FRAMINGHAM, MA - Money. In then end, many good ideas comes down to the answer to the simple question, "How will we pay for it?"

Pepsi to the rescue! Through it's "Refresh Everything" webiste, Pepsi is offering grants ranging from $5K to $250k each month for projects "which are intended to improve communities through an online, democratic voting process".

The basic concept is people submit ideas in one of the (6) approved categories:

1). HEALTH – fostering wellness

2). ARTS & CULTURE – celebrating the arts

3). FOOD & SHELTER – ideas for providing food and shelter for the community

4). NEIGHBORHOODS – building better communities

5). EDUCATION – helping people learn at any age

6). THE PLANET - ideas which help the planet

Pepsi began accepting grant applications on January 13, 2010, and the entire program runs through January 31, 2011.

One key component of the program is "speed".  In each round, (one each month, see details for dates), the program attempts to get the applications, post them on the website, have people vote on which ones should get funded, and release the money quickly.

If anyone has ideas for a Framingham related project this could be used for, please post a comment here.  Since the program is a popularity contest of sorts, it would probably be best if locally we could narrow it down to one good idea, and then try to get as many people as possible to vote for that project.  (Each individual can vote for up to 10 projects in each round, so be sure to save one of your votes for Framingham!)

For complete details, visit the website: www.refresheverything.com