My dear (if yet unknown) benefactor,
pardon my brashness, but after you finally get around giving me the house of my dreams, I'd like to ask you also for a little... um... grant, to fulfill another of my dreams. As you probably know, I live at least part-time in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and I'd really like to have some... um... a lot of free time to go and explore it. Afterwards I would write a lot of blog posts with nice photographs, and then you could read them and feel happy to have given me a grant.
Here's some of the things I'd like to do when your generous grant allows me to leave my desk and go out to see the world:
- Go back to Patrick Blanc's vertical garden and see how it's doing these days. It must me in full bloom.
- Study more about the Victorian architecture and go to see and photograph all the houses mentioned in this book that I just bought. (a very touristy thing to do, I know. Sorry.)
- Go visit all the 49 jewels mentioned in the Treasure Map of San Francisco, plus all the other ones mentioned in another wonderful book that I'm reading, and that I will write about tomorrow (just to keep the suspense up).
Confident that you will help me fulfill my wish, I remain yours faithfully,
Silvia Pareschi
If I had more money....
RispondiEliminaunfortunately I'm a only a poor researcher.
;)
Funny that just recently I've been looking into "crowdsourcing," whereby you can actually have a number of benefactors bankroll your pet project. I'm thinking of doing it myself.
RispondiEliminaAlthough I am a native San Franciscan, I can't tell you much about it as I left as a baby (my father was a career Army officer then stationed at the now defunct Presidio). It was certainly a beautiful place to start out in life and people are impressed that I was born at the foot of the Golden Gate. However I have no real emotional attachment to SF or California, and now consider myself a New Englander, despite the horrid weather.
Keep us posted when you go home next month.
@Lola: don't worry, I'm confident I'll eventually found my benefactor (or more than one). See Cynthia's comment below? I'm already getting suggestions...
RispondiElimina@Cynthia, how does it work? I guess one has be very convincing!
To my knowledge, it's a form of microfinance that's sourced to a fairly large number of people. You describe your project, estimated time and money needed, and ask interested people to contribute whatever they want.
RispondiEliminaSee the Kickstarter site.
Yes, I've seen the Kickstarter site, and I know some people that are trying to raise money that way. I can't get rid of my Italian cynicism, though. Can you imagine something like that in Italy?
RispondiElimina