Idealist.org: Support It or Lose It

Idealist.org, the best resource for non-profit jobs, volunteer opportunities and pretty much everything having to do with “doing good” in New York could be the next victim of the recession. Idealist sent out an appeal earlier today:

Very briefly, here’s what happened. Over the past ten years, most of our funding has come from the small fees we charge organizations for posting their jobs on Idealist. By September 2008, after years of steady growth, these little drops were covering 70% of our budget.

Then, in October of that year, the financial crisis exploded, many organizations understandably froze their hiring, and from one week to the next our earned income was cut almost in half, leaving us with a hole of more than $100,000 each month.

That was 16 months ago, and since then we’ve survived on faith and fumes, by cutting expenses, and by getting a few large gifts from new and old friends. But now we are about to hit a wall, and that’s why we decided to ask.

If you’ve ever found a job, posted a job, found an internship or used Idealist to learn about the non-profit world, it’s time to give back, even if you can only give $5 or $10. Without it, many local organizations in our city will suffer.

Donate to Idealist.org here.

The Bill Was Defeated, But We Are Not

No matter what your sexual orientation, today was an emotional one for all of us here at MYD. I’ll admit I cursed, wanted to cry and fell like I had been punched in the stomach. But a few minutes later, I stepped back and realized every great victory begins with a few hardships. Today we made progress. The Senate debated the issue publicly for the first time. We now have targets that we will either convince to support our cause, or if necessary, challenge them in the 2010 primary.

When we launched New Yorkers for Marriage Equality back in April, we had big dreams and had no idea how far we could go. Thanks to the gracious support of our partner organizations, major media outlets and even Perez Hilton, our movement grew in a matter of days. Since then, we’ve sent and hand-delivered thousands of letters, made hundreds of phone calls and asked our fellow New Yorkers to join in on this fight. This time, that effort was not enough.

From the outside, it looked as if equality advocates in Maine and California had done all they could and it was not enough. We can always do more. We can always fight harder. We can all give a few more minutes of each day to this cause. Today we heard countless Senators stand up for equality and draw parallels to all of the civil rights causes of the past. As we were reminded, Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, Susan B Anthony and other great leaders did not give up. We must follow in their footsteps and keep up the hard work.

So you sent a letter and made the call. How can you possibly do more? It’s easy. We all have friends, family and coworkers who are in support of marriage equality. You haven’t done enough until all of these people have sent the letter and made the call. Not sure the best way to ask? Start by suggesting these friends become a fan of our Facebook page.

Ask yourself today, why do you believe in marriage equality? What experience made you realize how important this fight is? Tell that story to your friends and they will listen.

And when all else fails, show them this video, of Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson publicly supporting marriage equality for the first time. She tells the story of her gay older brother, who fearing persecution, moved to France.

Next time, our efforts will be enough. For now, we recommend you call or email your closest LGBT friend or family member and let him or her know that today you wanted victory but that we will have it next year.

Quinn on Marriage Equality: “Everybody’s Family Matters.”

The State Senate’s special session convenes this morning. Governor Paterson placed marriage equality on the agenda and we are expecting a vote some time today.

Openly gay City Council Speaker Christine Quinn got asked yesterday about the vote. Here’s her final appeal and one of her best speeches of her entire career. (Beware, you may start welling up, just like Quinn herself.)

“If the bill is voted on and passed tomorrow, a week after a referendum passed in Maine that took rights away from the residents of Maine, if seven days after that the New York State Senate stands up and says ‘All New York families are equal,’ what a message that sends about what we believe as a state,” Quinn said.

“And what a message it sends about the potential of our country. This is literally a moment where people can stand up and say that everybody’s family matters. That everybody’s home is a blessed place, and that everybody has the same rights. You don’t get a lot of times in life when you get to do that.”

What can you do, with the vote coming any minute now? Find out how to help after the jump. Read more

$85 Million in Ads Not Enough for Bloomberg

Mayor Bloomberg (or as we sometimes like to call him, Mayor Bloombucks) has already shelled out a record-breaking $85 Million of his own money to be on TV everywhere, every minute until the election, even after a study came out awhile back saying voters’ opinions of him go down after advertising overload.

Of course the Mayor should be at a big Yankees playoff game, and of course he should congratulate the team, but he probably shouldn’t hang around in front of the cameras for hours. As Fox Sports interviewed the Yankees players, managers and executives after the big win, Mayor Bloombucks kept hanging around the podium, and wouldn’t leave.

City Room, the NY politics blog at The New York Times, put a great spin on this one:

Top 10 Reasons Why Mayor Bloomberg Wouldn’t Leave the Podium

10. Rudy would have stepped up to replace him.
9. As Letterman might say, the podium was kinda high off the ground for a guy that short.
8. Someone has to represent the Red Sox, er, I mean the Mets, er, I mean City Hall.
7. If the cracked stadium ramps gave way, this was the safest place to be.
6. Free Champagne? Somewhere there’s gotta be free hot dogs.
5. He had to stay for all nine innings; no way he leaves now.
4. A showing of solidarity with the biggest payroll in baseball.
3. Just bursting for the opportunity to show a national audience how well he speaks Spanish.
2. It’s great to be with a wiener.
1. It’s not often the mayor gets TV face time that he doesn’t have to pay for.

The Mayor Who Wouldn’t Leave [NY Times City Room]

Young Gets It Done: Michael Fujinaka

But Michael Fujinaka is different. The second-year UCSD School of Medicine student spends his free time developing applications for iPhones. His first effort — an app called iMurmur that helps medical staffers learn how to detect troubling heartbeats — has become a big success.

Within a couple of days of its July 14 launch, the software shot to No. 2 on the list of best-selling medical apps on iTunes, the online store operated by iPhone maker Apple. It has remained in the top five ever since.

Two 25-year olds in graduate school at UC San Diego, Michael Fujinaka and Alan Gardner, developed this application on a whim, not expecting it to have 10,000 downloads in only a few months.

We know young people all over the world are making change, but it’s not often that I get to feature an old friend who taught me how to skateboard in my freshman year of college. Congrats on your success Fuj!

He Makes an App, and Medical World Listens [San Diego Union-Tribune]

A Big Week Ahead for NYC

This week will be a big one for us in New York, especially in politics. What’s happening?

Monday
(disclaimer: we are counting this one for Monday even if the story came out late Sunday night.)
David Paterson announced that instead of this week or next, the Senate’s special session in Albany will be called for November 10th. He vowed to put marriage equality on the agenda. Get involved in our fight for marriage equality at NewYorkEquality.com, on Facebook and on Twitter by using the hashtag #nyequality.
Paterson Calling Special Session in November [NY Observer]

Tuesday
As we have one week until the election, it’s time for the final Mayoral debate between NYC Comptroller & Democrat Bill Thompson and Michael Bloomberg. The debate begins at 7pm. You can watch it on WABC-7 on TV or at 7online.com Thomspon will be hosting a big after party at BLVD in NoLiTa/LES.

Wednesday
We couldn’t leave this one out: World Series Game 1 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. It’s been called the I-95 series. We can’t really give you a link to pick up tickets here, but if you manage to get your hands on the tickets, consider yourself very very very lucky.

Thursday
Phone Bank for Bill Thompson, 6-9pm at the NY Democratic Party HQ, 461 Park Ave South, 10th Floor.
We have phone banks going almost every day until the election, check out the full calendar here.

Friday
It’s the final weekend before the election. Take a few hours to help Democrats GOTV (that’s Get-Out-The-Vote).

Saturday
It’s Halloween. We celebrated early last week, but if you’re new to New York or just want to see some of the best costumes ever produced, head to the 36th Annual Village Halloween Parade

We’ll be raiding the parade to hand out our $8 Bloomberg bucks to remind the crowds that “Eight is Enough.” Meet us at 6:15pm at the corner Varick St & Laight St. More information is available here.

Show your support for YDA’s DNC Committee Woman Stephanie Hauser & NYC Council Candidate Kevin Kim

From time to time, we at MYD like to share events put on by other organizations throughout the city. We know we aren’t the only ones who can throw a huge party.

Youth involvement in politics doesn’t just mean lobbying our elected officials and starting grassroots movements. It means becoming elected officials! Town Council may not seem like the biggest most important race to some of you, but future leaders like Stephanie need to start local and grow from there. We started local with the Open Seat Project, putting about 80 MYDers on the ballot.

Joint Fundraiser for Stephanie Hausner and Kevin Kim

Kevin D. Kim, Democrat for NYC Council 19th District

Stephanie Hausner, Candidate for Clarkstown Town Council

Wednesday, October 14, 2009
7:30pm to 9:00pm
Arctica Bar and Grill, Top Bar (384 3rd Avenue)

Host Committee: Dr. Fergus Ambe, Al Benninghoff, Evan Berger, Jennie Berger, Marvin Bing Jr., Matthew Bishop, Julie Blitzer, Costa Constantinides, Keith Dumanski, Daniel Getman, Jake Honigman, Erica Kagan, Dan Kasell, Ksenia Koban, Jamaal Mobley, Jen Nedeau, Thaler Pekar, Alfred Rutherford, Jonathan Stone, Josh Warren

Tickets will be $40, $20 for students, and each candidate takes home half. If you are contributing by check, please bring 2 checks. If you are contributing by cash, please bring two $20 bills.

More information on the event’s Facebook page

Learn about Kevin and Stephanie (and their Twitter accounts!) after the jump. Read more

Why You Should Vote in Citywide Elections

I always wonder why so few people show up at the polls for citywide elections. Our elected officials here in NYC make more decisions that affect our daily lives than anyone in Congress or Obama himself.

Think about it. What do your friends complain about the most when talking about city life?

• Noisy garbage trucks
• MTA service interruptions & fare hikes
• Big real estate development projects
• Affordable housing
• Park cleanliness

Who makes laws on ALL of the above issues? Your City Council Member. Yes, that’s right. Your quality of life here in NYC is very dependent on how your local representatives vote. So stop pretending today doesn’t matter and get to the polls!

This morning at my poll site, the poll worker commiserated, “I think many people don’t know there is an election today. It’s been very quiet here.” No lines for me this morning, very different than the 3.5 hour wait I faced last November.

It’s pretty surprising that any registered Democrat wouldn’t know today is primary day, when almost all of our mailboxes have looked like this for the past few weeks.

Polls are open until 9pm. Not sure where to vote? Find out here

Photo Credit: From John Morton on Flickr

Happy And Sad News In The National Fight For Marriage Equality

New York isn’t the only state with a big fight for LGBT rights and Marriage Equality. Lots has happened in the past few days in places like Vermont, Washington and Maine.

Vermont
Same-sex marriages became legal at midnight on Sunday, and many New Yorkers have already crossed the state border to get married, including this couple. [AP] Vermont legalized civil unions in 2000, but we at MYD believe that civil unions aren’t enough, and Vermonters agree.

The famous Vermont ice cream company, Ben & Jerry’s, is celebrating same-sex marriage by temporarily renaming their “Chubby Hubby” flavor as “Hubby Hubby.” [Gawker]

Washington
Since July 2007, Washington State has had a domestic partnership law that gives same-sex couples hospital visitation rights. The law was subsequently expanded in 2008 and again in 2009 and now includes adoption, child support, pensions, and nearly every right (aside from the label) granted to a married couple in Washington. As of Monday, Washington State’s November ballot will include Referendum 71. A vote of “approve” on this referendum affirms the expansions made to the domestic partnership law in 2007.

For more information on how you can help visit Washington Families Standing Together

Maine
Maine legalized marriage equality in May, but the issue will go before a public vote in November’s election as a ballot question. Success in Maine is key to the national momentum for marriage equality and LGBT rights we need to make a difference in other states, including our own. On Maine’s November Ballot will be Question 1, which if passed, will overturn the bill that legalized marriage equality. Be sure to tell your friends in Maine to vote NO on 1.

Maine has early voting, all throughout October, so the field operation will begin early. How can you help? Head up to Maine for a week and take a Volunteer Vacation. You will get orientation and field training, as well as a place to stay thanks to local Mainers who are supporting your efforts.

Not inspired yet? Check out this unbelievable TV spot produced by EqualityMaine.

And last but not least… New York
We’re waiting to see if the State Senate will vote on the marriage equality bill in this month’s special session. Since our least favorite Senator is at the helm, we’re not that optimistic. That said, we’ll keep fighting this fight until we win, even if we have to continue into 2010.

Want to be kept in the loop about our efforts in New York? Become a fan of our campaign on facebook: New Yorkers for Marriage Equality

How To Guides For Young Dems: Twitter

The youth are the most connected and online-using age group out there. Politics is warming up to online tools quickly. So why are YDA’s chapters so slow to pick it up? A few guesses:

1. Lack of experience with the tools
2. Think that the tools take a lot of times to configure and use (they do)
3. Doubts that the tools have reach or will make a difference.

As always, MYD provides you with the solutions:

1. We’ve got the training guides to make this stuff understandable. Check out our Twitter guide (Blogging, Facebook still in the works), as well as our presentations from the YDA Conference training sessions, here.
2. They do take time. You are right. Find people to help. Tell them you will train them and they will gain a marketable skill for free (in a recession that’s a good selling point).
3. And to counter your doubts, here’s a pretty amazing presentation that was posted on Mashable the other day:

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