Business As Usual Is Not Refreshing

From a guest blogger:

By now it is old news that Pepsi decided to forgo its 2010 Super Bowl advertising and instead give away more than $20 million to “refresh the world, one idea at a time.” Every month Pepsi accepts 1000 applications for grant money in one of four amounts--$5k, $25k, $50k, or $250k--to support innovative ideas falling into six categories, namely Health, Arts & Culture, Food & Shelter, The Planet, Neighborhoods, and Education. The approved projects are then posted online to be voted on by the general public for the entire month following submission, with a total of up to $1.3 million awarded at the end of the month.

What is new, however, is November’s leading contender for one of two $250,000 grants. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has submitted an idea under the “Planet” category to “rescue animals from cruelty in underserved communities.” Sad to say, if HSUS wins, this is about as far from refreshing as you can get. In fact, this will just be business as usual: one giant corporation donating money to another giant corporation, pretty much in accordance with the stale traditional corporate charitable contribution model. So much for “crowd-sourcing” and innovation!

Looking at the 2009 tax return posted on HSUS’s website, it’s clear that, if it really wanted to do this project, it could be funded out of petty cash. At the end of 2009, the HSUS had net assets of $160.5 million and total revenue that year of $101.6 million. It is an awesome fundraising organization with a dominating command of social networking resources, media savvy and political connections. It appeals quite successfully to the public via heart-wrenching commercials and direct mailings, implying the Humane Society of the U.S. is an umbrella group, encompassing the local humane societies that provide direct care to homeless and stray dogs and cats when this is not the case at all. In fact, the description provided for the Pepsi Refresh Project states that “The HSUS celebrates animals and confronts cruelty by impacting public policy through increasing the scope and strength of statutes, corporate policy and by influencing corporations to change their policies to improve the treatment of animals.” They’re lobbyists.

The plain truth is that the HSUS doesn’t need the money, and, if it wins, it will just soak up funds from smaller groups that could actually do some good with such a grant. If you, like me, would like to level the playing field and send a message in support of the underdog, go to refresheverything.com, sign in, click to see the current leaders in the $250k category, and be sure to vote every single day for the top ten choices in this grouping that are not the HSUS. HSUS does not need or deserve a grant from Pepsi; let’s make sure it does not remain in one of the top two spots.