Toronto’s cause marketing agency Public Inc. has unveiled the latest iteration of its year-old Power of 2 initiative, a fundraising effort that pits celebrities–or, more specifically, their social networks–against each other in a bid to raise money for the charity of their choice.
The newest Power of 2 pits U.S. women’s hockey team member Angela Ruggiero against U.S. women’s soccer team member Heather O’Reilly in an effort to raise money for the Right to Play charity–which uses sports to promote health and life skills for children in some of the world’s most impoverished nations.
Power of 2 launched last year with ET Canada co-hosts Cheryl Hickey and Rick Campanelli competing against each other to raise more than $20,000 for their respective charities, Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children and Athletes for Africa.
This latest program, which runs through Dec. 27, is being supported through a dedicated website as well as outreach to influential bloggers, sports media channels etc.
Public co-founder and CEO Phillip Haid said that while online fundraising is growing “by leaps and bounds,” social media is still in its infancy in terms of its ability to solicit charitable donations.
Haid said that while some Facebook causes have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, many have raised less than $100.
According to Haid, social media is adept at engaging consumers and driving them towards donation sites, where they are likely to feel more comfortable providing financial information. “When you want to process donations, people want to know it’s a secure platform,” he said.
Public hopes to complete as many as five Power of 2 programs in 2012, some of which have the potential to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars. The plan, said Haid, is to engage celebrities from areas like music and movies, or even business tycoons like Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson and would-be presidential candidate/TV personality/hairpiece wearer Donald Trump.
“We think that we can ladder up to some really big celebrities,” said Haid. “The potential when you look at some athletes and musicians with a million-plus Twitter followers is huge.
“We see this as a platform we’re going to be rolling out across North America,” said Haid, adding that it may ultimately be introduced into Europe.
Question: Is social media a good tactic for soliciting charitable donations?
