Welcome to “The Wonderful Era of Artificial Intelligence.” If you’re like me, wanting to keep AI at arm’s length because we love eye contact and body language, well, to put it in New York City parlance, “Fuhgeddaboudit.”
You and I are not unlike Mark Twain, watching the Paige Compositor drive him into bankruptcy. Just when we think we are living in the information age, along comes a polymorphic chip to make us look dumb as clams, and not clams at high tide, but clams at low tide. “Look how small my scull has become!”
I can remember how smart I felt when I became the last person in the room to get my head around iambic pentameter. Now with AI I can rewrite the Constitution in iambic pentameter, and have it sung to me in Barbra Streisand’s voice.
And too, I’m sure you’ve heard about the sorrowful crime where a bad AI actor appealed to a grandmother for a little money for charity, and did it over the phone in the voice of her granddaughter. Yes, that grandmother is feeling mighty sick today, and not wanting much to do with AI.
The Encyclopedia Britannica was a noble advancement, and the internet was another evolution in our intellectual development, but our transition from the internet era to the AI era is going to amount to a monumental sea change for all of us humans and humanoids. In fact, we are at a species-level inflection point, where it’s goodbye binary – hello poly, and human artistry can take a rest.
This transition can be most helpful in solving problems like climate change but can also be devastating if hijacked by bad dudes, and there are more than a few smart dudes out there wrapped in identity tribes and bound by shared grievances who are capable of weaponizing AI in its most fearful forms.
And too, soon enough, AI will be able to train itself at lightning speed, and when AI learns how to see, well, we had all better start looking for a place to hide, and even that will be a daunting challenge…
AI can help us bind healthy interdependencies and help us to see our world as the small planet it is, in desperate need of constant care and stewardship. This 21st century is fast becoming an age in which we must collaborate universally in order to preserve our social fabric, and perhaps, preserve our very survival.
If AI enables us to see ourselves as one, that will justify its existence to be sure. But we should start tapping the brakes today to avoid unleashing a flood of catastrophic AI tsunamis tomorrow. I have faith in the talented technicians advancing artificial general intelligence, or A.G.I., the machine that can do anything the human brain can do. but as we say in Nevada, “Cut the cards.”
We will survive AI when (if) we learn to sing along rather than sing alone. So let us continue to remind each other that the clock we are watching while harnessing AI’s autonomous capabilities, is ticking…
Giving Tuesday: Supporting the Nonprofits That Strengthen Incline Village & Crystal Bay
December 1, 2025 | Kristin Derrin
Celebrating community generosity with IVCBA Member Nonprofits
Giving Tuesday is a powerful reminder of the generosity that defines Incline Village and Crystal Bay. Nearly all of our local nonprofits are proud members of IVCBA, working every day to strengthen our community. As you consider where to give this season, remember that the Tahoe Community Foundation serves as a central hub for nonprofit resources and philanthropy across Incline Village and the greater Tahoe Basin, making it easy to support the causes you care about most.
Below are just a few of the many IVCBA member nonprofits participating in Giving Tuesday this year. For a complete list of local nonprofit organizations serving our community, visit the IVCBA Community Resource Page, non-profit section: https://ivcba.org/resources/community-resources/ or visit the Tahoe Community Foundation for the complete list around the Basin.
Giving Tuesday Opportunities From IVCBA Member Nonprofits
Food Bank of Northern Nevada — Triple Match Opportunity
This Giving Tuesday, your generosity can go three times as far. Thanks to Dermody’s 2025 Thanksgiving Capstone Award, every gift to the Food Bank of Northern Nevada is tripled. Each dollar helps provide nine meals for children experiencing food insecurity, at a time when many families are feeling the strain of keeping dinner plates full, especially during a season symbolizing warmth, care, and community. Give here: https://fbnn.org/
Lake Tahoe School — Winter Market and Nonprofit Showcase
Lake Tahoe School proudly kicks off the giving season with its annual Winter Market celebration on Giving Tuesday. This festive initiative launches Raffle Ticket Sales and the Silent Auction, culminating in the public Winter Market event on Tuesday, December 5. This year’s Winter Market website will also feature a dedicated section spotlighting local nonprofit partners, amplifying the spirit of giving across the community. Learn more or give: https://www.laketahoeschool.org/
AAUW Tahoe/Nevada — Matching Challenge for Women and Girls
AAUW Tahoe/Nevada supports the advancement of women and girls through scholarships, grants, and volunteer service. In honor of Giving Tuesday, four AAUW members are matching donations up to $10,000, doubling the impact of every contribution. Your support fuels educational, leadership, and career-building opportunities for local women and girls. Donate: https://tahoe-nv.aauw.net/donate/
Tahoe Family Solutions – Strengthening Local Families
Tahoe Family Solutions provides essential resources, mental health services, and youth programs to ensure every child, individual, and family has the opportunity to thrive. As a Family Resource Center, TFS offers most services at little to no cost. Since 2021, emergency support needs have risen 261 percent, and in 2025, TFS is on track to provide more than $40,000 in rental and emergency assistance to stabilize families and preserve housing security. Please consider supporting TFS this Giving Tuesday—your contribution directly supports neighbors in need. Give Here: https://tahoefamily.org/donate-today/
Diamond Peak Ski Team (Ski Education Foundation)
This Giving Tuesday, the Diamond Peak Ski Education Foundation invites the community to invest in opportunity. Donations support the Steiner Scholarship Program, ensuring that young athletes, regardless of financial circumstance, can pursue competitive snowsports and develop resilience, confidence, and leadership. A contribution of any size makes a difference. A gift of $3,000 sponsors a full season for one athlete in need. Give here: https://dpst.regfox.com/donate
Wildwood Open Land Foundation
Wildwood Open Land Foundation is committed to preserving the natural and cultural resources of the Tahoe Basin. As a 100 percent volunteer organization, Wildwood relies entirely on community generosity to protect open spaces, support ecological stability, and provide education around local land conservation. You can support in three ways: donate, become a member, or volunteer. Learn more: https://www.wildwoodopenlands.org/
CYMBAL – Supporting Music Education in Incline Village Public Schools
Since 1991, CYMBAL has proudly supported music education in Incline Village public schools. Giving Tuesday donations help “Keep the Music Playing” by funding music education and outreach programs, purchasing instruments and equipment, repairing instruments, and providing sheet music and accessories. CYMBAL also helps ensure access to affordable instrument rentals, mentorship programs, workshops, performance opportunities, and transportation to festivals and competitions.
Newton Northern Nevada – Supporting Neurodivergent Students
Newton Northern Nevada is the region’s only non-public, non-profit school serving students with autism and other neurodivergent learning differences. With no state or government funding, the school depends on community generosity. Giving Tuesday gifts to the Promise Fund help provide an affordable, individualized, and compassionate education for students who thrive in a school designed for the way they learn. Give Here: : https://wl.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E351574&id=36
Pet Network
This year, Pet Network is raising funds for a generator for our shelter and community hospital so that animals in our care stay safe and warm—even when Tahoe’s winter storms knock the power out.
Fuel the Mission is our Giving Tuesday campaign to replace our retired operations vehicle so our dive team can keep cleaning Lake Tahoe year round. A dependable used vehicle allows us to haul tanks and kayaks, tow the jetski, reach remote coves, and launch in snowy winter conditions. Donors can sponsor specific parts of the vehicle from tires to safety gear to help power the pieces that keep our work moving. Every contribution (NO MATTER THE SIZE) fuels the mission and keeps our divers in the water protecting the lake from the bottom up.
This Giving Tuesday, we invite you to support the organizations that make our mountain community strong, connected, and compassionate. Every contribution, large or small, helps uplift local programs and the people they serve. To discover additional nonprofits doing important work in Incline Village and throughout the Tahoe Basin, visit the Tahoe Community Foundation, which provides a comprehensive directory and trusted pathways for giving. Together, we can make an impact.
Disclaimer: This Giving Tuesday roundup highlights IVCBA member nonprofits that reached out with information to share. It is not a comprehensive list of all local nonprofits. For the full directory of Incline Village and Crystal Bay nonprofit organizations, please visit the IVCBA Community Resource Page or reference the list of members below.
