While I agree with this to a point, it seems to me this empowers people to at least try to contribute. If even one of these projects leads to something useful,

While I agree with this to a point, it seems to me this empowers people to at least try to contribute. If even one of these projects leads to something useful, and a few others make people feel like they've helped out by putting their money towards something more useful than cable TV or McDonald's, that seems like an improvement.