Online Game Company Raises Millions for Charity from Players

Facebook users playing such games as FarmVille and CityVille have raised $17-million so far for charities, according to Wired. The philanthropic arm of Zynga, the company that produced these two games, has been funneling money to nonprofits. When players buy virtual foods, a certain portion of the proceeds goes to charity, such as earthquake relief.

Zynga.org, the company’s nonprofit arm, has undertaken 125 campaigns raising money for 50 organizations since becoming a 501(c)3 organization in 2012, Wired writes. The strategy grew from an effort in 2009 in which a group of employees raised $1-million for Haiti via the Sweet Seeds for Haiti campaign. If players purchased seeds in the game, Zynga donated that money to nonprofits working in Haiti. Just last month, the nonprofit branch raised $1-million for water.org, a Missouri charity that pays for clean water projects in the developing world.

The advantage for the nonprofits is twofold; while the company’s engineers and technical skills are at their disposal, the organizations also get to keep 100 percent of the funds raised.