#1/25 on Elon Musk's fundraising campaign, Gesche Joost, and questionable prices

Dear Readers,

Black Friday is behind us. Two-thirds of Germans use it and mostly spend between €200 and €400. “People who are interested in the discount campaign spend an average of seven hours searching for and buying deals,” says Bitkom.

In 2012, Giving Tuesday was invented in New York to place giving alongside consumption. In the US, thirty million people give over three billion dollars on this day. In recent years, it has also spilled over to Germany. This year it falls on December 3, which is tomorrow!

Yes, you could also donate on any other day. But Black Friday shows how strong the impression of what everyone else is doing is. Participating in Giving Tuesday helps to make giving more of a matter of course - and that is urgently needed, after fewer than half of Germans donated in 2023 for the first time.

Sincerely, Felix

A number that sticks in the mind: $1 million.

That is how much money Elon Musk raffled off every day in a lottery among voters in swing states who signed a petition that indirectly supported Donald Trump. The billionaire gave a total of $75 million for the election victory - and has now announced that he will cut the US budget by a third in his new advisory role. And Musk is just one of more billionaires than ever before who have received official government posts.

I can understand very well that there is a growing concern that rich people are buying influence over democracy. However, the situation in Germany is still completely different. Neither individual donors nor foundations in Germany have anything close to the means to influence politics in this way. But what is happening in the US should be a warning.

A person who inspires me: Gesche Joost

Even before the collapse of the traffic light coalition, there were cuts in state funding in many areas. Now the situation is dramatic for many non-profit organizations with a high level of dependence on the state, especially in culture and democracy promotion.

One person who is taking over one of the organizations affected in a time of great need is Gesche Joost. The Berlin design professor is now president of the Goethe-Institut and must ensure that it changes while at the same time mobilizing new funding from society. I am sure she can do it - because Gesche is one of the most inspiring people I know. And in a memorable conversation in 2020, she convinced me to take the idea seriously that then became bcause. The picture dates from that time.

An idea to think further: Questionable awards

Last week, the German Sustainability Award was presented. And this time the criticism escalated: Over 100 award winners who have to pay for tickets and usage rights, ministries that are falsely named as partners, and a show that primarily benefits the organizer. Several award winners, including Weleda, declined the award this year.

I hope the prize learns from this, because sustainability needs the spotlight. But the problem is everywhere: Several times a year I receive a message that I have won some award for which I am then expected to pay. These are marketing campaigns that are simply confusing. But all other awards should also ask themselves the following test question, I think: Does the award benefit the organizers and sponsors more than the winners, do administration and the gala cost more than the prize money?

Awards favor simple models, and they can reward past performance. But the many startups and organizations that invest their time to get ahead with it in the beginning are better advised to use this time to talk to investors and supporters - who are usually more interested in the future of an idea than in its public relations effectiveness.