Dancing for Dollars
In 2015, Invisible Children will host fundraising dance marathons in support of the organization’s Legacy Scholarship Program, which to date has provided 6,000 merit-based scholarships to secondary and university students affected by the LRA conflict.
A Foundation in Filmmaking
In 2003, Invisible Children co-founders Jason Russell, Laren Poole, and Bobby Bailey traveled to Africa on a filmmaking mission. While in Uganda, they discovered the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel militia led by warlord Joseph Kony, who has spent nearly three decades building an army out of more than 30,000 abducted children.
Investing in the Future
In 2013, Invisible Children spent $15.5 million, with more than 77 percent of its budget going toward its programs.
Successful Statistics
The past two years have seen a 93 percent reduction in LRA killings and a 67 percent decrease in abductions. In two recent months in 2014, nearly 100 women, children, and combatants returned home from LRA captivity.
Video Gone Viral
Kony 2012, the organization’s 30-minute, $2.8 million documentary, became the most viral video in history when it reached 100 million views in just six days, raising both awareness about the horrors in Uganda and criticism about IC’s operational and financial practices.
IC by the Numbers
More than 26,000 Ugandans benefit from Education and Livelihood programs and 83 communities in central Africa are linked into the Early Warning Radio Network, a system that allows communities to warn each other and alert security forces about impending attacks.
Fifteen Minutes of Fame and Infamy
After Kony 2012, Russell, now 36, was everywhere—CNN, The New York Times—and also under fire, leading to a very public meltdown on the streets of San Diego in March 2012. Russell and his wife, Danica, opened up to Oprah Winfrey about the incident on Oprah’s Next Chapter in October that year.
Inside the Icon: Invisible Children
Sam Hodgson
