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Over the Christmas break, I was able to support following Causes:
- Offset eight pounds of carbon through contributions to the CarbonFund.org
- Help teachers purchase items for five classrooms located in schools with few resources
- Provide donations for Prevent Child Abuse America to reduce the number of abused children
- Help CHF International give clean water to four people in Sudan fora month
- Provide meals for hungry people through Feeding America
- Help stop animal abuse by supporting the American Humane Society
- Get books to children in developing countries through Room To Read
- Feed chimps through Jane Goodall Institute
- Plant Trees through America Forests
How did I do all this? No, I didn't win the lottery. I downloaded a new Iphone app called Causeworld. It lets you earn "karma points" when you go into a store and check in with your Iphone. You don't have purchase anything and the karma points can be exchanged for real donations nine different charitable organizations through the generosity of corporate sponsors who have partnered with the app.
Causeworld works a lot like FourSquare and gowalla that shows you a list of local business near you when you open the app on your phone. When you enter the store and check in, you get rewarded with karma points.
Like FourSquare, there is a game element. The more karma points you earn and donate to different causes, you receive badges. You also advanced through different levels based on the level fo your generosity. For example, over the break, I donated 1160 and got to level four, Benefactor!
The causes that are supported are listed here and represent a good mix of wildlife conservation, hunger, and others. This idea is really cool for a couple of reasons. The user doesn't have to donate, but they're leveraging a corporate donation. Sort of like embedded giving that Lucy Bernholz talks about, I think. The application is well designed and is fun.
If your New Year's resolution was to get more exercise, the application gets you way from your computer!
And, of course, there is the trade-off - the fact that you're trading in your shopping habits data for corporate donors. That doesn't bother me personally - it's for a good cause. Some skeptics may point out that the application isn't really creating social change in the real world, but is generating much needed donations for charities to do their work.
Last month I made a prediction that we might see fundraisers with FourSquare or some other location-based mobile social network with a gaming element. I'm sure this isn't the first of what is bound to be a lot of "do good" mobile phone apps in 2010.
Have you seen other "do good cause marketing or fundraising" mobile phone apps?
Beth Kanter, Blogher CE for Nonprofits, writes Beth's Blog.
