The Initiative Includes a Contest Series Which will Help Fund the Visions of Young Entrepreneurs 

MILWAUKEE - December 1, 2011 – It is time for the nation’s young entrepreneurs to bring their bright ideas to life, and a new initiative called Generation Innovation is making that possible. Splashlife, a network designed to provide young people with tools to pursue their dreams, is partnering with Lincoln Financial Group to launch an online contest which will award young entrepreneurs in a variety of categories – from Entrepreneurs for Social Change, to Women Entrepreneurs and Veteran Entrepreneurs – with $2,500 Lincoln Grants to implement their innovative business ideas.

The launch of the contest will coincide with the closing ceremony of The White House Youth Entrepreneur Summit, hosted by the White House Office of Public Engagement, the White House Business Council, and the Small Business Administration, in which Splashlife Founder and CEO Melissa Helmbrecht will speak about the importance of empowering young entrepreneurs in order to create a better future for our country.

Helmbrecht’s remarks will be live-streamed tonight at 7:30 p.m. CST on whitehouse.gov/live.

“With many young people still facing issues of unemployment nationwide, it is time to empower them to create their own destiny and pursue their groundbreaking business ideas,” said Splashlife chief executive officer Melissa Helmbrecht. “Young entrepreneurs are the artists who will paint our country’s future and our goal is to provide them with the tools needed to begin that process and create impactful change.”

Young entrepreneurs (age 35 and younger) can submit business ideas in one of 12 categories at www.Splashlife.com/GenerationInnovation.  At least one winner will be selected every month in 2012 and each will be awarded a $2,500 Lincoln Grant to put toward starting their business. Peers from across the country can view submissions online and vote for the best ideas.

“We are honored to support this inventive program that encourages young entrepreneurs to take charge of their futures,” said Nancy Rogers, Senior Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility for Lincoln Financial. “This effort could not have come at a more important time in our nation’s history, when innovative thinking has such potential to contribute to the economic growth of our country and the sustainability of our communities. We look forward to seeing the exciting ideas that surface as a result of this contest.”

“It doesn’t matter what zip code you live in. It doesn’t matter what is going on in your family and personal life. It doesn’t matter how many challenges life has thrown at you,” said Helmbrecht. “If you have the best idea to launch a business, we are here to help.”

Splashlife proudly partnered with HelpersUnite.com, the world’s first and only crowd-funding site that empowers artists and entrepreneurs to raise money for charities in parallel with their project fundraiser, in designing and implementing this important initiative.

For more information or to submit a business idea please visit www.splashlife.com/GenerationInnovation.

About Splashlife

Launched in 2011, Splashlife serves as a resource and advocacy group for the rising generation of 75 million young Americans. Splashlife provides a network of support, information and the tools necessary to help young people improve their lives and the lives of others. Through its online platform, Splashlife enables its members to connect with their peers and affect change in their communities and the world around them. For more information please visit www.splashlife.com.

About Lincoln Financial Group
Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) and its affiliates. With headquarters in the Philadelphia region, the companies of Lincoln Financial Group had assets under management of $153 billion as of September 30, 2011. Through its affiliated companies, Lincoln Financial Group offers: annuities; life, group life, disability and dental insurance; 401(k) and 403(b) plans; savings plans; and comprehensive financial planning and advisory services. For more information, including a copy of our most recent SEC reports containing our balance sheets, please visit www.LincolnFinancial.com.

 Contact: 

Rebecca Morley

Devine + Powers                            

 215.568.2525

 rmorley@devinepowers.com

 Laurel O’Brien

Lincoln Financial Group

  484.583.1735

Laurel.Obrien@lfg.com

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In the wake of the tornadoes which ravaged the South a few weeks ago, many young people reached out to Splashlife, wanting to find a role to play in the disaster relief efforts. In response to our members’ call for action, we created a nationwide campaign in partnership with other concerned groups, from Rock the Vote to Mobilize.org, and in doing so we reached more than 7 million young people in less than a week’s time.  

Splashlife has now extended that campaign to cover the devastation caused by the tornado that just tore through Joplin, Missouri, which is being called the deadliest twister on record after claiming at least 117 lives. Our first round of posts on Splashlife.com inspired emails and phone calls that would break your heart. Calls from people who are missing loved ones in the tornado, emails from those who’ve turned their Mom & Pop restaurants into soup kitchens for the homeless and the hungry, and messages of all kinds from young people who’ve been affected by the tornado and who are seeking to find some kind of meaning out of their suffering and loss by turning to us and asking what role they might play to help others. We’ve invited them to tell their stories and join the relief efforts.

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Los Angeles, May 10, 2011 — Splashlife, the member-based network dedicated to helping the 75 million young Americans improve their lives and serve others, partnered with Youth Service America, Takepart.com, Rock the Vote, the National Conference on Citizenship, Mobilize.org, Team Rubicon, the University of Alabama’s On Campus Veterans Association, EDAR and Universal Giving to launch the national “Rebuilding From Devastation” campaign to support disaster relief efforts in the American South following last week’s historic tornadoes.

In addition to spearheading a national campaign to rally awareness, donations, and volunteers, Splashlife deployed a three-member video crew to Tuscaloosa, Alabama earlier this week to document and support the efforts of several veterans groups which, incredibly, have volunteered to serve their country again.

The Splashlife team filmed, reported, and blogged from the front lines, following the efforts of two particular groups who are lending a hand where one is needed.  Splashlife teamed up with the Campus Veterans Association from the University of Alabama which lost 6 students to the storms.  These vets were among the very first responders when disaster struck. The University group partnered with Team Rubicon, a nonprofit organization founded by young war veterans dedicated to using their training and experience to provide skilled disaster response. Team Rubicon’s mission in Tuscaloosa is part of a broader initiative to engage returning veterans in disaster relief.

“With the help of our influential partners, we hope to provide an unprecedented platform for these heroic young Americans as they once again selflessly serve others,” says Melissa Helmbrecht, Splashlife’s Chair and CEO. “We are proud to lend our support and to bring awareness to a part of the country that, despite the fact that the media has moved on to other stories, is still in great need of our help.”

Through their support of these two veteran groups, Splashlife and the “Rebuilding From Devastation” partners not only hope to bring awareness back to rebuilding the South and assisting those in need, but also to show the power and impact of a group of young people whose purpose is to serve others. It is their firm belief, after all, that today’s young people can and will change the world.

By coming together and mobilizing when it mattered most, both teams have already proven that even amidst waist-deep debris and devastation, what still stands is the courage and strength of a Generation.

For more information on Splashlife and partners, how you can help the South, and to witness Team Rubicon’s rebuilding efforts from the front lines, visit www.splashlife.com

Los Angeles, April 5, 2011 — Splashlife, the latest endeavor of social entrepreneur Melissa Helmbrecht opened its virtual doors April 5, creating a new kind of membership network for the 75 million young Americans facing a time of epic uncertainty. Splashlife’s business model rivals the scope and power of the AARP, with a focus on these young people who have no such community or advocacy group.

The idea for Splashlife came to Helmbrecht when she faced her own uncertainty as a student at American University, where she often stood outside the Eastern Market Metro Station in Washington, D.C., begging people for spare change in order to finish her college education.

“I made a decision that if I ever found a path forward, I’d dedicate the rest of my life to encouraging young people, letting them know they are not alone,” she says. “With Splashlife, I’m delivering on that promise…and then some.”

Helmbrecht has spent the last two years compiling a dream team of influential players from Hollywood to Washington, D.C., including feature film producer and award-winning philanthropist Peter Samuelson, former president of Virgin Records Ray Cooper, co-owner of the Philadelphia Eagles and executive producer of the 2011 Academy Award-winning film Inside Job Christina Weiss Lurie, author, music executive, and social activist Deborah Santana, leading D.C. youth advocate Thaddeus Ferber,and Motorola Mobility board member and former CFO of Dell, Tom Meredith.

Helmbrecht’s vision for Splashlife immediately inspired a multitude of artists and executives, ranging from award-winning icon Whoopi Goldberg to recent Yale graduate Allison Williams, star of the upcoming Judd Apatow-produced HBO series Girls. Both have joined the editorial and leadership teams, respectively. As Goldberg put it, “Seems like there’s a group for everybody — the AFL-CIO, the NRA, the DNC, the RNC. There’s one for teachers, doctors, lawyers, bus drivers, and coal miners, but nothing for our most important group and the future of this country: our young people. Who’s there for them?”

Splashlife provides a network of support and information, including premium content and the tools necessary to help young people navigate the challenges they face. It provides an online platform enabling its members to connect with their peers and affect change in their communities and the world around them. There is already in place a comprehensive loyalty and rewards program, which delivers exclusive benefits, deals, and discounts on everything from jeans and laptops to health care and airfare. Splashlife has also negotiated exclusive banking solutions tailored to address the financial needs of young people. Rolling out this year are weekly grants for members’ career, education, and travel dreams, as well as nationwide concerts, forums, and election events.

“It’s time we invest in our nation’s most important asset, our young people, and provide the tools they need to improve their lives and the world around them,” says Lurie.