The Generation Project
Generate ideas. Empower education.
eNewsletter
February 2009 / Issue 1
Dear friends of The Generation Project,
We hope your year is off to a great start!
Since this is our first monthly newsletter, official introductions seem prudent. As you may know, The Generation Project is a new kind of charity. Unlike traditional charities--where donors just open their checkbooks and aren't 100% sure where the money goes--The Generation Project provides donors complete creative control over donations that expand opportunities for kids growing up in low-income communities. People like you can use their own passions to create formative experiences for students who wouldn't otherwise have access to those opportunities. Here are some examples of current donor offerings:
- A musician is providing a new guitar to a student passionate about songwriting,
- A Palestinian-American is sponsoring an essay contest for students to propose a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,
- A teenager who is passionate about soccer is providing soccer nets so a school can safely play the game, and
- A few donors are sharing their love of reading through boxed sets of their favorite books.
With each personalized donation, donors dramatically and immediately expand opportunities available to high-need students. In the long term, donors have the opportunity to build meaningful and lasting relationships in low-income communities.
Over the last few months we have been building a strong foundation for The Generation Project to ensure that, when we launch, we will be completely ready to connect donors with students and schools that need them. The giving process will eventually be accomplished through an interactive website, which will be up in just a few short months. As soon as the website is complete, we will begin accepting gifts for low-income students and schools on a large scale.
If you're wondering what you can do in the meantime, we encourage you to learn more and pledge a gift you plan to implement in the future.
• Learn more by watching a demo
• Use your own passions to pledge a gift using our web application
We are excited for the next few months and look forward to staying in touch. Please reach out if you'd like to learn more about The Generation Project or have any suggestions for us!
Wishing you much love and increased awareness this month.
Sincerely yours,
The Generation Project Team (Jessica and Eli)
IN THIS ISSUE
hello!
latest news
blog highlights
thank you
links
what's next
LATEST NEWS
Our new website at www.thegenerationproject.org is live and offers exciting features like a demo of the donation process and an extensive FAQ section. The new site also allows you to pledge a gift and donate directly to The Generation Project (all donations are tax-deductible). For now the site will serve as the best way to learn more about The Generation Project and stay informed as we develop.
BLOG HIGHLIGHTS
One specific feature of the new site is our blog at www.thegenerationproject.org/blog. In addition to our own ramblings about education, politics, and philanthropy, one of Eli's former students, 10th grader Ivan Guzman, is blogging for us. He is hilarious and incredibly insightful so I encourage you to meet Ivan here. He blogs once a week, usually over the weekend, so check back often. We will be adding several more student bloggers from our launch regions in the near future.
THANK YOU
We are able to share all of these developments because of the tremendous outpouring of support that led to our ideablob.com win last August. We've used the award money to create the new site and we sincerely thank you for all you did to help us realize our dream of creating The Generation Project.
EXCITING WAYS TO SUPPORT THE GENERATION PROJECT
The amazing and talented Marie' Digby has partnered with the design company Fear to Faith to create a t-shirt to benefit The Generation Project. You can check it out (and even purchase one) here: http://www.feartofaith.info/store/product_info.php?products_id=185.
All proceeds go to The Generation Project.
QUICK LINKS
website
blog
demo
pledge a gift
donate
buy a shirt
WHAT'S NEXT
We are in the process of implementing our first few gifts through pilot programs in Detroit and NYC. If you or someone you know might be interested in being one of the first donors to implement a gift in a high-need school, please respond to this email. Our initial gifts will be featured in our marketing materials, so if you've ever wanted to gain worldwide acclaim as a renowned philanthropist, now is the time to do it! On the flip side, please also reach out if you know of a low-income school in Detroit or NYC that might be interested in receiving gifts through The Generation Project.
Finally, you are all amazing people with a wide range of expertise. We are always looking for mentors so if think you might have advice/skills to share, we'd love your input and guidance as we develop. If interested, please email Jessica at jessica.rauch@thegenerationproject.org.
Copyright © 2009 The Generation Project, Inc.