February 14, 2007

Robinhood Fund

I have several friends who have made wishes lately at Robinhood Fund. One wanted to take his wife, toddler son and newborn daughter to Hawaii to visit old friends. Another had unexpected medical expenses. Both of those wishes were granted, though neither got a great deal of money. Robinhood Fund is a community-based wish-granting website. People post their wishes - naughty or nice - and other community members vote for those they deem worthy of the prize. The contributed funds are distributed among all winners for each voting period. If a lot of funds are received and few wishes approved, the recipients get a higher amount. When numerous wishes are granted or funds are lower, the winners get less. Gifts that are less altruistic are deemed naughty, but they’re not necessarily for bad things. Someone might want a camera “just because,” or a sexy pair of shoes. More worthwhile wishes are deemed nice, and some are for small things that are desperately needed. A hundred dollars to get the lights turned back on, contribution towards the expenses of taking care of an invalid or shirts for an underfunded children’s sports program would fall into this catagory.

The unique thing about Robinhood Fund is that it’s community driven. There’s no board of directors making harsh decisions or CEO raking funds off of the top. Their mission is defined thusly: “The Robinhood Fund is committed to fulfilling as many everyday wishes for as many everyday people as possible. We strive to create an egalitarian environment where anyone can submit a wish, promote it to the world, and have their dreams fulfilled through the wisdom of crowds.”

Worth a look-see, dont you think? Maybe you have a wish you’d like to bring before the community, for yourself or someone else. Perhaps there’s a decadent indulgence you’d enjoy if you just had the money. Check out Robinhood Fund, where dreams really do come true. Vote for a few wishes. Post one of your own. Send them a few bucks if you decide, as I have, that this is a pretty good thing. It gets my vote for very cool!