It is the season of giving, and here at Buddy Media, giving back is part of our DNA, year round. While we are certainly even more in the giving mood during the holidays, our contributions do not start nor end in December.
We could not be more in awe of the non-profits that we’ve partnered with this year. These organizations do amazing work, day in and day out, and they are truly inspiring to us every day.
Yes, Buddy Media is a for-profit business. We want to make money. But we also should be able to do good in the process. They shouldn’t be mutually exclusive. With that in mind, I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight our amazing non-profit partners. Please support them and the work they do.
Cycle for Survival
For the second straight year, Buddy Media is participating in Cycle for Survival, the national indoor relay-style team cycling event that raises money in support of research on rare cancers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. For the 2012 event, held in February, Buddy Media will have teams in New York, Long Island, San Francisco and Los Angeles. As of today, Buddy Media employees have already raised over $100,000 for the 2012 Cycle for Survival Event, with more than a month left to fundraise. Cycle for Survival has raised more than $9 million to date, and Buddy Media looks forward to continuing to help with efforts to beat cancer.
NBC Toy Drive
For the past few weeks, the Buddy Media HQ lobby has been rapidly filling up with Barbies, board games and big wheel toys. Employees have brought in toys to donate to the NBC Toy Drive, which distributes gifts to 200 charities representing 20 million children in every state, plus military locations around the country. This year, Buddy Media donated nearly 350 gifts to the drive. In total, NBC and the “Today” show have raised more than $35 million in gifts and cash.
Charity: water
The idea for Charity: water is simple, yet powerful. The non-profit organization is committed to bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. Buddy Media has worked with the organization in a few ways. In May, Buddy Media launched an initiative with Charity: water on Facebook specifically with Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith on Will’s Facebook Page. The campaign asked fans to pledge their birthdays to the Charity: water cause. The top three fundraisers who made the pledge won a trip to join Will and Jada to visit completed water well projects in Africa.
Additionally, Buddy Media sponsored this year’s charity: ball, which raised $2.6 million total in just one night. That money will help bring clean water to 100,000 people in Asia and Africa! You can donate to Charity: water via their website as well: http://www.charitywater.org/donate/.
DonorsChoose
Our technology has powered the DonorsChoose.org Facebok Page for over a year. The organization is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need. Teachers post project requests, ask for donations to fund the projects, and then receive the requested materials when the projects reach their goals. The DonorsChoose Facebook Page, with a tab powered by Buddy Media, features a video about the organization and highlights weekly a project funded on the site. Read more here to get involved with DonorsChoose.
United Nations 7 Billion Actions
The United Nations Population Fund is leading a campaign, called 7 Billion Actions, to build awareness around the opportunities and challenges of a world which now has seven billion inhabitants. The objectives of the organization include the inspiration of governments, the private sector and media to take actions that will have a socially positive impact. Using the Buddy Media Social Marketing Suite, the 7 Billion Actions Initiative launched a short film competition on Facebook and the open web. The Facebook Page asks users how they are taking actions for a better world, and allows them to enter the film contest. For more information, check out the 7 Billion Actions website: http://7billionactions.org/.
Robin Hood Foundation
Earlier this year, Buddy Media partnered with Lady Gaga and the Robin Hood Foundation on a crowd-sourced charity contest. Lady Gaga and the Robin Hood Foundation gave away $1 million to five charitable organizations that benefit disconnected youth in New York City. Buddy Media powered the Lady Gaga Facebook Page, which allowed fans to vote for their favorite charity. Over one million votes were cast in one week, and Robin Hood saw more than 450,000 Facebook Post views related to the contest. Additionally, the Facebook Page saw a 400% increase in ‘Likes.’
Please go to the Buddy Media Cycle for Survival Team Page to help us raise money for research to fight rare cancers!
