Hey now, i have alwway been a huge fan of kiva.org the micro loan website for people in need of help all over the world. And recently i have discovered kickstarter.com which does a similiar thing, but only by focusing on discovering and funding projects in your area. why not take the extremly well-working idea of microaloans to the next level and apply it to art projects and other creative or interesting stuff that needs private funding – in order to keep its independence and thus originality.
big fan of ours on this side of the atlantic.