NetAid began with a concert event on 9 October 1999 with simultaneous activities meant to harness the Internet to raise money and awareness for the Jubilee 2000 campaign.
[1] Performers at Wembley Stadium included: Eurythmics, The Corrs, Catatonia, Bush, Bryan Adams, George Michael, David Bowie, Stereophonics and Robbie Williams.
Along with Kofi Annan, Keyur Patel, MD of KPMG Consulting spearheaded the technology architecture development of the web site, and Anaal Udaybabu (Gigabaud Studios, San Francisco) designed the user experience.
The experiment "pushes the envelope for Web-based charities, according to analysts, who said the bid to turn handhelds into virtual wallets faces some significant hurdles--for example, guaranteeing the privacy and security of contributors.
"[5] In response criticisms regarding its finances, NetAid published a web page in November 2001 citing its record of donations to anti-poverty initiatives to date, such as granting "$1.4 million to 16 poverty alleviation projects in Kosovo and Africa — well over the $1m that had been raised from the public to that point... the remaining $10.6 million was dedicated to creating an innovative institution that will generate new support for reducing global poverty over the long term.
[7] In 2004, NetAid co-produced a game with Cisco Systems called "Peter Packet," which addresses how the Internet can help fight poverty, focusing on issues of basic education, clean drinking water, and HIV-AIDS.