Got this from AIDG in the mail today, they are a great non-profit that brings renewable energy, and efficiency technology to the people that need it most. You should all go help them win some cash so they can keep doing the amazing work they do.
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The countdown has begun: 11 days to go
Nominate AIDG today.
Help AIDG win $500,000 through the AMEX Member’s Project
Do you have 5 minutes to help AIDG? We have very exciting news.
American Express is offering $2.5 million dollars to support 5 world-changing ideas. You can help make our idea one of them.
Our project (AID-Lab: Life-Changing Tech for the World’s Poor) is about working with major corporations, universities and engineers to get life-changing technologies to people who live under $2 a day. It’s taking the work we’re trying do now and increasing that impact worldwide.
NOMINATE AIDG TO THE NEXT ROUND
You can help get sanitation, energy, clean water and agricultural tech to people who need it the most. Nominate our project and get your friends and family to do the same.
Here’s how it works:
1. Visit our project page http://www.membersproject.com/project/view/S399RQ
2. Click the “Nominate this Project” button on the center of the page
3. Log in as an American Express card member, or sign up as a guest member
4. Click the Nominate this Project button again
5. Optional (but very much appreciated!) Click on the discuss button and tell the jury about how the project will help create huge change.
And you’re done!
We’re 2000 nominations short, so your support can make a big difference fast. We’ll keep you posted on how we’re doing.
The nomination period ends September 1. So don’t delay.
About The Project
Half the world lives on less than $2 a day, but there are few products made for them other than by charity NGOs and universities. Look around yourself. Much of what you will see was made and marketed by a major corporation. I want to bring together experts in development engineering to help corporations create products that will alleviate poverty for people in developing countries. The right products can bring clean water, save weeks of labor, and help the poor lift themselves out of poverty.
The Issue We Want to Address
Almost nothing in the modern world is designed for people living on under $2/day. To put this in perspective, imagine if the only fridges you could find were $10,000 and the hammers were $150. If you live on $2 a day, sometimes an NGO will have designed something to help improve your life, like a treadle pump or an LED lamp. Unfortunately, the distribution and supply are limited. If John Deere were making your pump, you could find the tools you needed to get out of poverty worldwide.
Our Potential Impact
Our goal is the creation of 4 new products by major corporations aimed at addressing the needs of the world’s poor in the following sectors: energy, clean water, sanitation and agricultural productivity. I want to establish a partnership between a few major corporations, design firms, engineers at development NGOs and university programs to make solutions specifically for people living on less than $2 a day. I hope for a widespread rollout by the companies.
Inspiration
As the founder and director of AIDG, I’ve worked with some of the world’s best minds on this with my NGO. I have seen amazing products sitting idle on the lab bench & others having an impact on a regional level. I can’t buy a good treadle pump for irrigation in Haiti like I can in Kenya, yet I can still find a Coke or use my cell phone. The major companies that are good at making money from services at the bottom have triumphed in ways that aid organizations can only dream of. I want to help companies & the poor triumph together.