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July 22, 2010

AIDS Research Alliance awarded $250,000 by Pepsi Refresh Project

"(LOS ANGELES, CA, July 22, 2010).  Today, Carolyn Carlburg, President & Chief Operating Officer of AIDS Research Alliance of America, expressed deep gratitude to the hundreds of thousands of donors and friends across the United States who voted for AIDS Research Alliance in the Pepsi Refresh competition (www.refresheverything.com), an online social marketing campaign conducted through the month of June.  Estimates suggest that AIDS Research Alliance garnered about half a million votes over 30 days, ending the month of June as a finalist.  Declared a winner by the Pepsi Refresh Project today, AIDS Research Alliance will receive a grant of $250,00 to purchase state-of-the-art laboratory equipment to advance its cure-focused research."

Comment: Good news, but also note the social significance of this kind of event. Win considerable money through a contest to engage the most people in a Pepsi campaign (here, half a million people -- 50 cents each for Pepsi, actually much less counting those who voted in the losing campaigns). I don't know if it's good or bad, but it won't work for most organizations. They will motivate their volunteers, then disappoint them with zero return.

Great work by AIDS Research Alliance, however. JSJ

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