This giveaway is now closed — see the winners below.
Ikea surprised us this week by sponsoring a generous giveaway: a $350 Ikea gift card up for grabs. In addition to the gift card, Ikea is running its “Life Improvement Project,” which will award one committed individual $100,000 to take a year off and focus on making a difference—whether that means starting a nonprofit, volunteering full-time, or dedicating a year to other philanthropic work. Ikea also offers free in-store seminars about improving daily life through thoughtful living spaces.
If you were hoping to get your hands on the $350 gift card, here’s what the entry looked like and the basic giveaway details (for reference):
- Prize: One $350 gift card to Ikea.
- How to enter: Comment on the giveaway post with the phrase “IKEA Me!”
- Bonus question: In your comment, tell us what you would do if you had a year to help others. Would you open an after-school program, volunteer at a homeless shelter, support wildlife conservation, or something else?
- Giveaway closes: Wednesday, October 27th at 8pm EST.
- Number of winners: Initially one, later increased to three winners.
- Prize ships: United States only.
- Entry rules: One entry per e-mail address. Winners were chosen at random and announced as an update to the original post.
******************************
We were blown away by the response: nearly 11,000 entries. Because of that enthusiastic turnout, Ikea generously expanded the giveaway from one prize to three separate $350 gift cards—more than $1,000 in total prizes. A huge thank-you to Ikea for the extra generosity.
Here are the three winners selected at random:
- Alyssa Allen — Alyssa said that her Life Improvement Project would include relocating her family to help address poverty in another part of the world.
- NEPD — NEPD shared that she would donate her wedding florist services free of charge to help others.
- Jill — Jill planned to spend a year working with the Wildlife Conservation Society to support animal and habitat protection.
Note: We were not compensated or given perks to host this giveaway; we simply enjoy partnering with brands to reward our readers. For those who want to review typical giveaway practices, check the site’s Giveaway FAQs. Images in this post were provided by Ikea.
Thank you to everyone who entered and shared thoughtful answers to the bonus question. Your ideas for spending a year helping others ranged from community-driven programs to conservation efforts and demonstrated how many creative and generous ways there are to make a positive impact. If you missed this giveaway, stay tuned—future opportunities to win and inspire positive change will be announced on the site.