The Oscar-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire” — depicting the often dire circumstances faced by children in poverty in India – has sparked interest in charities that target the problem, according to CAFAmerica, which promotes borderless charitable giving as part of the CAF International Network that spans six continents and has over $4 billion of charitable funds under management.
Issues related to the economic downturn dominate the concerns of corporate giving officers polled in a study by The Conference Board released today on the philanthropy plans of major U.S. companies.
AOL announced today that its customers helped save the lives of children by generously donating to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital(R) through its fifth-annual Thanks and Giving(R) campaign. AOL, whose users doubled the amount of money they donated year over year, mounted an extensive promotional campaign across its network of sites, generating more than 467 million media, editorial and promotional impressions during the Thanks and Giving campaign, a national awareness and fundraising initiative for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital that runs throughout the holiday season. AOL contributed a total of $1.5 million to St. Jude in donations from AOL users, AOL employees, company matching grants, as well as in-kind promotions and ads on the AOL network.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) puts a "fresh face" on the fight against blood cancers today by becoming the first nonprofit in the world to offer an affinity credit card that can be personalized with a unique image, such as a patient's face, the faces of those who support the patient, or nearly any image that has special meaning to the cardholder. Free, personalized LLS Visa affinity credit cards are offered in cooperation with CardPartner, a New York-based company that helps non-profits of all sizes establish the kinds of affinity credit card programs once reserved for the largest groups.
City of Hope, a leading research, treatment and education center for cancer and other life-threatening diseases, has been selected by FOX Sports as one of four charities to be featured in FOX Sports Supports, the network’s on-air charitable initiative designed to raise awareness, provide funds and boost volunteerism for health-related charities. Final selection of the charities was determined by a vote of FOX Sports employees.
Oro Azul LLC has launched Trips4Fundraising.com, an expansion of the fundraising program for U.S. non-profit organizations started in 2005. Trips4Fundraising provides non-profit organizations with tailored luxury vacation packages for fundraising events benefiting the organizations' programs and missions.
PENTAX Imaging Company is pleased to announce the PDML Photo Annual comprised of artwork from 59 photographers from around the world. This book will benefit Childhood Cancer Research. The project, led by Mark Roberts, an instructor in multimedia at Youngstown State University, with photographers Doug Brewer of Richmond, KY; Bill Robb of Regina, Canada; and Scott Loveless of Harrisburg, PA, brought together 59 artists in 15 countries to create this work. Their Internet-based approach facilitated coordination between the editors and dozens of contributors scattered around the world. Photographers uploaded their images through a web site, where the editors could view them and exchange ideas and opinions through email. The book was assembled electronically and uploaded to an online publishing site where copies are printed whenever orders are placed through the web.
This weekend, Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us stores nationwide will kick off a nine-week in-store fundraising campaign to benefit Autism Speaks, the nation's leading organization dedicated to increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; funding research into the causes, prevention and treatments for autism; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. For the first time in the three-year partnership with Autism Speaks, the company's more than 260 Babies"R"Us stores also will participate in the program. From Sunday, March 1 through Friday, May 1, donations will be collected in more than 800 "R"Us stores across the country and online at www.Toysrus.com/AutismSpeaks to coincide with Autism Awareness Month in April.
What can individual donors learn from the philanthropic practices of big corporations? We talked with three corporate leaders at an annual gathering of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) to find out how big companies make charitable gifts and what their practices can teach individual givers. We also quizzed them about corporate social responsibility — the buzz-term for putting a good charitable or socially-aware face on your company — and whether it helps attract new, younger employees.
On Monday, Robert L. Corcoran, president of the GE Foundation, stood cheerily alongside three other corporate-philanthropy leaders on the balcony above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to ring the opening bell.
