Instead of advertising during the Super Bowl, Pepsi decided to put their money to use with their Pepsi Refresh Project which provides grants to individuals, small groups, companies and organizations each month. Starting today, February 1st, you can vote on the top submissions received. The grants range from $5000 to $25,000. I promise that you will be inspired by what you see and that it won’t be easy to choose from the amazing ideas.
You can also submit an idea of how to improve your community beginning today. (Submissions end February 28th.) You must be 13 or older and a US resident. If your child wants to get involved they can, but you or their teacher, for example must help and submit on their behalf.

According to Lauren Hobart, Mom and CMO of Sparking Brands at Pepsi, within the first week of submissions, over 1000 were received. This is a very popular outreach from Pepsi. She was also asked and replied:
What is your advice for moms that have ideas about refreshing their communities? What level of grant is idea? How should they craft their submissions?
First figure out the size and scope of the idea. Most individuals should opt for the $5000 grant, but it really depends on the idea and who you’ll be working with to bring it to action. People should also remember that winning comes with the responsibility to bringing you idea to life. If you need inspiration, there are example ideas on the Pepsi Refresh website to help get you started as well as a toolkit that guides you through the application process.
My community could use help with transportation. We have a large elderly population, many rural areas and only a small bus service that runs on the main roads for a short time during the week. That’s one idea for a submission. Of course I could think of at least 10 more ideas. Look around you and think of what your community needs. Get together with other moms and talk it over. We all know we can make the world a better place if we just had the funds to do it. Now’s your opportunity!
The submissions need to have a lot of thought put into them because it’s not just an idea. If you win the grant you are to put into action. To help out, there is a Toolkit to assist with the submission process. Of course there’s the Official Guidelines to follow. You can also follow the Pepsi Refresh Project on Facebook to connect and learn from other people and follow Pepsi on Twitter for updates.
Thanks Pepsi for considering how important real people, their community and their ideas are. You won me over as a fan.
I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Pepsi Refresh. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.