ProSpeak: A Not-So-Common Understanding of Fundraising and Common Sense

I hope that last statement made you cringe. It's key to understanding the rest of this essay.

What is uncommon sense?
Progress comes to humanity when someone develops an uncommon sense. For example, Christopher Columbus (so the common story goes) came up with a stunning insight, "The earth is round, and therefore, I can reach the world to our east by sailing west."