As the economy tightens and the "Costanza wallet" becomes a thing of the past, I encourage companies to do social giving contests. The cash-strapped public will appreciate it.
As a web-junky up to her eyeballs daily in news about philanthropy, I am excited to note what may be a new trend in corporate giving, letting the public decide where dollars should go through what I’m calling corporate social giving contests.
Both Target, an MCF member, and Toms of Maine have recently launched online campaigns to engage the public directly in deciding where their precious giving dollars should go.
Target’s campaign, conducted entirely on Facebook, allowed members of the popular social networking site to vote on how $3 million would be distributed among 10 different pre-selected charities. St. Jude’s was the eventual “winner” of the campaign, receiving almost $800,000 from the online contest.
Similarly, Toms of Maine announced a new campaign and site entitled 50 States for Good. At the site visitors can nudge their favorite nonprofits from anywhere in the nation to apply for the competition until August 30. Then on September 21, voting begins!
Any site visitor will be able to vote on the nonprofit finalists to determine who will receive a $20,000 scholarship out of a pot of $300,000 to be given away.
I salute both Target and Toms of Maine for embracing innovative ways to get the public engaged in their own corporate giving.
Not only does it help them be more transparent in their giving practices, something that we at MCF advocate, and get some great PR, it also gets people engaged in giving at a time when many of us may find our own ability to give diminished.
Let’s face it, as our wallets get thinner, it’s nice to have a chance to get that warm-fuzzy feeling by giving away someone else’s cash!
It’s my hope that this recent activity becomes a trend, and I’ll see more tweets about companies undertaking their own corporate social giving contests.
Update: Just saw a tweet that said Staples has begun its own Facebook campaign with DoSomething.org. Participants can fill a virtual backpack, and then go to the store and buy the items to donate to students of low socioeconomic status. It’s not a social giving contest, but definitely in the same vein. Read more about Staple’s campaign here. (6/19/09)
-Cary Lenore Walski, MCF Web Communications Associate
