PepsiCo Refresh Project 101

There’s a lot to love about PepsiCo’s commitment in America to the Pepsi Refresh Project, which is set to give away more than $20 million in 2010 to “refresh the world, one idea at a time.” PepsiCo has vowed to award over $1 million in grants each month to U.S.-based ideas with the most public votes, with up to 1,000 new ideas accepted each month. I was just asked to look into making a submission, and in doing some homework, I’ve gained a lot of admiration for this thoughtful initiative, inviting Americans to plead the case for a real-world need — or even a dream — with seemingly a very real opportunity to win financial support on some level. While hoping this might eventually become more of an international effort, I invite those now eligible to join me every day in visiting the site and using our 10 daily votes to help along our favorite ideas.

As for the ideas themselves, we can fire away, seeking $5k up to $250k for one idea per month, where you can change your monthly submission even after submitting, and if you don’t win this month, you can resubmit next month. There are five categories: Health, Arts and Culture, Food and Shelter, The Planet, Neighborhoods and Education.

The official website www.refresheverything.com provides this toolkit for developing your idea, along with a wealth of information, including key dates, what to expect and how to follow-up before, during and after submitting, and many other inspiring case studies of ideas submitted to date. You may also be interested in this April story detailing the latest winners, as well as the project’s blog.

In an effort to support those who generate innovative, optimistic ideas, the Pepsi Refresh Project (www.refresheverything.com) will award more than $20 million in 2010 to move communities forward. Individuals can apply for grants to benefit a variety of projects and site visitors can vote for the best ideas for funding. The Pepsi Refresh Project is an evolution of the Refresh Everything initiative Pepsi launched in 2009, which showed the brand as an optimistic catalyst for idea creation, leading to an ever-refreshing world. Pepsi will fund projects that make a difference in six categories: Health, Arts & Culture, Food & Shelter, The Planet, Neighborhoods and Education.