PROCLAIMING DENVER A COMPASSIONATE CITY Organizational Thoughts for a Campaign and Its Projects NEED

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1 PROCLAIMING DENVER A COMPASSIONATE CITY Organizational Thoughts for a Campaign and Its Projects NEED Scattered across Denver are individuals impressed by The Charter for Compassion, initiated in 2008 by religion scholar Karen Armstrong. There is implicit demand for active expression to their moral response to the Charter. To date, the Charter s strongest policy expression is self-proclamation by a city government that the city is a Compassionate City, a guided process supported by Compassionate Action Network International (CANI). Well over 160 cities worldwide have joined this movement: Denver is listed as actively organizing in becoming a Compassionate City. Moving this campaign forward is the subject of this introductory survey of the situation. In a time of world unrest and burgeoning new research into human interaction, the Charter is one expression of strong current interest in empathy, sociopathy, tribalism and dehumanization of the other, and of the biological basis of compassion itself. The Charter was made possible by Armstrong s TED Prize wish, which, to her surprise as an older academician, was soon rooted on the Worldwide Web. The Charter s site and CANI s provide an entry point to a boggling depth of resources (see the selected webography following). Drilling down for an hour (or a week) in this enormous collection of research, involvement guides, endorsements and success stories convinces one that there is widespread recognition of need for greater compassion and a vibrant movement, taking many forms, in that direction. DENVER There are many cities in more need of an influx of compassion than Denver, but research shows broad individual and collective benefits in any setting. Win-lose confrontation in many contexts around our city tends to escalate and prolong itself, and wins tend to foster persistent loser bitterness one can think of Denver issues regarding poverty, homelessness, immigration, education, labor, gun regulation, racial profiling, marijuana and alcohol, parks, taxes and fees, police, and land use even before the nightly news or morning paper brings up fresh ones. Simply adding the word compassion into public and private conversations creates a mitigating influence. By inspiring Mayor Hancock and City Council to pass a resolution that Denver is a Compassionate City, the word becomes flesh and dwells among us. It is worth noting that in late June of this year the U.S. Conference of Mayors, attended by Mayor Hancock, endorsed the Compassionate Cities Campaign with a resolution titled Compassion As an Effective Public Policy. ORGANIZATION CANI offers a 19 point Step-by-Step Procedure for Developing a Compassionate City Campaign, which, besides providing a roadmap, demonstrates the level of assistance and resources the CANI movement can provide. The webography below has direct links to some of the most useful of these as well as related sites about compassion. No one would follow a step-by-step process without first reading all the steps. Here is an imaginary map of major elements that may be needed for an eventual full realization of the Compassionate Denver campaign: it proposes a Compassionate Denver Inc non-profit.

2 CORE ORGANIZERS The score or so of motivated volunteers needed to create Compassionate Denver Inc can and should be sought from diverse contexts. The initial time investment needed suggests retired persons and under-employed youth or students (for whom the work act as a project). Affinity of purpose suggests faith communities, Iliff and Denver Seminary faculty and students, as well as participants in compassionate non-profit work, and progressive causes. The webography notes CANI s programs as contexts to draw on at different times in the campaign, useful because of the resources available.

3 COMPASSIONATE DENVER INC While there is nothing magic about this name, it adheres to a formula many cities used, providing a sense of community and keeping up with the compassionate. Registering a non-profit with the Secretary of State is a simple matter that requires little structural information. But the structure of the organization will be important to members: making a lean organizational chart for what should be a big tent presents challenges and calls for both expertise and participation in creating bylaws (which can, however, always be changed). At the least, an executive board of officers, a group of trustees, a role for participating organizations, a voting member status for dues payers, and perhaps tribes such as Business, Religious and Spiritual, Education, etc. 501(c)3 status is advantageous for funding development but would slow the Denver campaign down simple nonprofit organization and a search for pro bono guidance to tax-exempt status is a compromise. FACEBOOK AND WEBSITE Just as the Charter and CANI have done most of their promotion and support work via the Web, CDI can only move forward quickly by having a digital address to which to refer potential volunteers, affinity of purpose organizations, funding sources, and the City. Both can readily be set up in an infant form but a volunteer webmaster or team will be crucial. Core organizers can discuss a site map and features as a beginning. FOCUS AREA AND GOAL MEETINGS CANI is supportive of all efforts and a city could declare itself compassionate without their acceptance of the title, but for their endorsement and a place on their website there must be a commitment to a project or several projects. This is often the stage where the campaign becomes real to volunteers and citizens and municipal governments, judging from the stories of successful Compassionate Cities on CANI s site. In conversations and within CDI s web presence a date certain for the first of these will be critical for building believability within and beyond core organizers and early volunteers. USES FOR THIS PAPER Subsequent stages in the Board Game above and in CANI s Step-by-Step Procedure are useful to envision but pointless to detail prematurely. This highly editable (i.e. open-source ) paper dealing directly with a Compassionate Denver campaign or something else like it may be useful as a leave-behind as individuals are approached. Most people can read a.doc file However, the reality of the worldwide movement Karen Armstrong started with the Charter for Compassion can only be grasped by delving into the websites the Charter s and CANI s. There is literally an entry portal for everyone somewhere within them. Whether convinced by the endorsement of a culture hero, the breadth of the movement, the scientific research on compassion, resonance with personal convictions, or a sense that Denver must not be left behind in this better-world initiative, the possibilities excite the right people. Therefore it may be best to approach candidates for involvement in settings where Wifi allows onscreen sharing, or with links in s, or by Facebook likes of the Charter s page. Of course, all that online excitement must be linked to the possibility of a lively Compassionate Denver. SELECTED WEBOGRAPHY Individuals to whose attention this paper is directed can find links here that support the prospect of Compassionate Denver

4 The Charter for Compassion Charter TED Playlist Celebrity signers of the Charter Compassionate Action Network International (CANI) List of City Campaigns Compassionate Cities Portal Compassion in Business Slideshow Business Compassion Reader Creating Compassionate Schools and Education Organizations Slideshow and Portal Compassionate Education Reader Compassion in Healthcare Slideshow and Portal Healthcare Compassion Reader Peace and Non-violence Portal Peace and Non-violence Compassion Reader Religion and Spirituality Slideshow and Portal Religion and Spirituality Compassion Reader Step-by-Step Compassionate City Campaign Procedure Model Compassionate City Common Campaign Mistakes Compassion Learning Resources Wikipedia Article: Compassion Wikipedia Article: Empathy Wikipedia Article: Compassion

5 Wikipedia Article: Mirror Neuron Compassion Science Research Sites Greater Good YouTube Channel - Royal Society for the Arts RSA Animates (lots of fun!) For Book Lovers CANI s Annotated Bibliographies Karen Armstrong s 12 Steps to a Compassionate Life Armstrong/dp/ /ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid= &sr=8-3&keywords=karen+armstrong Amazon search results for Compassion 5,227 Amazon search results for Brain Compassion 219 For (Non)Trivia Lovers Amazon search results for Compassion about 41, 900,000 Brainyquote search results for Compassion 2,840