The Windfall Fund: Small Donations Today Equal Large Contributions Tomorrow

November 6, 2007

The Windfall Fund is an interdisciplinary collaborative effort between three USC undergraduate students. Jeffrey Ashbrook is student in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Kathleen Meek is a Roski School of Fine Arts student, and Steve Avery is studying at the Marshall School of Business. Together, these three young innovators are working to secure a future for tomorrow's generation.

The Windfall Fund is a charitable nonprofit that enables a person to make a small donation today, and with 150 years of compounding interest, that small donation will have a large charitable impact tomorrow. The Fund's efforts have been pioneered by Jeffrey Ashbrook. Beginning approximately one month before the first annual USC Student Innovator Showcase and Competition, Jeff put together a team for this new kind of charitable nonprofit.

As a child, Jeff has always enjoyed taking on new challenges. When he was 11, he took on the task of managing his own stock portfolio, and at 15 he moved away from his family to study at the David Ledbetter Golf Academy to try and become a professional golfer.

Following high school, Jeff attended Elon University, pursuing his desire to play collegiate golf. After one year, he decided to transfer to USC with his best friend - without ever seeing the campus. For the first time in a long time, his focus was on academics; he challenged himself by choosing computer engineering and computer science as his major. His decision has paid dividends, and he has had the privilege of learning from great teachers at USC as well as experienced people in the industry at both Alienware and Walt Disney Imagineering. He currently owns his own company and freelances for Buena Vista Home Entertainment, and still enjoys taking on new challenges.

We asked Jeff a few questions about his newest project, The Windfall Fund, here is what he had to say:

Help us understand what you are up to (Describe your work / research):
Imagine making a small donation today that will have a large-scale impact on the future. The Windfall Fund will be a non-profit organization that allows anyone to make a minimal donation today and large-scale impact tomorrow.

Operating on the principle of compounding, The Windfall Fund recognizes that if a person donates $1 today, in 150 years, that $1 could grow to $1.6 million. Those monies can be used in the future by charities and other organizations for the advancement of human-kind, and have a much larger impact than $1 would be able to have today.

The Windfall Fund would, in effect, extend the impact of one person's contribution to society beyond their own lifetime.

Currently we working with the USC Law School to obtain 501(c)(3) status as a non-profit organization. We are also working with the Marshall School of Business to solidify a distribution plan for all donations, and we are pursuing a grant from the USC Career Center.

What drives you to continue pursuing this area of study?
I believe this idea could create a better world in the future and give my generation and younger generations a peace of mind because the future will be provided for.

Describe how your work might impact people's lives, now and in the future. (What's the potential societal impact?)
The Fund's sole mission is to allow people living today to take action to alleviate human suffering hundreds of years in the future.

The process is simple. Make a small contribution today and it will grow in a protected account for 150 years. During the 150-year growth phase, your donation will be pooled with others to form an endowment capable of funding significant charitable work every year after 2157 with no foreseeable endpoint.

In 2157, the fund will enter a new phase and begin distributing money to carefully selected charities and providing emergency relief for global disasters like Katrina and the recent tsunami.

How did you come up with the idea?
When I was younger I always assumed that I would make a lot of money, and then I could donate large amounts to charity. After I started working during college, I realized that I didn't have as much money to donate as I would like. I wanted to give more than I had. I thought others might also be in a similar situation: just because people don't have much money doesn't mean they don't want to help people in need.

While thinking about this, I considered what I had learned from managing my own stock portfolio: a small sum of money can grow to a large amount over time because of compounding. If I could apply this to a world-wide scale over a long period of time, it could give people the opportunity to have a lasting impact on the world by donating only a small amount of money.

Has anyone ever doubted that your idea could work? (Please elaborate.)
Yes, people have questioned the idea, because the idea seems too good to be true. People assume that most of my calculations do not take inflation into account, but they do.

What is the next step in the innovation process for you (and how might people help)?
The next step is securing 501(c)(3) status. We hope to have a full website up and running so people can learn more about the organization and donate online. If anybody has any great ideas we would love to hear them!

What is the one innovation you can't live without?
Pillows. What would the world be like without pillows?

What do you wish you could create?
A machine that could take us anywhere in the universe. I'm not sure whether that would be a spaceship, a transport, or a time machine or maybe a little of all three.

Any tips for aspiring innovators?
Work a little on your ideas each day and be patient.

What is the most fun you've ever had?
Attending the David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton, Florida was a blast. I met a lot of interesting people, and I played golf every day.

What is one life lesson that you have learned?
Determination and persistence can overcome any obstacle.

Additional Links
www.windfallfund.org