AJWS Announces Winners of Philanthropy Design Competition

Three Artists Receive Cash Prize and Trip to Visit AJWS Grantees

New York, NY; May 15, 2012—American Jewish World Service (AJWS), an international development and human rights organization, has announced the three winners of its design competition focused on philanthropy and social change. Where Do You Give? challenged artists to create a 21st century icon inspired by the values and imagery of the traditional Jewish tzedakah, or charity, box.

The three winners are:

  1. “Vending Box.” Doug Burnett, art director, Chicago, IL.
  2. “Discover Needs.” Michael Cohn Moreau, software engineer, Nashville, TN.
  3. “Change.” Lily Feinberg, artist, Washington, D.C. 

Special Jury Prize:

  1. Untitled. Sam Holleran, artist, New York, NY.

Honorable Mention:

  1. “Charity Plan.” Grace Robinson-Leo and Rob Matthews, Yale University Graphic Design Program graduate students, New Haven, CT.

“We are not so different from the people we want to help,” said winner Michael Cohn Moreau when asked about his design’s central message. “While most people in the States don’t have the kind of daily struggles some people face in the developing world, ultimately we all have family and friends, dreams and desires, and we all just want the chance to pursue a fulfilling life, whatever form that may take.”

Cohn Moreau, a software engineer from Nashville, conceived of a QR code tagging system for products in grocery stores entitled, “Discover Needs.” Shoppers scan the codes with their smart phones to learn about issues that are directly connected to the products they buy. For example, a shopper purchasing insect repellant can scan the QR code to learn about malaria and the nonprofit organizations working to combat the disease. Shoppers then have the option to donate to one of the featured organizations.

Cohn Moreau, along with Lily Feinberg of Washington, D.C. and Doug Burnett of Chicago, will receive $2,500 and a trip to visit AJWS’s grassroots partners in the Americas, Africa or Asia. Additionally, their designs and those of the six finalists will be featured in a national mobile tour hosted in galleries, synagogues and various communal spaces. The kick-off event for the mobile tour will take place on June 20 at 92Y Tribeca in New York.

To learn more about the winners, visit: www.wheredoyougive.org.

For More Information

If you are a member of the press and wish to obtain information about our work or speak to a member of our global team on deadline, please contact Tanyanika Davis, Director of Media Relations, at tdavis@ajws.org.