June 19, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
What do you call charitable giving that’s thoroughly and fundamentally integrated into a product and its marketing?
Lucy Bernholz wants to know. Writing on her blog Philanthropy 2173, Ms. Bernholz is asking readers for examples of ideas that go well beyond the simple marketing techniques companies use to show their support for good causes.
As one example, she cites Contribune, which enables a charitable organization to track the news that its potential donors read. Users enter the Internet address of a news story they care about, and the site steers donations to related charities, tracks those gifts, and sometimes elevates the article to its “front page.”
“Giving is part of this model,” writes Ms. Bernholz, “but it’s really just the action that triggers the ratings that trigger the revenue. Sort of the way Nielsen ratings have been used to set broadcast advertising rates.”
Contribune has also started a tool that shortens Internet addresses — something demanded by users of Twitter — and simultaneously channels money to charitable causes.
Last year saw the creation of search engines that enabled giving, writes Ms. Bernholz. “What do you think will be the next technology action to integrate charitable giving?” she wonders. “And what should we call this kind of embedded giving?”
Let us know what you think by clicking on the comment link below.
