The Members Project from TakePart and American Express encourages people to volunteer for, donate to and vote for their favorite charities.
We admit we teared up while watching the Academy Awards last month during the short clip from The Cove, in which a woman mournfully describes the killing of a dolphin as it struggles to escape. The documentary sheds light on the slaughter of thousands of dolphins and porpoises in Japan, where their meat is labeled and sold at markets as whale, despite containing toxic levels of mercury.
When the film won Best Documentary, our search to learn more about the issue took us to TakePart, an online community where people can inform themselves about social, environmental, political and cultural issues. We signed up for the website’s Members Project, a campaign co-sponsored by American Express that awards up to $200,000 in funding to five nonprofit organizations every three months based on member votes. Charity categories include Arts and Culture, Community Development, Education, Environment and Wildlife, and Health and Wellness. With our thoughts on powerful documentaries (such as The Cove and The End of the Line) that highlight the crisis threatening our oceans, we voted for Oceana, which is working to restore marine ecosystems damaged by pollution and destructive fishing techniques.
The Members Project allows you one vote a week for candidates such as Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Mercy Corps, Children for Children, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Operation Smile. Voting for this round ends May 24, with a new cycle beginning May 31. Charities are selected by a six-person advisory board that reviews the organizations based on qualities such as operational stability, a broad support base and a clear and meaningful mission. Though the list of charities for 2010 is final, it’s possible to nominate a charity for consideration in 2011.
The Members Project also makes it easy to give some time to a favorite cause with Volunteer Match — simply enter your location and some keywords to find projects in your area. American Express cardholders can earn 500 Membership Reward bonus points for every hour of volunteer service, up to 20 hours or 10,000 points, good for gifts, travel and everyday expenses. Or they can redeem points to make a charity donation through American Express’ Members Give program.
We’re not the only ones to recently stumble upon TakePart; after the Oscar attention for The Cove (a film from Participant Media, TakePart’s parent company), TakePart’s mobile subscriber base more than doubled. In fact, when activist Ric O’Barry — who was featured in the documentary — held up a sign reading “Text DOLPHIN to 44144” during the Oscar acceptance speech, the influx of text messages nearly shut down the mobile server.
It was 40 years ago, on the first Earth Day in 1970, that O’Barry founded his Dolphin Project; he now works with SaveJapanDolphins.org. We’re inspired by O’Barry’s actions and dedication — after all, it couldn’t have been easy to rack up support before the days of Internet and social media. What do you do to support the causes close to your heart?
© 2010, VIV Publishing, LLC., Zinio, LLC. - San Francisco - New York - London - Barcelona - Taipei - Sydney - All rights reserved.
One Reader Comment:
The first group of winning nonprofits have been announced: ASPCA (Environment & Wildlife), DonorsChoose.org (Education), International Rescue Committee (Community Development), Operation Smile (Health & Wellness) and a tie in Arts & Culture between Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and National Trust for Historic Preservation. The next round of charities are up for vote on the TakePart website.