Over the past few weeks, more than 15,500 people have come together to spread awareness and fund research of mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. That same group has given over $2,000 and secured another $17,500 in matching donations for the Mesothelioma Foundation. Those of you who have started your own cause are probably asking yourself, “How did a relatively small foundation that fights an obscure form of cancer and began with a 150-member cause activate so many people in such a short period of time?” The answer: the foundation and one of their off-line sponsors decided to get creative with the sponsor’s philanthropic giving by participating in the Cause Sponsorship Program.
SimmonsCooper, a nationwide law firm that prosecutes companies that use asbestos, got in touch with Causes a couple of months ago. They had planned to make a contribution to the Mesothelioma Foundation, but wanted to do more than write a check. We worked with them put together a matching grant campaign that would multiply the impact of their giving by using those funds to engage Facebook users to take action. Ultimately, SimmonsCooper offered a $10,000 matching grant that automatically triggered a $1 donation to the cause Cure Mesothelioma for every new member who was recruited to the cause as well as a dollar-for-dollar match for all donations made through the cause.
The Mesothelioma Foundation, for its part, worked with us to prepare the cause for the campaign. To create a cohesive message, the foundation decided to tell the story of Zaida, a girl fighting mesothelioma in Colorado. The cause administrators have used the cause photo, media board, welcome note and announcement feature to tell the story of an innocent little girl who, tragically, has been diagnosed with a malignant form of cancer due to others’ negligence. Our collective goal is clear: fund research to find new treatments for patients like Zaida. The response to this campaign has been so positive—the match offer was completed with more than a week to go—that SimmonsCooper decided to double it with a second $10,000 matching grant incentive!
As an added incentive for the second phase, the Mesothelioma Foundation is tracking recruiters on the cause’s Hall of Fame and offering a free t-shirt to top three. Mixing matching dollars and a physical award for the most active cause members is great way to mobilize supporters to take action. Since the second phase began only one week ago, 7,000 new supporters have joined the cause. We are confident that the Mesothelioma Foundation will be able to use this tremendous momentum to share their work with tens of thousands of new people who will in turn become advocates and financial supporters for the organization.
Please take a moment to learn more about our Cause Sponsorship Program.
This is a great program.
AWESOME! On your Cause Sponsorship Program, wonder if there is anyone interested to sponsor Pahlawan Volunteers’ cause Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (Translation: I’m a Child of the Malaysian Race) at http://apps.facebook.com/causes/80669