Ever since she was a young girl, SaraJoy Pond, a graduate student, has been waiting for her chance to change the world. After years of being told that anything she attempted would be “just a drop in the bucket,” Pond woke up one morning with an idea.

“It was one of the clearest impressions I’ve ever received,” Pond said.  “There was a project I wanted to do with a friend, but it required a quarter of a million dollars. I was so frustrated because I couldn’t come up with anything. The phrase that was in my head when I woke up was ‘You don’t know anyone with a quarter of a million dollars, but you are connected to a quarter of a million people with one dollar.’”

Thus the Tipping Bucket was born.

The Bucket

Anyone with an idea for improving the world—whether through an organization or an isolated project—can submit a proposal to the Tipping Bucket Web site. Through the Tipping Bucket’s online community, mentors and friends then offer advice to help perfect the plan. After the total cost of the project is determined, the project spends a specified amount of time “in the bucket.“

While the project is in the bucket, anyone can donate a dollar or more with the click of a mouse. The person who submitted the project has the primary responsibility to make sure the bucket tips. If it doesn’t tip—meaning funding for the goal is not met—the submitter doesn’t get the money: hence the Tipping Bucket’s motto—“Change the world, or your money back!”

The Past Year

Since winning the social venture competition in April 2009, Pond has encountered many challenges in launching the Tipping Bucket. “One of the hardest things was finding a good team, and that didn’t get together until December,” Pond said. Prior to December, people would come in to help for just a few weeks at a time. “We have this idea of social entrepreneurs, that they can make it on their own,” Pond explained. “I assure you that there is nobody in this world who can do it alone. It’s a network of people that make it happen.”

The Web Site

The Tipping Bucket website was launched in January of this year. During its two-week testing period, $500 was raised for Haiti. Since then, six buckets have tipped and more than $7000 has been raised. Their goal is to tip 15 buckets by October. Pond said she is thrilled about the progress the Tipping Bucket has made. “We’ve accomplished so much because people have gotten behind it,” she expressed. “It’s way bigger than I am.”

SaraJoy

Pond earned her undergraduate degrees in graphic design and journalism from Colorado State. She is currently a PhD student in the Instructional Psychology and Technology program, completing her dissertation.  To students, she encourages, “Double-dip whenever possible. When you have a project to do for school, do something you’re interested in anyway. Incorporate the multiple threads of your life as much as you can.”

26 April 2010