FYI - Film Your Issue is an unprecedented, ambitious outreach to young Americans to engage them in the public dialogue about pressing issues of importance, locally or nationally.
We want to know what young people think, we want to empower the next generation of leaders to understand how their single voices can influence the public debate, and — as hoakey as it sounds — to understand the power of democracy — where every voice counts.
We want your passion, ingenuity, creativity, originality. We want to hear your heart, and see your talent in action.
Official Rules and Timeline
Length - Issue films should be no less than 30 seconds and no more than 120 seconds in length. We will accept a brief credit roll at the end, for a maximum five seconds beyond the 120 second limit.
Format - Live-action or animated.
Deadline - April 14, 2008
Who Can Participate - Anyone age 14 to 24 at the time of film submission. Certain prizes have age and citizenship requirement. Please check individual Awards and Prizes for eligibility.
Style and Content - This is important: we want mini-movies rather than dry Public Service Announcements. We encourage narrative — meaning a storyline. We’re not looking for lots of talking heads and scrolling text of facts and stats to tell the story. Show us dramatically rather than telling us.
Make us laugh, weep, gasp, grin.
And: Be Yourself. Share your issue. Be passionate. Be original. If it looks and sounds like something we’ve all seen for years, our eyes glaze over. Originality excites us more than whether it looks like prime-time.
Copyright and Broadcast Standards
You can’t use copyrighted music unless you have permission unless you have both publishing and licensing rights. (See copyright page). Original music, vocals and instrumentation, are encouraged.
Pay-cable is more liberal than network television. However Starz reserves the right to exclude any winning film from broadcast if it violates broadcast standards of decency, excessive profanity or copyright infringement.
Submission Format - All major media formats including:
* Video: .mpg, .mp4, .mov, .flv, .avi, .wmv
* Audio: .mp3, .wav
* Bitrate should be 400Kbs minimum
* Resolution: 320 by 240 minimum
* Maximum upload size is 100MB
When and how to submit - Film entries will be accepted after February 25, 2008. To be eligible for the competition, you must register at www.myspace.com/filmyourissue. Your film entries should also be uploaded at www.myspace.com/filmyourissue. You will also be given the option to have your film posted on Think MTV.
We also encourage you to post your film on your own on as many sites as possible, both for your own visibility and to promote the FYI competition. Use tags pertaining to the film's issue(s), as well as "Film Your Issue," "FYI" and so forth.
The sooner you create and upload your film, the sooner your film will get promotion and international visibility: Following February 25, the Associated Press will pick entries over the next six weeks to distribute to its 1,800 Online Video media outlets.
So the faster you submit, the more exposure your film can get.
Submission Deadline - April 14, 2008
The Voting Period - The voting period runs from approximately April 21 to May 4, 2008. From all entries received by the submission deadline, the FYI editorial team will select approximately three dozen films to continue to the public and Jury voting. All films submitted will be reviewed by the participating organizations for the joint awards selected by The United Nations DPI, The Humane Society of the United States, USA TODAY, NRDC, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation/ Strong American Schools, NAACP, Human Rights Campaign, P.O.V. Series.
Beginning on or about April 21, 2008, the semi-finalists will be submitted to the VIP Judges and FYI ThinkTank, which will select the FYI 2008 Jury Prize winner.
The semi-finalists will also be posted on a voting platform on MySpace Impact, where the public will have two weeks to view and vote on the finalists. The top-rated film will receive the FYI – MySpace Impact Audience 2008 Favorite Award.
Films posted on the Think MTV site will also be rated during a one-week period, and the filmmaker of the top-rated film will be profiled on MTV News.
Additionally, The United Nations DPI, The Humane Society of the United States, USA TODAY, NRDC, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation/ Strong American Schools, NAACP, Human Rights Campaign and P.O.V. Series will each pick one film from all submissions for the Award and prizing in its respective category.
All organizations reserve the right to decline naming a winner should none of the entries effectively articulate the suggested issues.
All winners will be announced on or around May 6, 2008.
Official Sponsor:
FYI - FILM YOUR ISSUE
1920 N. Alexandria Avenue, #3
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Monday, February 25, 2008
Film Your Issue Short Film Competition
Sunday, February 17, 2008
NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR 2008 PURPOSE PRIZE
Every day nearly 8,000 baby boomers turn 60. Since 2006, anticipating this huge demographic shift and what it could mean for our country, Civic Ventures has been awarding The Purpose Prize–– five $100,000 and ten $10,000 investments in Americans over 60 whose creativity, talent and experience is transforming the way our nation addresses critical social problems. Dozens of other innovators received national recognition for their work. Now nominations are being accepted for the 2008 Purpose Prize. To nominate someone or apply yourself, visit www.purposeprize.org. The application deadline is March 1, 2008. The prizes will be announced in the fall of 2008.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
HaroldSays Announces the Launch of The Be Positive Do Something Positive Day Web Site, www.BePositiveDay.com
Harold Cameron, The Chief of Helping People, for HaroldSays announces the launch of a new website, www.BePositiveDay.com, to promote the Be Positive Do Something Positive Day, to be celebrated March 1, 2008.
Scranton, PA, December 10, 2007
Harold Cameron, The Chief of Helping People of HaroldSays has launched a website to promote The Be Positive Do Something Positive Day on March 1, 2008. The Be Positive Do Something Positive Day is a day for people all over the world to celebrate by "Being" positive and then by "Doing" something positive on that day for another person, non-profit organization, or charitable cause. The end result, if only for one day, will be to make our world a more positive and better place to be and to live in. It is Harold’s plan to use the Be Positive Do Something Positive Day as the initial event to raise awareness as to the many benefits of each of us “Being” and “Doing” something positive. From The Be Positive Day he hopes to build a Be Positive Initiative where every day people all over the world are thinking, “Being,” positive and then acting, “Doing,” something positive to make our world a more positive, safer, and better place to live.
Harold is asking for everyone’s non-financial support, (endorsement), of The Be Positive Day. So far, The Lackawanna County Commissioners in Lackawanna County, PA are going to issue a Proclamation declaring March 1, 2008 as The Be Positive Do Something Positive Day in and for Lackawanna County. Also, Mayor Christopher A. Doherty, the Mayor of Scranton PA is issuing a Proclamation for the City of Scranton, PA declaring March 1, 2008 as the first Be Positive Do Something Positive Day, in and for Scranton PA. The NEPA Miners Football Team in Scranton, PA. has taken a position of support for The Be Positive Day. A PA Congressman has taken a position of support for the day and has contacted The Office of Proclamations at the White House asking President Bush to issue a national proclamation declaring March 1, 2008 as the first Be Positive Do Something Positive Day, in and for America. Several other individuals and political figures have also contacted the President’s office on Harold’s behalf asking for a Presidential Proclamation. Other national and state political leaders are in contact with Harold regarding their position on The Be Positive Do Something Positive Day and how they will support, (endorse) the day.
Harold also has an informational video posted at YouTube concerning The Be Positive Day.
In order for each of us to properly celebrate The Be Positive Do Something Positive Day, Harold asks each of us to begin with ourselves by "Being" positive and the "Doing" something positive for ourselves-(ideally when we first begin our day). Harold suggests that individuals begin their day with a meditation or prayer, or some form of positive self-affirmation to get their minds and hearts focused on the positive. Next, for The Be Positive Do Something Positive Day to be a success, each of us must then "Be" positive and "Do" something positive in our homes for our families. Our positive act does not need to be huge or monumental, but rather, can be something as seemingly small as cooking dinner for our family and then sitting down together and eating it as a family.
Finally, for The Be Positive Do Something Day to be a "positively" world changing success worldwide, we all need to "Be" positive and then "Do" something positive for another person, non-profit organization, or charitable cause. For example, if you are a student, you could do something positive for a fellow student or you could encourage your class as a group to conduct a food drive to collect food for the local food pantry or do a book drive where you collect books for young children and then as students you each read the book to an individual student. After you have read the book to the child you would then give that book to the child as a gift. If you are an employee of a company or organization, you could do something positive for one of your co-workers or you could organize a group of your co-workers to volunteer to help a non-profit organization such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, Stand Up For Kids, The American Red Cross, a member organization of your local United Way, a soup kitchen or a shelter for the homeless in your area, or for some other organization on that day. If you do not know what organization or charitable cause to support a few web based sources Harold recommends for volunteer opportunities include Americorps, Boardnet USA, Guidestar.org, Grassroots.org, Network For Good, Idealist.org, Mentor, Opportunity Knocks.org, or Points of Light. Links to these and other organizations can be found at the Be Positive Day website in the handbook section of the site.
Harold is also asking members of the media to promote it prior to and on that day to post a positive news headline in their newspaper, or have the first news story reported on their radio or TV station be a positive story. The most important thing that we all can do is something; something positive for ourselves and for someone else that will contribute towards making our world a more positive, safer, and better place to live in.
Harold invites all of us to join him and join together on March 1, 2008 and make it the most positive day our world has ever experienced or celebrated. HaroldSays, "Making our world a more positive place, one day at a time."
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Contact Information
HaroldSays
Harold Cameron
570-341-6796
media@bepositiveday.com
http://www.bepositiveday.com
326 Spruce Street
#307
Scranton, PA 18503
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
echoDonations.org Makes Donations More Rewarding
The latest innovation in online giving hit the web this week with the launch of echoDonations.org™, the first and only online donation processing website that rewards donors with Lifetime Cash Rewards™.
Cincinnati, OH, December 01, 2007
With donations as low as $25--donors are able to begin earning Lifetime Cash Rewards™ for themselves and their favorite charities. The benefit to nonprofits is exponential by way of the annual cash received and through the increased donor loyalty gained from receiving their rewards. echoDonations.org™ has taken a 40-year-old donation trust method, merged it with the latest in lean processing Web technology, and added social media marketing to pioneer the new generation of online giving.
“No longer is earning cash rewards income and tax breaks from donations exclusively reserved for the wealthy,” said Christopher Hytry Derrington, Board Member of nonprofitsherpa.org, an organization dedicated to helping nonprofits through technology and innovation. “Now donors of all ages and financial means can donate and earn cash rewards to share with their favorite nonprofits. Donors have the grass root power to change the world…$25 at a time.”
echoDonations.org™ leverages Web 2.0 technology to provide lean & secure donation processing and management. All donations, large and small, that come through echoDonations.org™ are combined in a single charitable mutual fund, which is invested and monitored for performance in the market. It is the power of this complete fund that builds investment return--which becomes Lifetime Cash Rewards™ for donors and charities while building an endowment for the charity.
The back-office tools required to run the web-based mutual fund of echoDonations.org™ were donated by Alta Financial Technologies, Inc., a Cincinnati based financial services technology company. “We like working with new organizations; especially one that is passionate about their cause” said Alta’s CTO Bert Bullock. ”We’re honored to have the opportunity to donate the use of the charitable mutual fund software.”
echoDonations.org™, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a charitable mutual fund sponsored by nonprofitSherpa.org. echoDonations.org™ is dedicated to strengthening nonprofit organizations by financially incentivizing donors to give more to their favorite nonprofits by offering Lifetime Cash Rewards™ for both the donor and nonprofit organization while at the same time building the nonprofits’ endowment. More information is available at www.echoDonations.org.
Alta Financial Technologies, Inc. is a financial services technology company whose patent-pending back-office products and services enables the creation of web based, paperless, mutual funds targeting specific demographics.
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Contact Information
echoDonations.org
Chris Hytry Derrington
513-276-4332
pressreleases@echodonations.org
www.echodonations.org
Sunday, November 18, 2007
VISIONARIES WANTED: 2008 Echoing Green Fellowship
* Do you have an incredible, new idea that could change your community, country, or world?
* Are you an entrepreneur who won't rest until your idea has been brought to life? Or a leader who has recently started an organization to do just that?
If so, apply for an Echoing Green Fellowship. You could receive up to $90,000 in seed funding and support to launch a new organization that turns your innovative idea for social change into action.
Follow in the footsteps of the founders of Teach For America, City Year, and over 400 other social change organizations and apply online by December 3, 2007.
Watch the video: http://www.echoinggreen.org/video
Find out whether you qualify: http://www.echoinggreen.org/shouldyouapply
Apply online: https://apply.echoinggreen.org
Questions? Contact us at apply@echoinggreen.org.
Friday, November 2, 2007
“Wugging” on the web could generate cash windfall for UK charities
Wugging (web use giving) could create a massive windfall for good causes without costing web users a penny, according to research released today by Everyclick.com.
A new survey by YouGov reveals that lack of time is the main reason people give for not raising money for charity (45 per cent), but nearly a third said they would be encouraged to raise more money for charity if this could be integrated in to their daily life.
Wugging allows anyone on the web to raise money for charity simply by doing something they do every day – using a search engine. On average in the UK there are 22.8m web searches per day; 949,000 per hour; 15,800 per minute and 264 per second1. If just 10 per cent of those web users in the UK switched to Everyclick.com for their search, it
would generate £172,000 for UK charities per day2, without costing them a penny or taking a moment more of their time.
Polly Gowers, co-founder of Everyclick.com, believes wugging has the potential to become a major new source of income for charities.
She says: “Wugging is win:win – web users generate money for causes they care about without it costing them anything in terms of time or money, and charities get a valuable source of funding. If you’re a web user who cares about good causes, it’s time to become a wugger!”
Everyclick.com works like any other search engine, allowing users to search for information, news and images but users can specify which of the UK’s 170,000 charities they would like to support through their clicks. Everyclick.com then makes monthly payments to every registered charity. 12 per cent of the British public questioned by YouGov currently give to charities online, but only 1 per cent do this on a daily basis.
Commenting on this Polly says: “Our research reveals people genuinely wish they could do more for charity yet only one in ten (12 per cent) are giving online. 91 per cent3 of Internet users make use of a search engine, if we could encourage all these individuals to become wuggers, by using Everyclick.com, funding for registered charities of all sizes would increase dramatically, all through the click of a mouse.”
Launched in June 2005 Everyclick.com is now the eighth largest search engine and one of the busiest charity websites in the UK. The site has more than 1,350,000 unique uses, has yielded over 8 million page impressions and has over 67,000 registered uses.
- Ends -
Notes to Editors:
For media enquiries, photography or interview requests please contact
everyclick@geronimocommunications.com or call 020 7299 8751.
Everyclick.com
* Everyclick.com is a search engine that has been purpose built to automatically donate 50% of
its revenue to charity
* Launched in June 2005, it has to date 67,220 registered uses and 955 corporate uses
* Everyclick.com is a Hitwise Top 10 Award winner, winner of the Netimperative “Best Start Up
of the Year” Award and is ranked as the eighth most visited search engine in the UK
* Polly Gowers, CEO winner of Triodos Bank sponsored “Entrepreneur of the Year” at the Women in Ethical Business Awards 2007
* The site is free to join and free to use, there is no cost to the use or the charity
* All search results are powered by Ask.com
* A special agreement with Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) everyclick.com enables uses to support any of the UK’s 170, 000 charities. The money is allocated by intelligent software and is distributed to charities every month by CAF
Research
* All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc
* Total sample size was 2,141 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 17th and 20th
August 2007. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
1 Internet Statistics Compendium - E-consultancy January 2007
2 Internet Statistics Compendium - E-consultancy January 2007 states that the paid search market was
worth a total of £1.26 billion in 2006. 10% of this market is £126,000,000 yielding £63,000,000 annually therefore £172,000 daily for charities through Everyclick.com
3 Office for National Statistics
Thursday, November 1, 2007
The Charles Bronfman Prize Announces Call for Nominations Prize Seeks Young Humanitarians from All Fields
New York -- The Charles Bronfman Prize has launched its 2008 award cycle, marking the start of this year’s international quest for extraordinary, young humanitarians. The Prize celebrates the vision and talent of an individual or team under 50 years of age whose humanitarian work has contributed significantly to the betterment of the world. Its goal is to bring public recognition to dynamic individuals whose Jewish values infuse their humanitarian accomplishments and provide inspiration to the next generations.
Nominations guidelines and forms for the $100,000 award are available at www.TheCharlesBronfmanPrize.com. Nominations for the 2008 Prize will be accepted through November 30, 2007.
Ellen Bronfman Hauptman and Andrew Hauptman together with Stephen Bronfman and Claudine Blondin Bronfman established the Prize to honor their father.
The Prize Founders are encouraging submissions. “Our father has spent a lifetime developing, implementing and supporting initiatives that help to strengthen the unity of the Jewish people,” they said, adding “the Prize reflects his values and dedication to young people, and aims to carry on his legacy of commitment to Jewish life and community.”
In identifying the kinds of nominees being sought, Charles Bronfman pointed to past Prize recipients Jay Feinberg, Dr. Alon Tal, and Dr. Amitai Ziv, calling them “next generation leaders whose vision for change in their respective fields is bettering the world in exciting and meaningful ways. Each has created a mechanism for acting on their vision and delivering measurable results. Their leadership, innovation, and impact are the best indicators of the kinds of nominees we are now seeking for the 2008 Prize cycle, and the work we hope that this Prize can draw attention to.”
The Founders noted, “The Prize has been an early identifier of young visionaries who are changing the world around them. We have been privileged to see the amazing body of work that our recipients have achieved, and we are honored to pay tribute to them through this Prize.”
The 2008 Prize will be awarded in the spring of 2008.
www.TheCharlesBronfmanPrize.com
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You can make a difference: Raise money for your favorite cause
Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace make it easier than ever to share what you’re passionate about and expand your pool of supporters. And with PayPal, you can collect donations from your friends and family for the charities and causes you believe in.
Jump-start your grassroots campaign.
MySpace and Facebook badges let you raise money using your PayPal account. It’s easy to get started:
1. Choose your cause.
2. Copy or build the badge of your choice.
3. Send a broadcast message to your friends.
On MySpace, you can use the new PayPal fundraising badge to raise money right from your personal page. The site offers a selection of popular nonprofit groups as well as presidential candidates. Your friends can copy your MySpace badge to their websites and blogs, which gives your cause even more exposure.
Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace make it easier than ever to share what you’re passionate about and expand your pool of supporters. And with PayPal, you can collect donations from your friends and family for the charities and causes you believe in.
On Facebook, PayPal offers a badge that you can personalize with your own colors and background. Put the badge on your profile page, and track its progress on the “giving tree” page. See which of your friends has copied the badge to their Facebook page – and who’s helped you raise the most money!
Use your social network to collect money for various causes:
* A nonprofit group dear to your heart
* A walk-a-thon raising money for cancer, Alzheimer’s or other causes
* New books for your local school, place of worship or community center
* Uniforms for your sports team
* Gifts for children who would otherwise go without
Make your fundraising more successful
Tell how the money will be used.
People feel more comfortable giving – and often give more – when they get details about the cause they’re supporting.
Spread the word about your effort by email, broadcast message and more.
Your MySpace and Facebook networks are a great place to start – encourage them to share your message with others.
Keep your MySpace/Facebook page updated.
Keep the momentum going by letting people know how much money you’ve raised so far.
Social networking makes giving more fun. Start your drive today. Learn more about raising money online using MySpace and Facebook.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Young People Making A Difference with the Do Something Good For You! Del Monte Grant
Do Something and Del Monte Foods are encouraging anyone under age 26 with an idea or program that promotes healthy living in their school or community to submit their projects for a chance to win the $2,500 Del Monte Do Something Good For You! Grant.
Do Something operates on six strategic principles:
All programs for people age 25 and under:
1. Led by young people. Adult participation is never required
2. Allow participants the freedom to choose their own course of action
3. Have Measurable impact
4. Are Free
5. Use innovative communications and technologies
6. Publicly celebrate high achievement
We want to get the word out about this great opportunity for young people to make a difference, and we thought So What Can I Do would be an ideal outlet. Applications are being accepted until November 9th!
Below is a link to the Do Something Good For You! PSA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8oBvNvg7Gc
Visit http://www.dosomething.org/node/36048 for more info on the grant.
Friday, October 12, 2007
SO WHAT CAN I DO LAUNCHES NEWS AND PRESS CENTER
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2007
CONTACT: Karama C. Neal, editor
sowhatcanido@gmail.com
http://swcidnews.blogspot.com
http://sowhatcanido.blogspot.com
Celebrating its third year promoting ethics in action, So What Can I Do launches a new News and Press Center. This exciting new companion weblog offers So What Can I do readers even more opportunities to make a positive difference in the world.
So What Can I Do News and Press Center collects and shares press releases and news items from organizations around the globe promoting ethics in action. “We hope to provide an even greater variety of news and opportunities for our audience,” said Karama C. Neal, editor. “The News and Press Center is an exciting and meaningful way to celebrate our third anniversary.”
Press releases or news items describing opportunities to contribute to the improvement of our world should be sent to sowhatcanido@gmail.com in order to be featured at the So What Can I do News and Press Center
So What Can I Do, the public service weblog promoting ethics in action, lists hundreds of ways we all can make a positive difference in our world. The blog has been profiled in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Positive Thinking Magazine, DarynKagan.com, Our Day to End Poverty: 24 Ways You Can Make a Difference, as well as numerous other print and online publications.
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