Paperwork versus real work

Yes, we have fun at Freedom Speakers International! So much fun that some people seem to be surprised to learn that we are an official organization requiring an actual budget, are accountable to our donors and sponsors, and must keep accurate records of our activities.

Freedom Speakers International (FSI) has been officially registered as a 501(c)3 tax-deductible organization with the IRS in the USA since mid-2017, and we have had similar status in South Korea since 2016 (tax deductions for individuals, not corporations).

And being an official organization means we spend a lot of time on paperwork instead of real work! In the photo, you can see the mountain of paperwork that FSI co-founder Eunkoo Lee and FSI accountant Sharon Jang have kept track of and had me sign today.

My role: being the rascal coming up with the projects and activities causing so much paperwork, then signing it all when they corner me.

* * *

Some people used to ask why we needed money because we had volunteers. I always knew that such people asking had never founded, managed or run an actual organization. I used to send such people the budget information of Volunteers of America ($30 million), but I have mellowed with age and no longer send that information. That was in our early days, I guess they never imagined that we might want to grow beyond being a volunteer organization.

* * *

If you are one of the people who called me today asking if you can volunteer right now, you may have gotten a bit of a sarcastic response. I told them: Hey, we aren't a fast-food joint where you can just order up the McVolunteer Set. We are an official organization that requires planning and documentation. I don't always answer like that, probably only 98% of the time when pop-up volunteers want to volunteer right now.

And for the people who wonder why we use so much paper, that is required by our partners and sponsor organizations, it isn't up to us.

www.lovetnkr.org/donate

https://fsi21.org/?zMeR5Cfu

Common Sense on North Korea (Korea Times, April 2, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. As interesting as Kookmin University professor Andrei Lankov’s writings are, there is nothing quite like attending one of his lectures. He can barely restrain himself behind the podium, often pointing and waving his arms. I also enjoy his unscripted speeches, but his answers in Q&A sessions are like the difference between watching Michael Jordan shoot baskets in warm-ups and an actual game. I have finally discovered the secret behind Lankov’s consistently solid analysis about North Korea: Use common sense. At an Asan Institute conference last summer, he argued that North Korea watchers should try to understand North Korea from its perspective. Don’t most people know that you must understand the mindset of others you are dealing with? Yet, common sense in theory gets ignored politically. From the North Korean perspective, nuclear weapons are the best thing they’ve got going. They will NOT give them up easily, even if President Obama ...

Park Jin welcoming remarks to FSI (and Casey Lartigue)

National Assembly member Park Jin makes the welcoming remarks at FSI's conference featuring North Korean diplomats. Park Jin | Greeting message to FSI and Casey Lartigue mention - YouTube

Freedom Factory Shareholder Meeting (2015-01-31)

Re: Building something out of nothing Freedom Factory is a very small company, of which I am a shareholder. Yesterday we had our annual shareholder meeting. Freedom Factory is allowing us to "incubate" TNKR until we can stand on our two own feet--or at least crawl on our four hands and feet. (Consumer Rights Watch is in the same position). I owe special thanks to FF CEO 김정호. He is a "true believer" in the cause of freedom, so he is allowing both projects to grow out of FF. That's even though Freedom Factory is a small start up with the CEO, staff and supporters wondering how we are going to achieve our dreams with such a tight budget. So when I say I am so thankful to the volunteers and donors of TNKR, it isn't just lip service. Volunteers--along with Freedom Factory, the Atlas Network, donors--are helping us to create something out of nothing, helping North Korean refugees find their own way and tell their own stories. Like the FF CEO, I also don...

2018-09-28 Not everyone at KFC cooks chickens

Most of the people who contact us at TNKR naturally want to tutor North Korean refugees. Many potential volunteers are shocked shocked shock ed to learn that they can volunteer with TNKR in other ways. I tell many of them: "Not everyone at KFC cooks chickens. There are also delivery people, accountants, marketers, personnel, and a host of other positions." Earlier this year, we began developing the TNKR Volunteer Leadership Academy. I'm still waiting for someone to take over that little project. Until then, I will continue with developing it. And be developing it, I mean telling people, "Don't write me a long business plan about what you would like to do. Just start doing it, keep me updated and in the conversations, then let's talk and update." We have had a recent influx of volunteers who want to help TNKR in other ways. Jackie Cole is now running our Instagram. She constantly surprises me with the flyers and videos she posts. I made it clear from the ...

"self-hating blacks"

Harry Alford of the National Black Chamber of Commerce : "While there are some great Black Republicans such as General Collin Powell and Lt. Gov. Michael Steele they are vastly outnumbered by the celebrated self-hating Blacks like Thomas Sowell, Clarence Thomas, and Shelby Steele. Good solid thinking progressive capitalists (with the general philosophy of the Republican Party) who happen to be Black find themselves isolated and on the defense."

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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