Evolver is on a Mission

Our Mission

Evolver's mission is to facilitate the emergence of a new planetary culture based on ecological values, sustainable principles, and conscious evolution. To do this, we create media and events that inform and inspire, develop social networks for envisioning and collaborating, bring people together to build community, and define and achieve tangible social objectives that are models for societal change.

Evolver is a mission-driven, socially responsible company dedicated to serving the transformational community. The company observes a "double bottom line," which means that it measures its success by both social and financial markers, which are equally important. 

The Team

The company has a paid, professional team of 3 full time and 3 part time editorial and administrative staff. It includes: 

• Daniel Pinchbeck, Editorial Director
• Ken Jordan, Publisher and Executive Producer
• Jonathan Phillips, Evolver.net Director
• Michael Robinson, Creative Director
• Jennifer Palmer, RS News Editor
• Steven Taylor, RS Managing Editor

All staff perform tasks for both Reality Sandwich and Evolver. In addition, we employ a team of web developers, led by Technical Director Dan Robinson, paid on an hourly basis. Our lead developer is Andy Laken. 

The Evolver team collaborates with and coordinates an extended network of incredible, dedicated volunteers, who participate in much of what we do, including: grassroots organizing, editorial tasks, media making, social network marketing, community facilitation, and event production. These volunteers are the heart of our community, and enable Evolver to have a wide impact even with limited financial resources.

The staff is based in New York City and rents a table at an office space in downtown Brooklyn where the team meets and coordinates interns.

Evolver Social Movement

Since Evolver began in January, 2007, we built Reality Sandwich into a web magazine that reaches 100,000 people each month, launched the Evolver.net social network, and established 30 Evolver Regional groups around the world that meet monthly at Evolver Spores. Evolver is at the center of an emerging movement of people around the world who understand that consciousness expansion is a necessary part of social change. We are now turning to the people who make up this movement for the support we need to keep going forward. 

We can maintain our current operations for $20,000 a month. That averages out to $10 monthly contributions from 2,000 people.

Here is a pie chart that shows where the money will go:

Initially, Evolver attempted to build core revenue streams from online advertising and premium content. Today, however, for all but the most popular websites, income from online advertising is minor. At the same time, popular standards for paying for online content have not emerged – and possibly never will. We tried a premium content program with Reality Sandwich Backstage, and while sales have been steady, they haven't been at the level necessary to support our operations. We'll be converting Backstage Passes into memberships in the Evolver Social Movement.

As we launch the Evolver Social Movement, we will turn to you for feedback and guidance about what Evolver should do next to build this movement, and serve our community. This will be an experiment in how a transparent, socially responsible company can get the support it needs from the people it serves, while offering most of its services for free. We hope you will be a part of it. 

Structure

By incorporating as a partnership – an LLC – rather than as a not-for-profit organization, Evolver has the flexibility to act quickly and in response to opportunity, without the legal constraints that come with not-for-profit status. Our aim is to build Evolver into a major voice on the public landscape, and in the process create a platform for the transformational community as it grows that will reverberate throughout society. As part of our commitment to socially responsible practices, we will apply for B Corporation certification. [LINK: the words "B Corporation certification" should link to http://www.bcorporation.net]

We are also committed to supporting efforts that strengthen the commons, contributing to collective resources that can be shared by the broader community. To that end, our websites are built with Drupal, which is open source software. And our online content is covered by a Creative Commons license.

Join Now

With your support, we can keep Reality Sandwich and Evolver.net fresh and vital. We will be able to increase the number of Evolver Regionals, likely doubling from 30 to 60 over the next year. We'll be able to launch the Evolver Exchange, where Evolvers can exchange goods and services. And we'll introduce an alternative currency and barter system into Evolver.net.

The movement has already started, and you're a part of it. Join E+SM today.