Thursday, March 18, 2010

Who's Who In The Pepsi Refresh Project

The Pepsi Refresh Project inspires the United States to help their country and local communities. Pepsi has started a project where American citizens submit ideas to the Pepsi Refresh website, the public votes on their favourite idea and the winner receives a grant from Pepsi. Now, these can't just be any old ideas, they must benefit the community in one way or another. The ideas must fall under the following categories: health, arts & culture, food & shelter, the planet, neighbourhoods or education. There is a maximum of 1,000 ideas per month and the idea is up for votes for only a month.

Watch this promotional video to learn more!

To better understand this project, I will describe who is applicants, voters, ambassadors, partners and everyone else in between.

Applicants:
- People
- Pro-social businesses
- Non-profit organizations

Applicants must be at least 13 years old, a legal american citizen and must speak english. The applicant must have access to internet so that they can monitor their idea's status. The applicant must be able to complete their idea within 12 months of recieving the grant. There are 32 grants given out every month.

Surprisingly, even celebrities are submitting ideas. Check out Kevin Bacon's idea:

Voters:
Voters must also be 13 years or older and a resident of the United States. They can vote up to ten times from the same IP address.

Ambassadors:
There are six amabassadors. Each one represents one of the six categories the ideas must fall under. The categories include health, art & culture, food & shelter, the planet, neighbourhoods and education. The ambassadors are experienced in the field and can review whether or not the ideas are legitimate and achievable.

Partners:
Pepsi has partnered with a four organizations to make sure this project has a legitimate foundation.
1. GOOD: a collaboration of individuals, businesses and non-profits set to improve the world we live in.
2. DoSomething: helps young people make a difference in their school and community.
3. City Year: helps younger people learn the skills necessary to change the world.
4. GlobalGiving: provides an online service that directs donors to charities in the donor’s community.

Click on the links below to get the full SWOT and POST analysis of the Pepsi Refresh project:

Caterina Ventrella : Strengths


Sophia Tupper: Threats


Jessica Sanchez: Technology