HI guys, I just wanted to clarify a few things, if I could. I am the founder and Director of The Erin Go Bragh Foundation. The promotion being discussed here is my brainchild. I joined Flyertalk a while ago, and check the site occasionally but do not contribute much because I really don't travel much. I conceived this idea after being solicited by the American Airlines promotions department. I discussed how to promote the idea with a friend and I mentioned this site. I said I was not sure how to go about talking about it without seeming to be involved in aggrandized self-promotion, whereupon he took it upon himself to join Flyertalk and do it himself. He then called me yesterday in alarm to tell me people were bashing not just the promotion, but the foundation as well. After reading the posts I feel I need to respond.
I founded The Erin Go Bragh Foundation in October 1998 after discovering there is not one Irish American Heritage Museum in America. This is despite the Irish being the third largest ethnic group in America and despite the innumerable contributions of the Irish to our society. I left my job a year ago to work on this project full time. In the interim, none of the volunteers who have donated their time to this project nor I have made a penny from the foundation. In fact, quite the opposite is true; I have been draining my life savings to support my family while trying to see this project through. I spent $5000 of my own money to purchase the miles for this promotion, the proceeds of which will go directly to the foundation.
Make no mistake - this is a fundraising effort. We would like this museum to be part of the Passaic River revitalization project in Newark, NJ, plans for which include a cultural center. The first step in that direction is to hire an independent consultant to do a cost analysis. With the numbers from that analysis in hand we can begin our capital campaign. Right now we are trying to raise the funds to pay for the cost analysis.
As a formative charity, we are in a precarious position. We have received tacit support from Senator Robert Torricelli and Congressman Bill Pascrell of NJ, as well as various politicians on the local level. Several Irish organizations, including the NJ chapter of the AOH have shown enthusiasm for the idea, however, a basic requirement for the vast majority of grants, be they government, private or corporate is that you prove you have existing financial support. It’s a classic Catch-22; you can’t get the support you need to prove you have support to get the support they won’t give you without support. Hence, the reason for this promotion. I am sorry we cannot compete with Kellogg’s, in fact, I wish I had known about that cost analysis sooner, I might have saved myself $5000. I am sure they get their miles at a substantial discount to what we are paying. However, this isn’t all that bad a deal. It is also a much simpler process.
If you would like to help what we feel is a truly worthy cause and get a small reward in return, then please by all means make a donation. If you would like any further information or have any questions at all please feel free to email me at [email protected].
I am sorry for the length of this message and hope this clears a few things up, Thank you.

Sincerely,
Brian P. Fisher