Vote in the Peace Primary
by Michael HoffmanTuesday, September 25th, 2007
I recently wrote about matching fundraising campaigns where one donor agrees to match the contributions of a set of additional donors, up to a certain amount. A twist on this is a kind of contest with a big payoff for the organization at the end.
An example of that from a few months back was when Beth Kanter orchestrated winning Yahoo! and Network For Good’s charity badge fundraising competition on behalf of the Sharing Foundation. To the tune of $100,000.
The Ploughshares Fund has launched a similar contest with a twist. For the Yahoo!/Network for Good contest the winner was the one who raised the most money using a charity badge (a kind of simple widget) distributed on sites across the net.
The Ploughshares Fund has launched something called the Peace Primary. It is a kind of online popularity contest/election. But you can’t just vote. You have to pay $1 per vote (minimum 10) and those dollars go to the organization. So its a combination contest/fundraiser. Nice!
Here’s their FAQ. Go to the Peace Primary to vote.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How many groups can I vote for?
You can vote for as many organizations as you like. In fact, voting for multiple groups is strongly encouraged.
How many times can I vote?
Each vote costs $1. For each group you select, there is a 10-vote minimum and a 1,000 vote maximum.
Where does the money go?
Every dollar you contribute with each vote goes directly to the group you are voting for. All donations are completely tax-deductible.
I don’t know if I like the idea of money for votes.
Neither do we in actual elections, but in the Peace Primary nobody loses — every dollar raised goes directly to the the participating groups to support their efforts to raise the profile of peace issues in the coming months. There are also strict spending limits in the Peace Primary — no more than $1,000 per voter per group — to maximize every group’s chances of winning. And, unlike real-world elections, voters are allowed and even encouraged to vote for as many groups as they want.
When can I vote?
You can vote any time between September 1 and October 31, 2007.
How will the winner be chosen?
The group that receives the most votes will receive a one-time grant of $100,000 from the Ploughshares Fund, a public grantmaking foundation that supports the smartest people with the best ideas for preventing the spread and use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, and identifying new ways to prevent armed conflict.
How were the participating groups chosen?
The Ploughshares Fund submitted a list of organizations to an all-star panel of leaders (see above) from across the peace and security community, and that panel voted for the 12 finalists. The panel was chaired by actor Martin Sheen and also included writer, commentator and religious scholar Reza Aslan, a member of Ploughshares Fund’s Board of Directors; the Reverend Dr. Joan Brown Campbell of the Chautauqua Institute; Bonnie Jenkins, program officer at the Ford Foundation; former Congressman Paul N. (Pete) McCloskey (R-CA); author Jonathan Schell; Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor-in-chief of The Nation, and Ploughshares Fund Executive Director Naila Bolus.
What criteria were used to nominate the groups?
We looked for organizations that represent a wide range of approaches to peace and human security; that have a commitment to action and policy advocacy; that have a base of grassroots support and a national or broad regional constituency; that have the capacity for online communication and outreach to constituents; and that have a record of making an impact.
September 26th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
Hi Michael,
Matching is really important. I just finished a third, somewhat smaller campaign to get to Cambodia for the bloggers summit. I had $1 for $1 match from a sponsorship that I launched it. People always like to see that their money can go further!