Our Blog

Benj and Jessica launched a nonprofit. Follow our journey as we built a 501(c)(3) and a web site, and now usher in an endless stream of worthy charity nominees and monthly grant winners!

Shortcuts: News | Winners | Nominees

July 2023 winner Food for Thought

Charitocracy OBX's 34th check to July winner Food for Thought for $1050

We have good news about July winner Food for Thought, right after this important update...

Charitocracy's Final Season: S8E7

In case you've missed my blog or social media posts, this is the seventh of Charitocracy's last 12 grants. We stopped taking new donations and cancelled all recurring donations in January. But we still have an exciting 2023 ahead because we'll be spending down our reserves. Each monthly pot will be bigger than the previous!

July 2023 winner Food for Thought

Yesterday we named Charitocracy OBX's 34th monthly winner! Congratulations to third-time winners Food for Thought. They reduce hunger and academic risk facing elementary children by providing healthy meals to build strong minds. You can find their website here.

Now take a moment to feel good about your part in our collective $1050 grant to help with their ongoing work!

Have a great August and be sure to log into Charitocracy OBX to update your votes or nominate a new cause!

Spotlight on nominee Outer Banks Repeater Association

nominee Outer Banks Repeater Association

Next in our series of posts about new Charitocracy OBX nominees, we have nominee Outer Banks Repeater Association, nominated by donor Griffinan. They provide communications in times of public need, including disasters and public utility outages. You can find their web site here.

A few words on Charitocracy

If you're late to the party, here's how it works. Donors pool their monthly contributions, as little as $1. The cause with the most votes each month wins the pot. No matter how much or how little you contribute, each donor at Charitocracy gets one vote. This is where charity meets democracy.

But as you may have heard, Charitocracy rides off into the sunset at the end of 2023. Regardless, keep voting each month. Our monthly grants will get bigger and bigger throughout the year!

About nominee Outer Banks Repeater Association

Read the recent article about OBRA in the Outer Banks Voice.

The purpose of this organization is to provide communications in the time of public need including disasters and failure of public service communications or telephone service; to encourage amateur readiness for emergencies; and to endeavor to maintain awareness by the public and by public officials of the capabilities of amateur radio.

Most of you know that the true inventor of Radio was Reginald Fessenden and not Guglielmo Marconi. No offense to Guglielmo Marconi because he made some extraordinary discoveries and got radio going. But Marconi used “spark” transmissions. Fessenden was a proponent of Continuous Wave transmissions. It is true that he proved his concept using a continuous spark transmission, but went on to develop the concept to what we now know as modern radio.

We also know that much of Fessenden’s work occurred on The Outer Banks at the same time the Wright Brothers were here and that they knew each other.

Our Editor in Chief for the OBRA Newsletter, Ken Daidone N2KJD, is a fan of Fessenden and has written a Fessenden White Paper.

So check out this slide presentation introducing Ham Radio and OBRA. Then please visit the page of nominee Outer Banks Repeater Association to vote for, like, or discuss this cause!

June 2023 winner Cross Roads OBX

Charitocracy OBX's 33rd check to June winner Cross Roads OBX for $1000

We have good news about June winner Cross Roads OBX, right after this important update...

Charitocracy's Final Season: S8E6

In case you've missed my blog or social media posts, this is the sixth of Charitocracy's last 12 grants. We stopped taking new donations and cancelled all recurring donations in January. But we still have an exciting 2023 ahead because we'll be spending down our reserves. Each monthly pot will be bigger than the previous!

June 2023 winner Cross Roads OBX

Yesterday we named Charitocracy OBX's 33rd monthly winner! Congratulations to Cross Roads OBX. They are a Christ-centered outreach offering discernment, guidance, and objective planning for those who wish to change their lives. You can find their website here.

Now check out this video explaining what Cross Roads OBX does and why they do it. Then take a moment to feel good about your part in our collective $1000 grant to help with their ongoing work!

Have a great July and be sure to log into Charitocracy OBX to update your votes or nominate a new cause!