Gamification

Back in 2010, Jeffrey Rosen and John Graham were developing a game called "Overgrowth" and wanted it to get noticed online. If that was ever going to happen, they needed to do something innovative. "We wanted to come up with the craziest and best promotion we could think of," Graham said. The result was Humble…

America’s love affair with peer-to-peer fundraising events is well documented. Every year, thousands of organizations sponsor “a-thon events”—such as walks, runs and rides—in which their supporters act as their fundraisers...

A Virginia man who died at home while playing a 24-hour video game marathon was part of an online livestreaming community where members sometimes go to extremes to build their audiences, experts say. Thirty-five-year old Brian Vigneault spent about 22 hours playing the online wargame "World of Tanks" on the streaming platform Twitch.tv. He told…

Giving Tuesday has revolutionized giving days. A movement that started in 2012 by 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation, Giving Tuesday aims to “celebrate and encourage giving during a commercially focused season,” Jessie Salpeter, senior digital account executive for Chapman Cubine and Hussey, said during the DMA Nonprofit Federation Conference...

Humble Bundle’s recent charitable effort, the Humble Freedom Bundle, was a major success. The company announced yesterday that it sold more than 200,000 units of the package, which included several acclaimed games and books, with a final tally of $6.43 million going straight to organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union. All proceeds of the…

The problem with gamification is that often it turns into a pay for play system, rewarding fundraisers for behaviors, instead of reinforcing in fundraisers the idea that they love fundraising for their nonprofit. How can we avoid this?...

There’s nothing like a game to fire up friendly competition in the name of charity. These days, companies are finding challenges are such effective tools to engage employees that gamification has become a key aspect of many corporate volunteer and giving programs. These challenges can extend across departments, companies and sometimes even industry sectors to…

The Movember Foundation, the charity that helps raise money and awareness for men's health, recently launched a mobile game based on the "Movember" phenomenon. The game, called Run Mo Run!, is available for iOS devices, with all proceeds from its microtransactions and advertisements going to men's health charities. An Android version is also on the way,…