About WFFOur goal is to help change the direction of world history. We certainly don't claim to be able to do this alone. However, we do see ourselves as a catalyst for positive change. Our planet is a world out of balance. We are borrowing from the future at a pace unprecedented in history. There needs to be a giant change in direction. We need to start building for a real future. This is our goal. It is a realistic goal. Our planet has the technology. What we need is a political commitment to victory. Today's environmental trends have no future. There is a very simple choice. People will implement reforms or nature will do the job for them.It is very important to understand that most of the major reforms cannot be implemented on an individual or local basis. These reforms require a centralization of government power and international cooperation. In other words reform is a matter of politics and political philosophy. This is why we have spent a great deal of time studying history and political philosophy. We have learned that democracy does not rule by divine right but by the assumption of civil responsibilities by those who vote. Today, there is no greater civil responsibility than the transformation of today's world economic order to a system that is compatible with the hard realities of nature. Democracy failed and committed suicide in ancient Greece and Rome. That will happen here if reform does not come. Time remains the same. History remains the same. Nature's laws remain the same. Nature's laws apply to all nations and all political systems. Nature has existed for billions of years. People have only been here for 40,000 years. Nature's laws are remorseless. They cannot be changed by human political systems.World Future FundWFF_091fa9b2-ad1d-11eb-ab4c-2d141d83ea00World Future Fund is an international research institute founded in 1995... The World Future Fund is certified by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit corporation. All contributions are tax deductible. World Future Fund Management TeamThe World Future Fund is run by a professional management team with many years experience in the non-profit world. It is backed up by a global network of expert consultants with critical foreign language and research skills.Alexander BruenPRESIDENT ~ Alexander Bruen is the founder of the World Future Fund. Born in 1952 he has spent his entire life working in the non-profit world, serving as an executive and a consultant for some of America’s largest non-profit organizations. A key aspect of his career has been a commitment to try to create bipartisan coalitions bringing together people of different points of view to support needed projects. * NATIONAL SECURITY. Mr. Bruen has served as Newsletter Editor and Library Director of the American Security Council, which created the Coalition for Peace through Strength, whose official Principles of Peace through Strength were formally endorsed by a majority of both Houses of Congress and the President of the United States. Among other activities he compiled each year the global military balance figures from official sources that were distributed to top leaders and printed up for distribution all over the country. The ASC Library, which he directed, was one of the largest national security libraries in the nation. In 1989 the policy of Peace through Strength helped to produce one of the major turning points in world history when the Berlin Wall opened. On December 25, 1991 the Soviet Union ceased to exist. The work of the ASC has been endorsed by five U.S. Presidents. For his work at the ASC the Administrative Director stated that “I regard Al Bruen as one of the most capable professionals I have ever met. He displayed management qualities of the highest order and functions very well as part of a company team. Al Bruen is worthy of my highest recommendation”. In the 1980’s he submitted a detailed research report he wrote on Soviet cheating on international agreements to the White House. The Chairman of the National Security Council for the President of the United States stated that Mr. Bruen's report “will indeed be helpful in formulating and implementing policy decisions." * U.S. INNER CITY POVERTY. Mr. Bruen has a deep interest in issues of poverty and development, having grown up living right next door to Harlem in New York City. He has served as a consultant to World Vision, America’s largest privately funded international relief and development organization, helping them develop a strategy for dealing with U.S. inner city problems. For his work at World Vision, the director of its U.S. anti-poverty division stated that “For organizations needing advice on communications, fund raising and general management consulting, I would give Al Bruen the highest recommendation.” * GLOBAL RELIGIOUS UNDERSTANDING AND COOPERATION. He has read all the major holy books of the world’s religions and is very interested in seeing how religions can work together for needed goals. He served as a founding board member of the World Communications Institute, which created Religion Report, America’s leading professional newsletter on religion until it ceased publication in 1992. The founder of World Communications Institute and one of the world’s top religion journalists stated that “Rarely have I met someone as knowledgeable and perceptive about world events as Al Bruen. He is especially gifted at identifying key trends within a vast array of information and data.” At the World Future Fund he has supervised grants to groups working in Sudan and Kashmir to try to bring an end to violence among religious factions. * THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS. In the 1990’s Mr. Bruen became increasingly concerned about both the deteriorating global environmental situation and the failure of world leaders to work together to build a sustainable future. It reminded him of the declining military balance between America and Russia in the 1970’s, where official Washington simply was not adequately responding to very clear trends that could be carefully documented. He wrote the five year anniversary cover story for Washington’s D.C.’s Green Calendar, Washington’s leading environmental monthly, concerning a very dangerous bill in Congress that would have severely damaged environmental regulation. In spite of huge odds against success, the forces of reform were victorious in giving this disastrous bill a well-deserved and permanent defeat. In that same year, 1995, he founded the World Future Fund. This web site details the record of achievement here. * MUSIC, FILM AND THE ARTS. Mr. Bruen is very interested in the arts and was an investor in a local rock D.C. music publication. He has a collection of art books that covers almost every major picture in the history of art as well as key works of architecture and sculpture. He is an avid photographer and has sought to integrate the arts into a perspective for global reform. * COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER WORK. He has also been very active on a volunteer basis in his community, being elected to serve as Vice President of a local homeowners association and working closely with local police departments to fight crime. He has a letter of thanks from the Chief of Police of Washington D.C.’s Metro System for his work on fighting crime.Ruby BollwahnVICE PRESIDENT ~ Ruby Bollwahn has been part of the World Future Fund since 2005. As Vice President, she is responsible for organizing and supervising administrative activities, managing and delegating work to employees and monitoring the organization's finances. She attends meetings on behalf of the President if he is not available and is the designated successor to the President. Since joining World Future Fund, Ruby has participated in many important projects over the years. One of her greatest achievements was her help in expanding our network here in Washington D.C. area and internationally, particularly using the tools of social networking on the internet. She has made a particular point of reacing out to the artistic community here and abroad. She supervised a major reorganization of one our organization's crown jewels, the World Future Fund Library. She helped set up our Signs of the Times program to keep our readers aware of key news events relating to future trends. Prior to joining the World Future Fund, Ruby had an extensive career in radio broadcasting, working as a producer and announcer with a major local radio station in the Washington D.C. area. As a result of her background in broadcasting, she came to her job with a good understanding of professional recording hardware and software. She has helped build up our in house capability to produce lectures and videos for our web site. She helped launch our World Future Fund You Tube site and has done a great job in studying You Tube to see all the ways by which we can use this medium, including as means of networking with other concerned organizations and people. She has also helped us set up an in house capability in professional photography.. Outside of work Ruby is very interested in art and music. She enjoys attending rock concerts and playing the guitar as a hobby. Her musical tastes include metal, hard rock, and classic rock. Aside from music, Ruby loves nature and has a huge interest in conservation of the environment.Jessica JohnsonVICE PRESIDENT ~ Jessica Johnson helps to coordinate a global communications strategy for World Future Fund. She researches and writes many key articles for our site. She has been here since 2012. In today's global digital world many forms of content are coming together online. Here at the World Future Fund, we are increasing the use of audio and video on our web site and integrating it into what we have online in terms of written reports. Jessica monitors other major organizations and keeps up to date with social networking by monitoring key groups, individuals and trends via Facebook. Part of her presence on Facebook is involved in networking with groups and individuals locally and abroad. A key interest in this department is building a network in Norway, Germany and Ireland. She also has professional video and audio editing skills. She has developed web content that helps show other people on the web how they can showcase their abilities with affordable media technology. This task also involves monitoring the current state of technology and pulling together the different aspects of online media networking. In particular, this can involve showing an activist how to spread their message via the multimedia experience. Prior to joining the World Future Fund,, she built up communications experience from researching local religious groups in the area as well as with her experience teaching English as a Second Language to adults. Specifically, she did work with local Pagan groups in the Northern Virginia area as part of her Ethnography work as an undergraduate student at George Mason University. She also worked with the media and technology at the University of Central Florida Library. In particular, Jessica is interested in the anthropological roots of world cultures and how the lessons of ancient history relate to today's geopolitical situation. Jessica also enjoys attending musical concerts in the local area, looking at art, reading novels, exploring nature, and rocking out on guitar. She currently plays on a Jackson and has been playing for about ten years now. She enjoys learning about how to play different styles of music, such as metal, classical guitar, blues and blue grass. Jessica is inspired by art, music and nature and how these things have been explored in the various cultures around the world.World Future Fund LibraryWORLD FUTURE FUND LIBRARY | A FOUNDATION OF RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS ~ A key part of the organization is the World Future Fund Library. This contains books on history from all over the world. It also receives key newspapers and magazines. Via cable TV it monitors news and educational programs. All this is connected to the use of the Internet and various online services for research and educational purposes.United States of AmericaGEOGRAPHIC FOCUS OF WFF ACTIVITIES ~ Our primary focus is the United States of America. America is the number one world power, with a level of global dominance without parallel in history. Our indicators focus on American government actions. Beyond America we are concentrating on four other key areas of the world, the European Union, China, Japan and India. This enables us to focus on five major governments: USA, the EU, Japan, China and India. Ultimately, however, we intend to expand our coverage to other areas of the world.European UnionChinaJapanIndiaPeople and leaders are educated about the problems we face_091faade-ad1d-11eb-ab4c-2d141d83ea00To help change the direction of world history and start building for a real future_091fabd8-ad1d-11eb-ab4c-2d141d83ea00CentralizationGovernment PowerInternational CooperationPoliticsPhilosophyDemocracyCivil ResponsibilityChangeWe stand at a turning point in the tiny time period (40,000 years) that we have been on this planet. Nature's billions of years stretch out behind us and before us. Huge changes are coming to our planet with or without the cooperation of our leaders. It is our belief that change would be best if it took place in an orderly, nonviolent manner. We can change direction. There is still time but time is short. Unfortunately, we believe we have already passed the tipping point on many issues so there is likely to be a large number of fatalities no matter what happens. Some of our leaders have thought that they would be able to serve out their terms and enjoy the benefits of power before the coming storms arrive. Others have egotistical delusions about building a fairy tale future which will never take place. These people are going to learn some very hard lessons. Good things are happening. The Paris Climate Accord is not at all adequate but it is clearly a step in the right global direction. Bad things are also happening. The US Republican Party refuses to recognize basic principles of science and is a threat to the planet due to its control of the Presidency and Congress. Meanwhile, Obama's decision to start a new Cold War with Russia has helped spark a global arms race and a dangerous escalation of tensions that could lead to a nuclear war. Time is running out. People should work for non violent, peaceful change today. Tomorrow, nature will impose changes on them whether they want to cooperate or not.ExperiencePROFESSIONAL BUSINESS STRUCTURE AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY ~ The nonprofit world demands professional experience as well as good intentions. We have hired major firms of the highest professional standing for legal, accounting and investment services. We try to follow the most strict principles of law and accounting so that our contributors can know that their money is being well spent. This costs time and money but we believe it is the cornerstone of building a strong base for future growth.AccountabilityCommunicationsThe World Future Fund is designed from the ground up to expand in the modern world internet communications. Today's World Future Fund is to be like an acorn. Inside the small acorn is the genetic blueprint for a giant oak tree.GrowthThe World Future Fund pays close attention to the day to day realities of conducting business. However, it also follows a plan for growth on a quantum scale. This growth is to take place in the context of a networked world. The World Future Fund, by influencing and educating other people and organization, can multiply its power thousands of times. It is very important now that the World Future Fund raise the financial capital for expansion. People can donate appreciated stock to get valuable tax deductions. We are looking for large individual contributions to build up a base for expansion. Those interested in helping should contact us.EducationEducate people and leaders to make needed reforms_091facc8-ad1d-11eb-ab4c-2d141d83ea00Our job is to educate people and leaders to make the needed reforms. It is also our job to warn those in power of the consequences of failure... Every age in history has a theme. Ours is debt. The whole structure of the modern economy is an environmental debt against the future. In the last 30 years environmental debts have been compounded by growing financial debts. Debt is like a drug. It creates a false sense of security by pushing problems into the future. The problem is that the global future is refusing to stay in the future. It is turning into today. The World Future Fund web site has more than 3,000 pages and many more links. Many of our pages have hit number one positions in the world's leading internet search engines. Our web site contains much high quality documentary material that cannot be found anyplace else. Our work is organized in four programs: The Global Future Watch Indicators Project, The Global Education Project About Religion, Philosophy and History, The Global Totalitarian Research Project, and The Global Media and Popular Culture Project.Policies & OutlooksExplore the relationship between the world's policies and global ethical world outlooks in terms of religion and philosophy_091fadf4-ad1d-11eb-ab4c-2d141d83ea001GLOBAL POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY, CULTURE AND RELIGION PROJECTS ~ The destruction of the biological foundations of life on this planet is not just a physical problem. It is a moral problem. This is why we need to explore the relationship between the physical dimensions of the world's current self destructive policies and global ethical world outlooks in terms of religion and philosophy. Global reform cannot take place in a vacuum. The seriousness of the current crisis mandates an awareness of common values in world religions and philosophies if a political critical mass is to be reached that will be able to reverse current global policies. All the great philosophers and world religions demand a level of self sacrifice for future generations. There are differences in world religions. These are serious. However, current global environmental policies are a complete contradiction of any kind of ethical vision. We believe in using the power of the internet to bring vital documentary material to the reader's attention. We are have already posted reading lists on global religion, philosophy and political theory on the WFF web site. We also placing key works philosophy and history on the web site and linking to others. In this way, the WFF web site can serve as a true virtual university. A person will not have to go to a library and spend hours searching for books. The poorest person can get educated if they can get internet access. Eventually, these reading lists could be expanded to be a basis for college courses on world religion and political theory. A key part of the reading list on political philosophy will educate people about the importance of the centralized power of the national state as the key instrument for reform. Global environmental problems cannot be solved without a centralization of state power. There are few things more dangerous than the current efforts to attack the centralization of power in our world. Man is not an island. He is not an isolated individual. Man exists in the context of community. The term "community" in today's world needs to be understood as the planet. A case study of what it should not be limited to is the "local" community. "Community" means participation in the affairs of the national state. It is through the power of the national state that global political power can be created that will be strong enough to deal with today's global problems. Here are our key programs:Religion & PhilosophyStudy history from a global point of view_091faf5c-ad1d-11eb-ab4c-2d141d83ea001.1OUR GLOBAL EDUCATION PROJECT ON POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION | LOOKING BEYOND A "WEST IS BEST" VIEW OF HISTORY ~ The major problems of today's world require international cooperation. Pollution from China ends up in America. The "lungs of the planet", the world's rain forests, are almost exclusively in Third World nations. Without international understanding and cooperation there is no hope. The key question is how that understanding is reached. We believe that a precondition of international understanding is education. People need to learn about other cultures. This is why we have translation sites listed on our web. This is why we have launched this project. This is why we feel that the study of history from a global point of view is vital. TotalitarianismAnalyze political trends that may emerge in the future_091fb100-ad1d-11eb-ab4c-2d141d83ea001.2GLOBAL TOTALITARIANISM RESEARCH PROJECT ~ The deepening global environmental crisis is going to have serious political implications. At the moment we living in a state of political paralysis. The data shows a continuing downtrend in just about every area. However, we have political structures that seem unable to reform themselves. A key point of our indicators project to try to get people to work for nonviolent, peaceful change so that democratic reform can take place. However, the magnitude of the problems and the dismal performance of the present political order make it only prudent to look at what will happen if things do not turn around. We need to understand the political forces that are likely to come to power. The term totalitarianism was invented by Mussolini but the philosophy it represents is actually thousands of years old. Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it. Unlike any other study that we know of, our study looks back into ancient history in the east and the west to analyze political trends that may emerge in the future. Media & CultureStudying global pop culture and the use of art in politics_091fb29a-ad1d-11eb-ab4c-2d141d83ea001.3GLOBAL MEDIA AND POPULAR CULTURE PROJECT ~ It has been said that the indirect message can sometimes be far more powerful than the direct message. Film, art and music can influence the subconscious part of the mind. This is why are studying both global pop culture and the use of art in politics. We have created detailed links to the media around the world. Via our site you can see waht is on the air in Tokyo or New Dehli. A particular concern of ours is to show low income people how to get started in the music business using the power of computers via our WFF Home Recording Guide. We also plan to communicate with key people in the media and entertainment industries worldwide to see how positive messages can be placed into artistic projects. Less-Developed WorldEducate people of the less-developed world_091fb3d0-ad1d-11eb-ab4c-2d141d83ea001.4Less-Developed WorldEDUCATION FOR THE DEVELOPING WORLD ~ We are very committed to the idea of the internet as a means of education for the people of the less-developed world. We deliberately do not use frames on our web and keep graphics to a minimum so that people in the developing world who do not have the money for high speed internet access will be able to read our site. Our pages are coded to be readable on most mobile phones. This is particularly important since the speed of access slows down as viewers get farther away or are in countries that do not have modern telecommunications networks. Via the internet the world's poor will be able to get access to libraries that they could not hope to reach otherwise.UniversityServe as a virtual university_091fb556-ad1d-11eb-ab4c-2d141d83ea002THE WORLD FUTURE FUND AS A VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY CREATING MODEL COURSES ~ The Internet will enable the World Future Fund to serve as a virtual university. It could create model courses that any visitor to the web site could take. These courses could also serve as models for university courses. Our current reading and links lists are designed from the ground up to be a basis for this.Information & GuidanceProvide a clearing house for information and a guide to scholars_091fb66e-ad1d-11eb-ab4c-2d141d83ea003ScholarsSCHOLARS NETWORK ~ Our web is designed to be a clearing house for information and a guide to scholars who wish to study various fields. We want to guide people to original source material and encourage the study of matters that are not getting adequate attention. Our reading lists are a starting point in this area. We do not make grants to individuals. However, we do have a program to hire scholars on a consultant basis. We can also make grants to universities for use by a specific scholar.GrantsProvide grants to other non-profits_091fb790-ad1d-11eb-ab4c-2d141d83ea004Non-profitsThird WorldGRANTS PROGRAM ~ On a selective basis we do provide grants to other non-profits in areas where we feel we can use a grant to influence another non-profit to take action that we might not. There are few things more foolish that having nonprofit organizations duplicate each others' work. In some cases we feel it is better for us to make grants to other organizations than to take action ourselves. We are particularly interesting in funding organizations in the Third World. We have already made a number or grants in the field of inter-religious dialogue trying to encourage real communications and nonviolent solutions to serious conflictsInvestmentEducate nonprofits about need for more investment in the future and how this relates to them_091fb8bc-ad1d-11eb-ab4c-2d141d83ea005EDUCATING OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS ~ In coordination with plans to help educate and distribute relevant information via the media, the WFF will also seek to assist other public interest 501 c 3 organizations in understanding the need for more investment in the future and how this relates to them. Again, the web site will be used. Efforts to share information and avoid duplication of work will be explored in a careful manner2021-05-04http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffdescription.htmOwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net