For fans of Clay Aiken, it’s time to start dusting off the voting fingers, make a list of friends and family that will help you and find out who you know that drinks Pepsi products. We are about to support another Pepsi Challenge Grant.

Jerry Aiken is the Executive Director of the National Inclusion Project.  On Tuesday, he wrote the following on Facebook:

The National Inclusion Project will be entering the 2011 Pepsi Challenge soon. Hopefully all our friends will take us to victory again! In the interim please collect the Power Vote numbers from specially marked Pepsi products. Do not enter the codes yet; once you do you have to vote that day. Power voting will allow all of the votes you win to go to one idea! More to come- thanks!

Pepsi is skipping out of large ad campaigns to invest in a socially – conscious media push. Pepsi’s “Refresh Everything” campaign asks consumers to think up ideas that will make the world a better place, promising $20 million in grant money to fund the winning causes.

So what does a community have to do to get the money? Well, that is the neat part about this project. Pepsi wanted the money to be available to ANYBODY that has an idea that would benefit their community, not just big corporations with whole staffs of grant writers. They also wanted the money to go to ideas that the general public would like to see supported, so they developed a voting system. If you are an U.S. residents over the age of 13, you can vote.

Labeled “crowdfunding”, this type of campaign is a growing trend. Pepsi is experimenting with the power of the crowd. Instead of taking donations from a large number of individuals, they’re sourcing ideas. Using the Pepsi’s Refresh Project people can create communities that pitch ideas for charitable projects. People vote on the ideas and Pepsi makes those projects a reality. What Pepsi is most likely counting on is the reach of individuals to their networks. People push their “refresh” ideas to their networks through social media in order to generate more votes and in turn, more love for the Pepsi brand.

According to the Pepsi Refresh Website there is a new twist to the Pepsi Refresh Project this time around.

Consumers can now earn bonus votes for their favorite ideas simply by purchasing a Pepsi product with new “Power Voting” feature. Voting will open for the first time in 2011 on May 1 for the Pepsi Refresh Project and consumers are encouraged to cast their vote on www.RefreshEverything.com – giving them the power to decide which ideas are funded. Each month, Pepsi is giving away more than $1 million to 60 ideas that move communities forward.  This year, Pepsi is also offering consumers the chance to make their votes go even further for the ideas that they believe will create a better, more vibrant world with Power Voting.

So…let’s get a head start on the voting this time around.  Although we can’t use the codes yet, we can start today to collect the codes for the Power Voting. Choose from the products below to find your Power Vote code location.

20 oz bottle
Pepsi, Diet Pepsi or Pepsi MAX (bottle cap)

2 liter bottle
Pepsi, Diet Pepsi or Pepsi MAX (bottle cap)

12-can package
Pepsi, Diet Pepsi or Pepsi MAX

20-can package
Pepsi, Diet Pepsi or Pepsi MAX

24-can package
Pepsi, Diet Pepsi or Pepsi MAX

It is easy to find the code. It should be under the bottle cap or printed on the inside of your multi-pack.

So, while we await more information, check with your friends, community organizations, and family members to see if they will help collect the Power Vote Codes…AND…be ready to vote for the National Inclusion Project.

CANN will keep you informed of the schedule and will post the time schedule, the rules and all the instructions from Jerry and the National Inclusion Project.

This is a great way to help support the Project.  It will cost us nothing but a few minutes each day.  Can the National Inclusion Project count on your help?