Summit Series Announces Spontaneous Philanthropy Drive

Business Wire, April 04, 2009

The World’s Top Young Entrepreneurs Organize Social Giving Drive, including an Auction of Dinner with UN Foundation Chairman, Mr, Ted Turner and Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

WASHINGTON -- Summit Series announces a three-pronged philanthropy drive to support four presenting non-profit organizations during Aspen ’09, the third entrepreneurial retreat organized by Summit Series. The Summit Series community is made up of young entrepreneur and social entrepreneur leaders--an average age of 29 years old—who are world's most influential innovators under the age of 35.

Four social entrepreneurs presented during a Philanthropy Track for Aspen ’09, and as a result, the Summit Series community decided to launch a spontaneous fundraising drive within 24 hours, with three different options for contributions. The demonstration of commitment and real-time organization around a great cause is a testament to the energy behind this young group of entrepreneurs. The effort is being led by Ryan Allis, 24, CEO of the 170-employee North Carolina software company iContact, and supported with a steering committee of Elizabeth Gore, Executive Director of Global Alliances for the UN Foundation and Nothing But Nets, and Elliott Bisnow, 23, founder of Summit Series and co-founder of Bisnow Media Group.

The three philanthropy programs held on the evening of April 4, 2009, will have three corresponding campaigns, outlined below:

Summit Series $50K Matching Campaign: Within four hours of hearing the panel on Friday night, April 3, 2009, the Summit Series community pulled together a contribution of $25,000 to provide as matching funds for donations secured by the four charities in the next five days. The matching pool may continue to increase as the Summit Series community continues to contribute. The goal: $50K in to be distributed equally through the four charities before April 25, 2009.

Summit Series Compete for Contributions: Leveraging the competitive nature of the Summit Series community, this social giving drive will benefit the Malaria Net Campaign for Nothing But Nets & The UN Foundation. During the evening conference session, the attendees will be given instructions on how to communicate the message of Nothing But Nets, utilizing the Facebook Cause applications. The Summit Series attendee who drives the largest number of contributors (rather than the greatest dollar figure) during this drive in the next 24 hours will receive an all-expense paid trip with Elizabeth Gore and the UN Foundation to Africa to distribute nets this summer.

Summit Series Spontaneous Auction: Summit Series and the UN Foundation will be auctioning off a private meeting with UN Foundation Chairman, Mr. Ted Turner, in Washington D.C. on April 22, 2009. The contributor will also join the UN Foundation Board Dinner with Kofi Atta Annan, the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations; Queen Rania of Jordan, and Muhammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank and Nobel Prize winner. The auction will start at $25,000. Proceeds will be contributed to the UN Foundation.

The four non-profit organizations presenting to Summit Series whose organizations are beneficiaries of these campaigns:

• Elizabeth Gore from the UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign an organization that aims to protect children from Malaria through the distribution of mosquito nets.
• Lauren Bush from the FEED Foundation organization whose products such as its trademark “FEED Bag” will raise money to feed impoverished school children.
• Bobby Bailey from Invisible Children, an organization that works to address the challenge of child soldiers in Uganda.
• Ethan Zohn from Grassroots Soccer, who took his $1M from winning Survivor to set up soccer leagues in Africa enabling children to get tested for HIV/AIDS.

About Summit Series

Summit Series is the only organization focused on building a community of young entrepreneurs that are changing the world. Summit Series was founded on the premise of bringing together CEOs, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs to affect positive change in the world. Through its invite-only retreats, Summit Series is the voice for the community of young leaders concerned about innovation for business, philanthropy and leadership. For more information, visit www.thesummitseries.com.

About Nothing But Nets

Nothing But Nets is a global, grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. Inspired by sports columnist Rick Reilly, tens of thousands of people have joined the campaign that was created by the United Nations Foundation in 2006. Founding campaign partners include the National Basketball Association’s NBA Cares, the people of The United Methodist Church, and Sports Illustrated. It costs just $10 to provide a long-lasting insecticide-treated bed net to prevent this deadly disease. Visit www.NothingButNets.net to send a net and save a life. To date, Nothing But Nets has raised more than $25 million and distributed over 2.5 million nets to children and families in Africa. One bed net can protect a family of four for up to five years.