A Message from the Case Foundation

Thank you.

Eleven months, 4,641 applications, 15,000 votes, and 20 projects later, we're delighted to offer a heartfelt thank you to the applicants, passionate and dedicated reviewers and judges, thoughtful voters, and everyone else who played any part in making the Make It Your Own AwardsTM pilot grants program a tremendous success.

When we launched this initiative in June 2007, we were aiming to uncover and shine a light on exciting and innovative examples of citizen-centered civic engagement. And our goal was to do this in a way that embraced the concept of participatory philanthropy -- an approach in which the public plays an active role in every part of the process. Almost one year later, we have learned a great deal about our nation's communities and about ourselves.

From the very beginning, the number and quality of applications submitted was a clear signal that there is a real passion for this collective, subjective, and active way of creating lasting solutions in communities. Contrary to research that showed a decline in civic health and increasing social isolation, we saw that people want to connect with their neighbors, identify shared concerns, make their own decisions, and shape their own course of action.

While this pilot effort was not without its unanticipated hurdles, it was the real people involved in shaping our guidelines, submitting and reviewing applications, and voting for the Final Four that challenged our thinking most, and forever changed the way we think about how we give. Leveraging new technologies to make philanthropy something for everyone, any time, and anywhere, starting every initiative with guidance from the people it is intended to serve, and giving our stakeholders a meaningful voice in the process were the hallmarks of the Make It Your Own Awards, and are becoming a cornerstone of the Case Foundation.

Today, we have 20 powerful and diverse new examples of citizens who are joining together to own the challenges and opportunities in their communities. We are proud to consider them our partners. From an urban arts and hip hop program that promotes youth dialogue and decision making to an effort giving incarcerated youth a role in transforming the justice system. A program empowering New Orleans citizens to take an active role in helping rebuild the city to a project that crosses generations and cultures in an effort to create a diverse democracy. Each of these fresh projects provides a model for communities of all shapes and sizes.

So, what's next? We look forward to continuing to learn from our new partners and sharing their stories in the coming year. We will learn how these types of efforts thrive and the obstacles they have to overcome. We will learn what occurred with the applicants who did not make it to the final stage -- if they moved forward, and if the tools we gave them impacted their success. And, we will closely examine our process -- what went well and what did not -- and share all of our findings with our peers and friends.