TEDxOilSpill Expedition Funding Update
When we first conceived of the idea of doing an expedition to the Gulf of Mexico, we knew we had to move fast. So we did. We planned the trip in a week and found ourselves in Louisiana the next. As part of this rapid-fire planning and execution, we set up a PayPal donation link to help fund our expedition. We’ve been humbled by the response and the support has literally been the wind beneath our wings as we flew in a seaplane across the Gulf of Mexico yesterday.
When we announced the PayPal link, we committed to using every scrap of money raise to pay for expenses related to the expedition. We also committed to transparency and reporting what the donations were used for. Here’s a quick update to give you an idea of where we stand.
In the four days since we kicked off the PayPal link, we’ve raised a bit over $5700. In the same period of time, we’ve racked up expenses as a team of $10,010 with probably another $2500 to go, the majority of which will be our second seaplane flight tomorrow.
As you can see, your contributions have helped in a major way, and we’re grateful. They show that the community of people rallying around the TEDxOilSpill event and the general public really care about this news and support our commitment to bring more coverage to this ongoing environmental disaster whose effects will be felt for a very long time to come.
As we work in the Gulf, we’re very aware that we’re working for you and are looking to bring you our view of the situation and to share it with the world. We’ve been posting photos and blog posts as we go. We’ll present even more at TEDxOilSpill. And, everyone on the team is committed to putting out additional work based on the photos and stories captured in the Gulf of Mexico this week.
If you’ve donated, thank you so very much. You rock and we’d love to shake your hand, give you a hug, and otherwise show our appreciation.
If you’d like to help us out with the rest of our expenses, please use the PayPal donation link.
Last, if you are somebody at an organization that would like to respond to the general public’s amazing contribution and match it, please get in touch.
Again, everyone on the team here in the Gulf of Mexico—Duncan, Kris, Pinar, Darron, and Danielle—are humbled by your show of support and we thank you.
Photo credits: Kris Krüg, Pinar Özger, and James Duncan Davidson. Click through any photo see it larger on Flickr.
