“As many as 1/3 of the world’s estimated 300,000 child soldiers aged 4 to 17 serve involuntarily in the drug cartel and government armies of Southeast Asia. The lack of alternatives caused by the cycles of illiteracy, poverty and dependence upon growing drug crops perpetuates the exploitation of children as soldiers. Demobilizing these children is critical, but when the target region’s literacy rate is 1% and the two major employers are the drug lords and their army, the future is still bleak.”
Think a project to rescue, educate and provide farming skills and land to these kids deserves $1.5 million?
How about an online portal that allows students to indicate their personal characteristics and find scholarships for which they can apply –all at once, using a single, consolidated form? Would that deserve $1.5 million if it eliminated stories like this one?
“I work with a young woman, a gifted artist & excellent student, who was accepted to the college of her choice but was struggling to pay for it…The school failed to mention 3 available scholarships that she was uniquely qualified for & when she did discover them the deadlines had passed, the money was left unclaimed & reapplication was not an option as they were only for incoming freshmen.”
If you are an American Express card holder, you get to help decide where the company will distribute $2.5 million to support projects like these. Just go to www.membersproject.com and log in using your online account usename and password. You can browse by topic and choose to “nominate” as many projects as you wish before September 1.
How it works
They say “nominate” a project because it’s not voting, at least not yet. Members are nominating projects for inclusion in the top 25, which will actually be chosen by an expert panel using ‘input’ from members.
The expert panel, I will say, is impressive in its representation of well-informed philanthropy: Ed Skloot, formerly of Surdna Foundation and now at the Center for Strategic Philanthropy at Duke University; Vanessa Kirsch, of New Profit, Inc.; Jane Goodall, who needs no introduction; the leaders of Alvin Ailey and Harlem Children’s Zone; and, representing the youth factor, the founder of Free the Children and Oprah-approved role model Craig Kielburger.
The composition of panelists makes me predict that, despite allowing projects in five categories in any part of the world, the winning project will have a social enterprise bent and be focused on Africa. I think that’s great.
The expert panel will select the top 25 projects, and starting September 9 the members will actually vote to narrow it down to the top 25 and then the top 5. The top 5 projects receive different levels of funding from AmEx, from $1.5 million to $100,000.
The Catch
Here’s where I see the catch: if you submit a top idea, American Express matches your idea with the organization of its choosing to carry it out. You can make suggestions for the implementing organization, but AmEx reserves the right to choose whoever they want. And those people design the implementation plan.
I certainly don’t mind AmEx exercising oversight, it’s the responsible thing to do. But taking the project away from the originator and handing it to another organization? Ideas for social change are all about the execution. As the winning project designer, to be shut out of that process would be enormously frustrating. I’m just saying.
Get Out the Vote!!
Here’s my other prediction for the Members Project: the winning project will be originated or sponsored or otherwise promoted heavily by folks with a strong social media presence. Although AmEx may have a reputation as the credit card of the wealthy (and presumably Luddish*), I think there are plenty of members who are online. Online channels like twitter, blogs, Digg, badges, Facebook groups, etc. could be powerful ways to “get out the vote” for your project. Even non-cardmembers can help rally support through social media.
So find a project you would like to see implemented (and don’t mind not knowing who will implement it or how), and tell your network to spread the word.
*the proper term here might be “Luddite-ish” but I thought “Luddish” more elegant. Don’t you agree?
Tags: American Express, charity, members project, philanthropy, social media
