I was very glad that the Foundation decided to extend the fundraiser. I think adding projects outside of the lengthy, formulaic, overly-committee laden, but necessary in part FDC funding process and getting a head start on the endowment is essential for retaining the soul of the Foundation's traditional agility and creativity. Sure, it made a liar out of Jimmy and other officials this year, and they should be commended by those of us who think the effective non-sacrifice to their reputations is worth it.
Accordingly, I propose the following $2.5 million-range projects for further extension of this year's fundraiser:
1. A study of systemic bias in economics articles on the English Wikipedia;
2. An extension of the (in the interest of full disclosure: my student and my) Accuracy Review of Wikipedias Google Summer of Code Project into a general computer-aided educational system including authentic intelligibility remediation of spoken language skills, as proposed at https://goo.gl/WGUIFa
3. A study of the top five endowment-grade mutual funds available for general Foundation investments, their prospects, and opportunities for divestments and strategic investments consistent with the Mission broadly construed.
4. A study of the social implications of copyright law and regulation changes in relation to the Foundation's Mission for the Public Policy group.
That's about $10 million. What other ideas are there?
Best regards, Jim