Increasing Awesome - Decreasing Suck
The Project for Awesome started back in 2007 when a bunch of video creators decided it would be good, for one day of the year, to take over YouTube in the interest of good. Here's how we do it:
- Video creators all over the world create videos promoting their favorite charities.
- People donate items for Indiegogo campaign levels.
- People donate money.
- The charities featured in the ten videos that the community collectively decides are the best of the year receive the proceeds of the Indiegogo campaign.
***Note: PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK YOUR CONTRIBUTION AND ALL PERSONAL INFORMATION BEFORE DONATING FOR A PERK. Indiegogo has been defaulting to $100 for many people. If you have experienced this problem, please email support@indiegogo.com
Our goal, of course, is to raise as much money as possible.
To do that, we've got some pretty cool stuff this year...including:
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Questions? Answers!
When does all this happen? The Project for Awesome takes place from 12pm ET on Tuesday, December 17th to 12pm ET on Thursday, December 19th, although this year the Indiegogo Campaign will stay open until Saturday, December 21st.
How much of the money raised goes to charity? 100%, less the cost of perk manufacturing, shipping, Indiegogos fees, and merchant (credit card) fees, which are all, on average, less than 10% of the donation level. P4A has no traditional overhead. All of the time spent on the project is donated, guaranteeing that the maximum amount possible goes to charity.
How do we decide who gets the money? People upload videos promoting charities to YouTube and submit them to the Project for Awesome website. Then, people vote on which videos they think are the best. The charities promoted in the top ten videos split all of the money we raise over the year. This is, however, subject to the approval of the board of directors of the Foundation to Decrease World Suck, partly because the law is complex and partly to prevent a trolling group from coming in and hijacking the vote.
How do I get my digital perk? When will I get my physical perk? How do I tell you my twitter name / t-shirt size? Etc. We will send out all perks AFTER the campaign is complete on December 21st, including digital downloads. Perks take a varying amount of time to prepare and send out, so we will update you in the coming weeks. If we need to collect information from you to fulfill your perk (such as your twitter username, name for George Watsky's haiku, t-shirt size, etc), we will contact you AFTER the campaign is complete on December 21st.
What's up with the "contest entry" perks? Check out the official contest rules.
Other questions are answered on our official FAQ page.
If you need support, please email 2013@projectforawesome.com. If your contribution accidentally defaulted to $100, a problem many people are experiencing, and you would like a refund in order to re-submit your contribution, please email support@indiegogo.com.
So I'm done giving money... now what?
There's a 48 hour livestream happening at http://www.youtube.com/vlogbrothers. You can go there to find out what's happening at this very moment. You can also vote on which videos / charities you would like to see take in the proceeds of the Project for Awesome at http://www.projectforawesome.com/
And, of course, promote the P4A! Post this page on facebook, twitter, tumblr, etc. using the hashtags #projectforawesome! Share your favorite videos and encourage your friends and family to participate.
