Our History

Following are highlights of some of our team’s companies and projects that have informed our thinking and underlie the Vision and the Approach of the Foundation for Public Purpose Media:

One Economy Corporation – In 2000, we co-founded One Economy Corporation, a global nonprofit organization that used innovative approaches to deliver the power of technology and information to low-income people, giving them valuable tools for building better lives. In addition to bringing broadband into the homes of low-income people and employing youth to train community members to use technology effectively, One Economy provided public-purpose media properties offering a wealth of information on education, jobs, health and wellness, and other vital issues. This work included:

• The Public Internet Channel

  A site dedicated to creating, aggregating and distributing the best in public purpose media. Largely video-based content, pic.tv includes web series, short form documentaries, comedy shorts and instructional programming. The site featured popular and award-winning series such as Diary of a Single Mom, 9INE, Los Americans, and Real American Family. One Economy created the Make It Easy Toolbox which provided contextual, practical tools and information which supplemented the inspiring and informational video-based content airing on the pic.tv website. Much of the programming on PiC was used to organize and stimulate community conversations about the topics they covered. In the case of 9INE, a web series about teen pregnancy, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unwanted Pregnancy created 50,000 DVDs and packaged them with curriculum which they then distributed to thousands of organizations nationwide.

• In The Hive

  One Economy created and operated an alternative school program for at risk young men in Bertie County, NC. At its inception, the school educated about 20 young men, all with some form of juvenile probation. At its peak, "the Hive" enrolled more than 60 including both middle and high school ages. One Economy Corp made the story of the Hive into a dramatic film, In the Hive, directed by Hollywood legend, Robert Townsend, which aired on the BET network and is now available on DVD and online streaming outlets. One Economy also served at the initial producer of the documentary film, Raising Bertie, which aired on PBS and chronicles six years in the lives of three boys at the Hive.

• The Beehive

  Hailed as the de facto website for low-income Americans to get practical, life-enhancing information, the Beehive reached more than 20 million people in the U.S. and a dozen countries around the world. It provided action-oriented tools and resources to people with financial, health care, education and employment needs. Content on the Beehive was translated into eight languages. It hosted an online presidential debate between Bush and Kerry in 2004--one of the first of its kind. Its premiere career-building tool--the Career Coach-- was noted by the Dept. of Labor for being one of the top job-oriented sites online. It also helped hundreds of thousands of families and children get homework assistance, build family budgets, write business plans, and find affordable housing and child care.

Rally.org – From 2013 to 2015, we played a central role in product and business development for cause-crowdfunding platform Rally.org. Funded by Silicon Valley’s top venture investors, Rally.org utilized emerging digital media tools to drive donations to individual causes and non-profit organizations. The platform is best known for campaigns for the Make A Wish Foundation, Jon Bon Jovi's Hurricane Sandy relief effort and the 2012 election cycle.