Innovative use of concept maps to support collective effort

Below is a concept map that I created many years ago to show the commitment many leaders need to take over many years so that more youth born in poverty in one year might be starting jobs and careers out of poverty 20 to 30 years later.  A person/company could demonstrate this commitment by putting a version of this on their web site, with their name/logo in the blue box. 

Yesterday I found an article on the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) site, under the title of 

The Tactics of Trust

The subhead reads: "Participants in a large, complex collaboration can build a capacity for finding common ground—and it doesn’t have to take years."

I read the article, then I asked,  "What this might cost per year?" and was told that "the most effective networks involving multiple organizations typically require an operating budget of $150,000 to $300,000 per year for maximum impact"

Then I asked if anyone was using concept maps to show their process, and included this timeline showing my work since 1990 as an example. 

I received this comment:

"Wow Daniel.This is a spectacular map. I’ve never seen one like it before and don’t know of anyone doing this. We’ve used in-person graphic facilitation at times, but this is different. Amazing how much you’ve accomplished without funding and only volunteers. Impressive."

Then I posted a link to a page with my library of concept maps, and said, "By sharing this I’m inviting others to use the maps, and create their own versions."

That generated this response:

"Very impressive Daniel. I’ve never seen concept maps like this. I wish you well in your important work." 

I've received similar comments about my uses of GIS maps, which you can see in articles on this blog, and on the Mappingforjustice blog.

However, I've never found a way to turn this into consistent funding at a $150-$300,000 a year level. Since 2011 I've not been able to find more than a few thousand dollars a  year to support my work as Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

This graphic illustrates what I'm trying to do, and what I've been trying to teach others to do.  This page provides a PayPal button and a mailing address that others could use to send financial support to help me continue to do this work.

However, I'm not posting this with a goal of finding a few small donations. I'm posting it so that someone who has the civic and business reach, and the talent to develop business plans and secure investment funding, will reach out and offer to become a partner in helping me find the funding and do the work, and in sustaining and growing it in future years when I'm no longer around.

When someone says "Very impressive Daniel. I’ve never seen concept maps like this. I wish you well in your important work," ....

...my hope is they will go beyond "wishing me well" to helping me find the resources and partners needed to do this work as well as it needs to be done, and in every urban area in the world.