Friday, July 18, 2008

Dream Like a Canadian

Canadians have been the brunt of many an American joke, many of which (I confess) I've found rather funny. Still, Canada is looking better every day.* They've got that universal health care thing going on (which, for the record, I don't support adopting in the U.S.), they've had a balanced national budget for something like 11 straight years (something I do support adopting in the U.S.), their literacy rate is close to 99%, and, believe it or not, their dollar is actually worth slightly more than ours now. Surely, the end of all things is near.

Anyway, I'm writing about Canada because I just discovered DreamBank, an upstart company that aims to help people fund their dreams by posting them online and inviting friends and family to contribute toward their realization. So, instead of buying people you love stuff they don't want or need, you can donate money to help them fulfil a dream. Isn't that a neat alternative to traditional gift-giving? Plus, it's eco-friendly and helps support charities.

Still, it's strictly Canadian. So, until DreamBank comes to the U.S., you can help me fulfil my dreams of paying off all our student loan debt and traveling the world by simply sending cash or personal checks to my home mailing address. I also accept PayPal. Thanks for your support!

*I really don't know much about Canada and can't substantiate any of my claims about that country. Except for the strength of their dollar vs. the U.S. dollar — I looked that up.

EDIT: Check out the comments on this post for some enlightening info from some of DreamBank's own people. Turns out it's NOT strictly Canadian. Go ahead and start dreaming, America! (Please continue sending me money.)

5 comments:

Unknown said...

NOT strictly Canadian at all! come and post - One and all! www.DreamBank.org. Pay off that student loan!

Unknown said...

Hi Michael,

Thanks so much for this post. We're very glad to be live and given we have barely started letting people know about us, we are very thrilled with initial response.

Lindsay is right, DreamBank is not just for Canadians at all. You can be pretty much anywhere and be a Dreamer or a Contributor. ( there are a number of American's dreaming already).

I know the Canadian currency collection throws people off a little. I can see why it appears Canadian but really it's just the currency you collect and contribute in, for sake of making the things consistent.

Incidentally the Canadian dollar is pretty much on par with US these days so the numbers will look almost the same but to make sure everyone is collecting and contributing the appropriate amounts from wherever they are, there is a currency converter in the relevant places on the site.

It's the same cost for you to use DreamBAnk.org in the US as it is in Canada. When you go to "cash in" and receive your Dream funds, they will be transferred into your USD PayPal account(in USD). If you are in Canada they will appear in Canadian funds. There are some slightly different costs for other countries but they are clearly described on the site here: http://dreambank.org/about_us.php?page=13

FYI. This is just for these early days. We will be adding US dollar currency collection later this summer and then roll out other currencies based on where the bulk of our Dreamers are.

I hope that clarifies things.

Get dreaming America:-) There is nothing stopping you!

Heathe said...

Haha. The DreamBank people schooled you.

Michael Colletto said...

Thanks for clarifying! I wish you and your company success. You're doing a good thing.

Unknown said...

Thanks Michael. It's really appreciated. We're having fun too!

Also it helps a lot for us to have these opportunities to clarify how it all works etc. so thanks for giving us the space:-)