Second Life is a world designed to be shaped by the ideas and imaginations of the many and varied people who call it their second home. However, in order to express your ideas or create and build the designs that you have rattling around in your head, most residents find that they need money, meaning that to an extent, you could be fooled into thinking that the world of SL is only really available to those fortunate enough to be able to afford to finance their own ideas coming to fruition, meaning the wealthy are the only ones able to afford providing content.

Fortunately, there are organisations in existence such as the Foundation for Rich Content (FFRC), a non for profit group set up by sl residents with the goal of “foster diversity and richness in content and events in Second Life”, acting as a kind of arts council within our virtual community, to aid the those who have ideas that would be beneficial, inspiring or entertaining to the residents of SL as a whole, but don’t have the funding to properly get their ideas off the ground. Founded by RyeDin Meiji, the group is largely run by committee, chaired by Persephone Phoenix, with others offering their services to the group, such as Gabe Lippmann working as Treasurer and Jamys Vuckovic as their archivist. To find out a little more about the fine work that they are carrying out, I met up with Persephone, to find out a little more about this collective and what they have been up to:


Voodoo: What was the inspiration behind the founding of the FFRC?
Persephone Phoenix: I am not able to speak for Rye, but the impetus began in the SL forums back in 2005 when Linden Labs cut funding for events. It was a hotly debated topic and I was one of the people voicing concern for events that might die off if they did not find a way to cover costs. Back then, mind you, funding was pretty small, but it might cover some of the costs of tier or prizes for contests, etc; a modest host fee. Anyway, in the midst of all the wet t-shirt contests and other content (content we suspected could be self-sustaining) there were community events, arts and culture events, and sporting events that a few people were rallying around. So there, on the SL Forums, the idea was tossed around about a funding foundation that was resident run that could help support content that enriches the lives of sl residents. And voila, the FFRC was born.

Voodoo: So, how many people are involved in running the Foundation itself?
Persephone Phoenix: Well it is an open group so the membership is pretty big, but on average we probably see between seven and fifteen people at meetings. We keep it an open group and keep our proceedings public (chatlogged publicly) so that we can obtain the highest degree of transparency possible in Second Life. As a group doing not for profit work, distributing public funds, it is important to us to operate in a transparent fashion. But in terms of people donating tier, or donating money or time on some level, we probably have at least 100 supporters.

Voodoo: Yes, on the subject of funds, you supply grants and funding for events and projects. Where does the money for this come from? Is it all individual donations?
Persephone Phoenix: Yes. Largely we get donations from individuals in second life, however we have sometimes gotten funding from organizations and have something in the works with a corporate presence in SL. In the past, we helped to distribute funds from the RL nonprofit City Stages as part of their awareness-building campaign. I am hoping that we'll be able to distribute a press release, soon, about our involvement in allocating a land grant for a corporate presence in SL. The press release is undergoing the approval process.

Voodoo: How do you decide which particular projects are worthy of funding, as obviously there is no shortage of ideas in SL?
Persephone Phoenix: Ah that's a great question. We meet once per month and four of those meetings per year will be meetings at which we evaluate applications for funding. Anyone is welcome to come and listen or offer opinions (though we try to stay on task as much as possible since there is much to be done at those meetings), but only members of the FFRC who have been members for longer than one month may vote. Voting must occur during meetings. People can proffer opinions via the email group if they won't be there, but to vote one must be present in avatar. Our proceedings are all public and can be found easily by googling SL Foundation For Rich Content. We also require that people don't vote on projects in which they have a vested interest, where there might be a conflict of interest.

Voodoo: I was just about to ask, has anyone ever tried to use the FFRC for their own personal gain, rather than the nature for which it is intended?
Persephone Phoenix: I don't think so, honestly. One thing that speaks well of an application is if the applicant has had a successful history of producing rich content.

Voodoo: How would you define "Rich Content"?
Persephone Phoenix: Ah, well this might well be defined a bit differently by each member. I can only answer for myself, but when I think of rich content, I think of something that brings fun into the lives of SL residents. I also think of things that deepen the experience of residents.

Voodoo: Do you have any personal favourites out of the projects that the FFRC has helped take place?
Persephone Phoenix: Oh several. I really loved the “Vaudeville in SL” project, for example, where we helped fund Osprey Thereian's project that actually produced vaudeville style acts for performances in SL and the “Learn to Sail” project, where we funded classes in the Hollywood Sim that taught people how to use sailboats in SL... I love the Crescent Moon Museum and am proud to have had the FFRC be part of its opening, We've funded many events and provided general funding to The Shelter, which helps so many new residents become acclimatized to SL and we also funded a project that is in the works by Phorkyad Acropolis to produce greek theatre in SL.

Voodoo: So finally, I guess I would ask, if someone wishes to get involved, or has an idea for a project, and would like funding, what should they do?
Persephone Phoenix: Awesome question. If someone wishes to get involved, all they need do is stop by our meeting which is at 1pm SL time on the first Saturday of the month. The group is free to join (search groups and sign up for it to get group notices and see proposals, etc.) If someone were to wish to donate (and each donation is a big help) he or she should donate to FFRC Accounting Control. And if a person or group thinks they have a project that adds to the lives of SL residents, they should grab an application (an updated one will be available soon via the googlegroups page and distributed also at our Sami (228,147) location and on SL Forums) and fill it out. A person could also say hello to me and I'd be happy to pass one along. The easiest way to get information on what the FFRC is doing is to join the group inworld or to join the google group.