[turbonh]

Two inspired individuals here in New Hampshire are starting a new educational venture, the Informal University. The idea of it is to bring people together locally who want to learn with people who want to teach, and provide a setting, while avoiding all of the trappings of formal education which serve to raise cost and barriers to entry.

I have been able to volunteer a small amount of time to help them launch a very basic website (www.informalu.org). You can see from the website that they have put a lot of effort into recruiting people who are willing to share their knowledge on a wide variety of interesting topics. But you can also see that a lot of work needs to be done to present and convey their ideas and goals. They are a non-profit and as a matter of principle refuse to accept any taxpayer funding, so they are relying entirely on private volunteer efforts and contributions for startup.

If I were to receive a free ticket for the Business of Software 2010 conference, I would pay it forward by volunteering at least 3 full days of my time to work with Kirk and Kevin to develop a top-notch website for the Informal University.

I hate to make whiny-sounding excuses as to why I can't afford the conference, but since you asked, I'm a relatively young (27 y.o.) self-employed entrepreneur and at this time my budget just can't be stretched far enough to allow for it.

Thanks for your consideration, -F.H. [e-mail]