Uploaded October 2016 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
Believe it or not, it’s often difficult to get people to claim abandoned funds, whether from a forgotten savings account, an uncashed check or a long-ago refund. Why is this? Unclaimed funds manager Monica Johnson posits that, as a society, we have been sucked into a throwaway culture, where we’d rather toss aside what’s ours rather than deal with it. She shares her own heart-wrenching story of growing up unwanted and passionately asks that we recognize the impact we can make by embracing who we are and what we can do for others.
TED@UPS Atlanta unlocked the opportunities of the question “What if?” Daring to engage with the boundless future, speakers explored innovations in language, trade and technology to imagine a future full of possibilities for all.
About the TED Institute: We know that innovative ideas and fresh approaches to challenging problems can be discovered inside visionary companies around the world. The TED Institute helps surface and share these insights. Every year, TED works with a group of select companies and foundations to identify internal ideators, inventors, connectors, and creators. Drawing on the same rigorous regimen that has prepared speakers for the TED main stage, TED Institute works closely with each partner, overseeing curation and providing intensive one-on-one talk development to sharpen and fine tune ideas.
Learn more at ted.com/ted-institute
Follow TED Institute on Twitter @TEDPartners
Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/TEDInstitute
Believe it or not, it’s often difficult to get people to claim abandoned funds, whether from a forgotten savings account, an uncashed check or a long-ago refund. Why is this? Unclaimed funds manager Monica Johnson posits that, as a society, we have been sucked into a throwaway culture, where we’d rather toss aside what’s ours rather than deal with it. She shares her own heart-wrenching story of growing up unwanted and passionately asks that we recognize the impact we can make by embracing who we are and what we can do for others.
TED@UPS Atlanta unlocked the opportunities of the question “What if?” Daring to engage with the boundless future, speakers explored innovations in language, trade and technology to imagine a future full of possibilities for all.
About the TED Institute: We know that innovative ideas and fresh approaches to challenging problems can be discovered inside visionary companies around the world. The TED Institute helps surface and share these insights. Every year, TED works with a group of select companies and foundations to identify internal ideators, inventors, connectors, and creators. Drawing on the same rigorous regimen that has prepared speakers for the TED main stage, TED Institute works closely with each partner, overseeing curation and providing intensive one-on-one talk development to sharpen and fine tune ideas.
Learn more at ted.com/ted-institute
Follow TED Institute on Twitter @TEDPartners
Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/TEDInstitute










