Worthwhile Cause or Internet Scam – You Decide
Written by: Tom Sawyer
I didn’t “donate” and I’m not sure I will because the legitimacy of this whole thing is dubious at best. I tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to put this out here: you tell me if you think this is a worthwhile cause and if the majority say it is, I will donate. At this point you probably have no idea what I’m talking about so let me explain.
There is a young man named Brendan who wants to attend Oxford to get his MBA. According to Brendan, he is fascinated by how business can be used as a tool for social change and that is how he plans to use his degree. Actually, his degree would be in social entrepreneurship so I’m assuming he would create business opportunities for those living in poverty. Does that sound about right? So he is going to get a pretty good degree and instead of using it to line his own pockets, he is going to use it to make a change in the world. That’s the part I’m not quite sure about – I would use it to get the best job I could get. I feel that way partly because I think it would almost be the responsible thing to do given the cost of the education. It is almost like buy a nice car and letting it sit in the garage most of the time (wink).
Ok, so this is how Brendan plans on making this happen. He set up a website, www.3bucksforbrendan.com, and he is asking people to donate…$3. The total he needs is $90,000 so he just needs 30,000 people to donate. If you go to his site he has a video complete with children living in poverty and everything. He also has a disclaimer at the bottom that says he will anonymously donate the money to Engineers Without Borders and Medecins Sans Frontieres if he doesn’t go to Oxford. I think the anonymous part will be impossible and I will tell you why.
Brendan’s story has prompted John Chow (www.johnchow.com) to post a blog about his cause. You may be asking yourself what difference this makes. Well, Mr. Chow is one of the most profitable Internet marketers around and mentioning this on his site gets attention. Basically, there are already many people, maybe hundreds, who have seen this article on Mr. Chow’s site and he just posted it yesterday. According to Brendan’s site, he made $2,300 in 24 hours.
If nothing else, I find this interesting and will be watching this site to see how this young man does. But should I donate my money? Leave a comment and I will go with the majority. After all, it is only $3.
That’s what’s up on Monday June 23rd, 2008.
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:14 am
As you said it is your money so you decide how or where you spend it.
I saw the post for me,I didn’t give it a second thought after converting
the $3 to euros (which is the currency that i use) it came out to 1.94 euros
so i just donated since he promised to give it to charity if he can’t go Oxford.
If is the idea of begging for money to go to school that could be wrong or
right depending on how you are looking at it.
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
[...] from many to do something. Nice to know I’m on the cutting edge of marketing! And 7 Day Buzz wonders if I’m a scam, and has started a poll to help him decide if I get his three bucks. I love [...]
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Am I a scam? Tough call!
http://www.3bucksforbrendan.com/2008/06/support-for-3bucks-in-the-cyberweb/
Cheers,
B
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:41 pm
I’d say he’s pretty legit:
http://www.ewb.ca/en/whoweare/ourpeople/boardofdirectors.html
I searched his name on the Engineers Without Borders website , who are in their own right a very respectable NGO, and it turns out he is on their Board of Directors. Considering the salary for people on the BOD for charities (i.e. zero dollars/year) and the time required you have to think this guy is motivated to use the education to help the developing world as opposed to lining his own pockets.
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Matt, you have to excuse me if I have offended anyone by questioning the legitimacy of this effort. Until yesterday I had never heard of anything like this and found it interesting. I don’t know Brendan personally and I can’t really pass judgement on him, but I can weigh the pros and cons of this initiative. I will more than likely give, but this is worth talking about. I mean, talking about it will get more attention and I think that is what he wants/needs.
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Tom,
I”m on the fence but probably shouldn’t be. I know education is important and it’s only $3. I just hope he does what he says but is the $90,000 just for 1 year? If so, will he have to do the same thing for 3 more years. I wonder.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:28 am
I think it’s a different approach to raise money to attend college. Financial Aid is usually the route people take when they can’t afford the tuition costs themselves. He’s just thinking outside of the box.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
I lose $3 regularly in the driver’s seat in my car. $3 is SO little these days, that if you can get anything worthwhile out of it at all, you’re doing well. So I think the satisfaction of being part of something different and exciting is a fantastic reward–whether Brendan gets to Oxford or not.
By the way, he second best thing to buy wih $3, in my opinion, is a Saturday’s Globe and Mail newspaper.
June 27th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
My computer has been out of commission, well, let me rephrase, Time Warner has been out of commission. I am going to write a blog about them one day!
Uh… my only concern is the fact that dollars signs make people loose their mind! Along with life!
I can remember saying I would never have plastic surgery. But that was when I was young and less out of shape. Now, the moment I stumble upon a few extra thousands, I’m gonna run and give them my senior picture and say go! and don’t stop until I look that way again! My point, it is so easy for Brendan to say what he is going to do with his degree/education now, but when he has an offer to work at a not-for-profit and help the people, or the corporation with a corner office, with a breathtaking view where he can play with his yoyo as he dictates, while working 2 “real hours” a day, while expensing everything, and bringing home six figures, I wonder…
June 27th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
I know what you mean, but it seems like he isn’t doing so well…I broke down and gave him $3.00. It isn’t that much and it seems like his initiative has stalled.