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Benj and Jessica launched a nonprofit. Follow our journey as we built a 501(c)(3) and a web site, and now usher in an endless stream of worthy charity nominees and monthly grant winners!

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February 2018 winner Innocence Project

Charitocracy's 18th check to February winner Innocence Project for $1072

We have good news about February winner Innocence Project, right after this quick update...

Re-grow the monthly pot!

If you noticed the pot get smaller recently, you're not imagining things. This is for two reasons:

  1. Quite a number of holiday gifts of Charitocracy were given at the end of 2016 that boosted the pot significantly throughout 2017.
  2. Some large donations and corporate matches made outside of ch-y.org were used to boost the pot early in 2017, whereas this year we'll instead use similar large donations to grow the pot by attracting new donors, which works toward our mission and will hopefully grow the pot more sustainably.

See the previous blog post for ways you can help. Bottom line: convince a friend to join us!

February 2018 winner Innocence Project

Wednesday night we voted in our 6th cause of Charitocracy's 2nd year. Congratulations to Innocence Project and to donor cperg814 for nominating it! You have 4 more days to further sweeten the pot with a special one-time donation of any amount, which we'll add straight to the check we write to Innocence Project next week. You can find their web site here.

Check out this video about Innocence Project, and feel good about your part in our collective $1072+ grant to help with their work!

The Innocence Project's mission is to free the staggering number of innocent people who remain incarcerated, and to bring reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment.

Have a great March and log into Charitocracy to update your votes or nominate a new cause!

Over $20,000 served!

$20,000 served

The check we wrote to mikeroweWORKS Foundation this month put us over the $20,000 milestone! That's 17 checks so far, averaging almost $1200 each. And tomorrow, when we award the February pot, that total will go even higher.

You, our donors, got us here. Dollar by dollar, month by month, vote by vote: you make the world a little better. $20,000 is just the beginning!

Imagine $20,000 per month

Imagine the day when we can award $20,000 every month! We can get there. Charitocracy has the capacity to serve many more donors, making philanthropy more fun and an everyday part of more people's lives. That's our mission. Not to shake more money out of you, but to reach more people and engage them to give charitable dollars regularly.

It's not a big ask. Considering one movie ticket often costs $13, a year of Charitocracy is a bargain! And donors are more than welcome to do both. (But at least Charitocracy.)

It is not just the extra dollar in the pot that comes with each new donor. It's a new voice and unique perspective on which charities are best. It's another source of ideas for new nominations and a cheerleader to rally the votes. And another social network to spread news of the good things we're doing here at Charitocracy.

How you can help

Very simple. Think of the one person you know who most belongs on Charitocracy but isn't. A best friend? A sibling? Someone who loves philanthropy, and might enjoy a fun new outlet? Someone who's new to adulting and might get hooked early on warm fuzzies from giving? Maybe you owe someone a gift anyway? Then, simply make it your project: convince your prospect to join!

Tell them about Charitocracy in person. Show them a video or the brief slide presentation. Email them an invitation, and follow up afterwards. Seal the deal. Always be closing.

You are our sales force. Tell us what other tools you need to do your job effectively!

Thanks for this milestone, and let's work hard together to expedite the next one!

Charitocracy is for closers. *Coffee not included.

Spotlight on nominee Fender Music Foundation

Nominee Fender Music Foundation

Next in our series of posts about new Charitocracy nominees, we have nominee Fender Music Foundation. It was recently nominated by donor adamjasher. So let's welcome The Fender Music Foundation to our charity of the month club! You can find their web site here.

Firstly, for newcomers: the cause with the most votes each month wins the pot. No matter how much or how little you contribute, each donor at Charitocracy gets one vote. This is where charity meets democracy. So share this post and ask your friends to vote! That's how we spread the word and, as a result, grow the monthly pot. Yay!

About nominee Fender Music Foundation

The Fender Music Foundation is a 501(c)(3) national music charity that provides instruments to music education programs across the country, including schools.

The Fender Music Foundation is a music charity funded by people who want to strengthen the state of music education, people who believe music is an integral part of society and want to make music more accessible to everyone.

The donations we receive allow us to provide instruments to school music classrooms, after school programs and music therapy programs. We select programs that are in-need, ongoing, sustainable and give more people the opportunity to make music.

Our overhead expenses are covered by sales revenue, including authentic celebrity music memorabilia. Our program expenses are covered by donations large and small.

The Foundation was founded in 2005 by Larry Thomas when he retired as CEO of Guitar Center, now as CEO of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, we continue to give more people of all ages the chance to create, experience, and enjoy everything music has to offer.

So visit The Fender Music Foundation's page on Charitocracy to vote for, like, or discuss this cause! And finally, check out this sweet PSA film about The Fender Music Foundation's mission: