When we embarked on the Pepsi Refresh Project four months ago, we weren’t entirely sure what to expect. We knew we wanted to do good- to help people refresh their lives, neighborhoods, and maybe even the world. But we left how to do it in the hands of the American people…

This isn’t to say we don’t have a theory of change- our theory depends on the American people. We think that there are amazing ideas out there in this country, ideas that can improve everyone’s life if only a little financial muscle gets put behind them.

Two years ago, we started the Pepsi Optimism Survey, and found that Americans believe that individuals and their ideas can change the world. We believe that too. In fact we’ve been asking people how they would change the world, and this year, we wanted to help them make it happen.

That’s what Pepsi Refresh is about: empowering ideas that will make a difference. We’ve all been there, working away at an idea because we think it’s good. Well, with Pepsi Refresh, if you can use your voice, your community, and the internet to promote your idea, you can get the funding you need to make it a reality.

We’ve already discovered that it’s not just who has the biggest following on Twitter or who can get their Refresh idea on national TV. Groups like the community around the Springfield Middle School have banded together and won multiple times, but it’s because they’ve gotten out the vote in their community.

We’ve been working hard to give everyone with an idea the tools they need to get a grant. If you haven’t yet, read Neighborhoods Ambassador Kyla Fullenwider’s excellent post on how to run a Pepsi Refresh campaign. Kyla and the other Ambassadors are a resource as well-  reach out to them if you have questions about best campaign practices.

RefreshEverything.com is the heart of the program, and we want to make sure that it allows the community to find and vote for ideas that will make a difference. We’ve introduced comments on the idea pages, so that people can share their evaluation of each idea. Not only does this let people publicly proclaim which ideas they support, it also gives the idea generators the needed feedback to refine their ideas if they aren’t successful.

You can now find ideas by location, and see them plotted on a map; this way, you can see which ideas will have an impact in your neighborhood. And we’ve even devised a system that has streamlined the submission process for those who start and save their ideas during the month.

The first few rounds of grant recipients are already out there, starting to change the world. In the coming months, we’re going to see just how much good they do. Until then, do you have a suggestion for how we can improve Pepsi Refresh?

Leave it in the comments.

Bonin Bough
Global Director of Digital and Social Media, PepsiCo