Stamp Stampede is a non-profit organization protesting big money in politics as well as voter suppression.
The organization was started by Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. It consists of over 100,000 Americans legally stamping dollars to protest big money in politics and roadblocks to voting for minorities, students, disabled, and low-income people. The movement’s motto is simple: TKITKOS – The Key is to Keep on Stamping.
“The goal of stamping paper currency is to get these anti-big-money and pro-voting rights messages stamped on your bills seen by as many people as possible.[It’s] the best way to make your demand public.”
Stamped bills “stay in circulation for 2.5 years” and are seen by “over 800 people” as they’re from hand to hand around the country.
“Big money has corrupted our elections and undermines the fundamental principle of ‘one person, one vote'” says a representative. “We’re building a movement of dedicated citizens rubber stamping messages like ‘Not to Be Used to Bribe Politicians‘ and ‘Stamp Money Out of Politics‘ to create a ‘petition on steroids’ that Congress and the entire country cannot ignore.”
Volunteers get involved by purchasing a stamp branded with a custom “Stamper ID” of their choosing. Each time someone reports seeing a stamped bill, it gets added to the leaderboards. Stampers can interact and engage with the Stampede community, monitor leaderboards, and find out where their bills have been spotted.
Maine-based WooExperts, Hall, were tasked with redesigning and rebuilding the site for a more community-focused direction. To accomplish this, Hall built a customized bill-sighting process with real-time reporting, email notifications, leaderboard rankings, and interactive maps using the Google Maps API. Further customization added the ability to choose a “Stamper ID” and make gift purchases.
