A month ago I posted that National Geographic was seeking explorers and adventurers for their Expedition Granted program, which will award a $50,000 grant that will ultimately allow someone to pursue their dream project. Over the past few weeks, numerous ideas for how that grant would be used have been posted to the Expedition Granted website, with some fascinating projects being pitched. But the contest is not over yet, and it isn't too late to pitch your passion project as well.The process is simple. Record a two-minute video that explains how you would use the $50k grant, and why you deserve to be the recipient. Then, upload it to the Expedition Granted website, and share it on social media. If your idea is good enough, you just might earn a spot amongst the finalists, and a shot at winning the grant.
The deadline for submissions is August 31. After that, the EG Advisory Council will select ten finalists, which will be announced on September 16. The public will then be allowed to vote for the project of their choice, with balloting open through September 29. The winner will be announced on September 30.
This is a great opportunity for someone to get their dream project off the ground. Often times, we have great ideas on things we would like to do, but the ability to raise cash to accomplish those goals can be a major stumbling block. A $50,000 grant from National Geographic should help to open doors however, and allow someone to do some very interesting things with the money.
Kudos to Nat Geo for putting together the Expedition Granted program. The organization is looking to promote exploration in the 21st century, and this is a great way to do it.
If you'd like to see what kind of projects have been submitted so far, click here for a list of the submissions. All I can say is that the competition is going to be stiff.
