Western Union to donate $50k to non-profit via Facebook community
Facebook community to vote for $50,000 recipient in Western Union?s ?Our World Gives? campaign
Western Union, the glo
bal money transfer company has unveiled a new platform for social giving on popular social utility,
Facebook. The ?Our World Gives? campaign, managed through the company?s social enterprise arm
Western Union Foundation, aims to raise awareness of its eight selected charities and donate $50,000 at the end of a six week period.
Western Union Foundation?s president, Luella Chavez D?Angelo says that the non-profits identified most closely align themselves with Western Union?s ?Our World, Our Family? program by creating economic opportunity for vulnerable communities. D?Angelo goes on to say, ?Understanding how important it is to raise awareness of these organisations, we decided to harness the power of Facebook to spread the word and ? in the process ? allow Facebook users to make a significant contribution to a deserving organisation.?
The Facebook community will be encouraged to mobilise friends and family to vote for one of the eight charities by adding the
Our World Gives application. The non-profit with the most votes, as determined by the community, will receive a $50,000 USD donation.
?Regardless of which organisation is ultimately selected for the $50,000 donation, we believe it will benefit all involved. The program will highlight the incredible work these organisations to around the world and will hopefully encourage individuals to become more involved. We believe awareness is the first step toward engagement,? concludes D?Angelo.
Since launching on Facebook, the Our World Gives application has already gathered over 7,000 users. The selected charities and potential benefactors of the $50,000 donation are
Accion USA,
American Red Cross,
CARE,
Mercy Corps,
Room to Read,
US Fund for UNICEF,
Opportunity International and
World Vision.