The America's Giving Challenge and the Causes Giving Challenge Inspire More Than 80,000 People to "Give," Raising More Than $1.7 Million Online for Their Favorite Causes and Charities in Just Fifty Days

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Case Foundation, Causes on Facebook, and PARADE Magazine today announced the winners of the first-ever America's Giving Challenge and Causes Giving Challenge.

The twin efforts by the Case Foundation and its partners brought together hundreds of thousands of people, and encouraged more than 80,000 people to donate, while raising more than $1.7 million for thousands of causes. In addition to the total raised, the Case Foundation and its partners will award $750,000 to the causes supported by the "Champions" who were the most savvy and successful in using social networking sites, like Facebook, and Web 2.0 tools, like charity badges, for grassroots fundraising.

Launched December 13, 2007, and ending on January 31, 2008, the Challenges were accessible to anyone, anywhere, and focused on bringing new opportunities to give into peoples' everyday lives. Both Challenges introduced new and emerging technologies and social patterns to millions of people, and showed how they could be leveraged to democratize philanthropy, give voice to the central role played by small donors, and deepen civic engagement while increasing giving.

Introducing Technology for Good

The Challenges were designed to demonstrate opportunities for using "technology for good." They were also designed to accelerate consumer awareness and adoption of simple easy to use Web 2.0 tools.

The Causes Giving Challenge took place within the Causes on Facebook online community, where participants activated online social networks using the Causes application. And in the America's Giving Challenge, people created and distributed online charity badges -- or "widgets" -- to promote their cause, create new networks of supporters, and raise funds. They could also place charity badges on personal Web sites, e-mails, and social networking sites to act as a viral marketing tool for the nonprofit participants that supported them.

"We're so pleased with the response to both Challenges," Case Foundation CEO Jean Case said. "Each was different, each was fascinating to watch, and each pointed toward exciting new developments in online philanthropy that we can learn from as we seek to deepen civic engagement and expand giving."

Case continued, "Thousands of people embraced new technologies, built new online communities, and proved that simple daily actions and small donations can inspire others and tap into their energy and passion to make a difference."

Smaller Groups Meet the Challenge

The Causes Giving Challenge, saw a total of 33,238 donations accounting for $628,072 in donations supporting more than 2500 organizations. The Causes Giving Challenge will award $50,000 to the cause with the most unique donors, $25,000 to the second and third place causes, and $10,000 to the next ten causes (listed below).

Throughout the Challenge, Causes on Facebook, in partnership with the Case Foundation, awarded daily winners $1,000 for having the most unique donations in a single day. Any Facebook user was empowered to participate by using the Causes application to promote their cause on Facebook through direct user-to- user messages, and feature it on their profile (see http://apps.facebook.com/causes/giving for full winner list.)

The America's Giving Challenge in PARADE magazine and on PARADE.com saw a total of 48,718 donations totaling more than $1.2 million, and supporting more than 600 organizations. This Challenge will award four national and four global charities $50,000 each for driving the most people to donate to their cause (listed below). One hundred additional charities will each receive $1,000 for attracting the most overall donations for their cause. (see http://parade.com/givingchallenge).

"The Causes team is thrilled to be working with the Case Foundation and PARADE to further elevate the potential of connected philanthropy," said Joe Green, Causes on Facebook co-founder. "The Giving Challenge is a great example of what we like to call equal opportunity activism, where any individual, no matter their background, and any organization, no matter their resources, is empowered to make a difference."

"The America's Giving Challenge was a huge success," says PARADE President & Publisher Randy Siegel. "We were excited to see how many of our readers embraced this innovative effort to promote online giving. We look forward to making an even greater impact in years to come."

Causes Giving Challenge Winners:

As part of the Causes Giving Challenge, Causes on Facebook users could join a cause group and donate to a charity of their choice as well as encourage others to support a cause. Winners include:

      -- Amy Eldridge, Oklahoma City, Okla. $50,000 prize for Love Without
         Boundaries Foundation, Oklahoma City, Okla. (4115 donations, $81,438
         funds raised plus awards).
      -- Kalaya'an Mendoza, San Jose, Calif. $25,000 prize for Students for a
         Free Tibet, New York, NY (3672 donations, $84.914 funds raised plus
         awards).
      -- Josh Lee, Raleigh, N.C. $25,000 prize for Nourish International,
         Durham, N.C. (1816 donations, $25,530 funds raised plus awards).
      -- David Ryan, Stanford, Calif. $10,000 prize for Face AIDS, Stanford,
         Calif. (1348 donations, $25,688 funds raised plus awards).
      -- Daniel Shearer, Burlington, Vt. $10,000 prize for The Dream Program,
         Winooski, Vt. (706 donations, $10,887 funds raised plus award).
      -- Paul Kulas, Wichita, Kansas. $10,000 prize for Justice for All,
         Wichita, Kansas (687 donations, $14,754 funds raised plus awards).
      -- Carolyn Rubenstein, Boston, Mass. $10,000 prize for Chordoma
         Foundation, Greensboro, N.C. (630 donations, $13,383 funds raised
         plus awards).
      -- Mary Sorens, Buffalo, N.Y. $10,000 prize for Liddy Shriver Sarcoma
         Initiative, Ossining, N.Y. (622 donations, $16.570 funds raised plus
         awards).
      -- Heather Box, San Francisco, Calif. $10,000 prize for League of Young
         Voters, Brooklyn, N.Y. (615 donations, $11,561 funds raised plus
         awards).
      -- Rick Gentry, Washington, D.C. $10,000 prize for Greenpeace,
         Washington, D.C. (590 donations, $10,670 funds raised plus awards).
      -- Mirah Horowitz, Washington, D.C. $10,000 prize for Homeward Trails
         Animal Rescue, Arlington, Va. (589 donations, $15,255 funds raised
         plus awards).
      -- Iffet Savas, Raleigh, N.C. $10,000 prize for Bridge to Turkiye, Cary,
         N.C. (588 donations, $11,068 funds raised plus awards).
      -- Vaughn Hester, Cambridge, Mass. $10,000 prize for Forge, Santa Rosa,
         Calif. (576 donations, $10,635 funds raised plus awards).


    PARADE's America's Giving Challenge Winners:

    The $50,000 national winners, sponsored through Network for Good, include:

      -- Heidi Dormody, Boulder, Colo., championed Engineers Without Borders,
         Inc., Longmont, Colo. (2979 donations, $60,655 funds raised plus
         $50,000 award).
      -- Peggy Padden, Portland, OR, championed Fanconi Anemia Research Fund,
         Inc., Eugene, OR (2732 donations, $65,522 funds raised plus $50,000
         award).
      -- Stephen Hollister, Tustin, Calif., championed IDEA League, Afton,
         Minn. (2634 donations, $62746 funds raised plus $50,000 award).
      -- Mary Parente, Rockaway, N.J., championed The 11th Hour Animal Rescue
         Inc., Rockaway, N.J. (2448 donations, $54,358 funds raised plus
         $50,000 award).


    The $50,000 global winners, sponsored through GlobalGiving, include:

      -- Michele Martin, Philadelphia, Pa., championed Route Out of Poverty
         for Cambodian Children, Concord, Mass. (1650 donations, $41,673 funds
         raised plus $50,000 award).
      -- Erin Kelly, Fredericksburg, Va., championed Students Helping
         Honduras, Fredericksburg, Va. (1639 donations, $28,796 funds raised
         plus $50,000 award).
      -- Scott Beale, Newark, Del., championed Atlas Service Corps,
         Washington, D.C. (1615 donations, $32,021 funds raised, plus $50,000
         award).
      -- Suzanne Plopper, Chester, Calif., championed Friends of Burkina Faso,
         Washington, D.C. (1598 donations, $41,879, plus $50,000 awards).

ABOUT CAUSES ON FACEBOOK

Causes on Facebook was built by Project Agape. With Causes on Facebook, any Facebook user with a little passion and initiative can create a cause, recruit their friends, and most importantly, raise money directly through the application for any registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization or political campaign.

About PARADE

PARADE, the most widely read magazine in America, is distributed in more than 400 of the nation's top newspapers. The magazine, which launched in 1941, now has a circulation of 32 million and a readership of 71 million. Each Sunday in PARADE and every day at Parade.com, our mission is to connect emotionally with Americans about the issues they care most about and move them to action. For more information, visit www.parade.com.

About the Case Foundation

The Case Foundation was created by Steve and Jean Case in 1997. The Foundation invests in individuals, nonprofits, and social enterprises that aim to connect people, increase giving, and catalyze civic action. For more information, visit www.casefoundation.org.

About Network for Good

Network for Good (www.networkforgood.org) is the Internet's leading charitable resource, an easy-to-use, secure Web site that includes detailed listings of more than one million U.S. charities and a searchable database of more than 40,000 volunteer opportunities. Network for Good has raised more than $135 million online for more than 25,000 charities since it was founded in 2001 by AOL, Cisco Systems, and Yahoo!. Network for Good is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

About GlobalGiving

GlobalGiving (www.globalgiving.org) enables individuals and organizations to find and direct funds to high-impact, grassroots projects. By aggregating many donors, GlobalGiving is creating a new source of funding for people with innovative solutions to challenging world issues. Corporate partners include eBay, Hewlett-Packard, Gap, Inc., Ford Motor Company Fund, and The North Face, among others. In addition, major funding partners include Omidyar Network, the Hewlett Foundation, the Skoll Foundation, USAID, and the Sall Family Foundation.