Social media tools have opened up all sorts of new vistas in the world of fundraising. In such a Wild West environment, people are still trying to figure out what works best and where the advantages of social fundraising can be found.
For corporations, it seems, social networking tools can be used as a marketing tool as well as a giving mechanism. Along those lines, here’s a new idea from Chase Bank and Facebook: a program called Chase Community Giving: You Decide What Matters.
Chase is offering $5 million of its money, the fate of which Facebook users will decide. All Facebookers can vote for their favorite small charities — choosing between more than 500,000 of them — and Chase’s money will be given to those with the most fans.
The most popular organization will receive $1 million, and the next top five will score $100,000 each. One hundred finalists, including the top winners, will each also take home $25,000. The $5 million total in donations will be on top of the bank’s usual philanthropic activities.
Not only that, but an advisory board composed of celebrities and philanthropic powerhouses, such as actress Eva Longoria Parker and NBA Hall-of-Famer David Robinson, will distribute a total of $1 million to the nominated charities at its discretion.
If any nonprofit reps are reading, take note: you ignore new media at your peril!
Image courtesy of benstein, via Flickr
