The September 11th Fund

Setup within days of the terrorist attacks in America, The United Way’s September 11th Fund  (www.September11Fund.org) raised over $500 million dollars, much of it donated online via credit cards from hundreds of thousands of caring people from around the world.  I was honored to be asked to create and donate the online credit card processing that was instrumental in helping get the donations to the victims families in the most timely manner possible.  These services supported the web-based donations, as well as donations made as part of the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon that was broadcast on ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox TV.  Over 100,000 people have benefited from financial assistance since the fund was created, and over $495 million dollars has been distributed.  All services were 100% donations, including use of processing centers, with the processing center staff working round the clock on their own time, in order to do their part.

 

NetAid

With one in six people around the world living on less than $1 a day, extreme poverty is a major obstacle to sustained peace and prosperity. NetAid was established in 1999 through a partnership between the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Cisco, KPMG, and Akamai.  It was the first large scale use of the internet for charity, designed to both raise money and link volunteers and in-kind donations to those most in need around the world.  NetAid enlisted the talents of some of the worlds great performers, to stage three simulcast concerts around the world.  After designing and deploying the online payments capabilities, I joined Secretary General Kofi Annan and Cisco CEO John Chambers at UN Headquarters in Geneva to open this event through world wide telecasts and web casts.  At the time it was the largest web-cast in history, and it raised over 10 million dollars initially.  NetAid is now a sustained organization that helps people around the world.  You can help too, by going to www.NetAid.org and getting involved.  They don’t want your money, they want your time!