How much a minute of our life worth if we care deeply about an issue? $1.00? $5.00?
Since the disputed 12 June presidential election at least 100 journalists and bloggers have been arrested and 23 are still being held. At the same time, around 50 have been forced to flee the country to escape the relentless repression. More are leaving every day. These are the brave and selfless folks that year after year pushed back and challenged status quo. They pressed against the system and pushed the envelop when there were no bright lights or world attention. One organization having nothing to do with any Iranian group has taken the lead to help these people. To Reporters Without Borders its not about race or nationality, but rights and values and camaraderie.
This is our financial portfolio. This is our investment in time and material for a better future. Investment that grows significantly with investment of so many others with the same belief. It’s literally summing up the seconds and minutes donated from so many to hours and days for a selected few. How can we possibly put a price on that?!?!
Below is the link to RWB website for donations earmarked specifically for Iranian Journalists; all donations are tax deductible.
So, Did it work?
Here’s how you can help.
*** *** ***
Join us at Faz Restaurant in Sunnyvale, California, to support Iranian journalists who have been forced to flee their country to escape the relentless repression since the fraudulent presidential election in Iran. We invite you to a special event to benefit Iranian journalists, photographers, and bloggers who are in urgent need as they search for safe refuge. If you aren’t in the area but still would like to help, visit Reporters sans Frontiers for additional information on how to support the Iranian journalists.
SPECIAL GUESTS AND PERFORMERS INCLUDE
* Nikahang Kowsar
* Tara Kamangar
* Siamack Sanaie
* Kiosk’s Arash Sobhani, Ardalan Paayvaar & Friends
* DJ R.ash
Come enjoy a memorable night of music, finger food, and support a worthy cause at Faz Restaurant
Saturday, Jan 23rd 2010 || 8pm – Midnight
Open Bar
Faz Restaurant
1108 N Mathilda
Sunnyvale CA, 94089
