Chase and Facebook announced the final list of small and local charities that will receive a total of more than $5 million in grants from Chase through Chase Community Giving. Winning charities will use the funding to help child soldiers in Africa return to school and a normal life, to support the families of U.S. Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, to offer help for children whose parents have cancer, to lend a hand to the homeless and for many other meaningful causes. Following on the success of the Facebook program, Chase announced its plans to continue Chase Community Giving in the future.
Facebook Fans selected Invisible Children based in San Diego, Calif. to receive a $1 million grant from Chase in the final round of Chase Community Giving. The charity works through the support of U.S. high school and college students to advocate for the rescue of children in central Africa who have been kidnapped from their homes and forced to serve as soldiers in a civil war in Uganda. More than 30,000 children have been abducted to become both the weapons and the victims of this tragic war. The organization, which will use the funding to build African schools and microeconomic programs as well as raise awareness in North America, received 123,990 votes in Round Two.
Five more runner up charities were selected by Facebook users and will receive $100,000 each, for work that includes: assisting the families of children with special needs; finding a cure for a terminal spinal disease affecting infants; offering healthcare and wellness in rural areas; supporting people struggling with depression; and offering education to disadvantaged girls overseas who face poverty and discrimination.
Additionally, the Chase Community Giving Advisory Board, which includes NBA Hall of Famer David Robinson, Emmy-nominated actress Eva Longoria and Do Something founder Nancy Lublin, selected 17 charities from Round Two to share $1 million of grants. The Advisory Board selected charities serving a range of public needs, such as helping homeless youth get back on their feet, supporting children and adults with developmental disabilities in Chicago, offering tutoring programs in East Harlem and many other causes. The Board also focused on providing funding to several organizations that promote and facilitate volunteerism and public service, which they believe will make an even broader impact.
“We are thrilled with the way Facebook Fans came out to support the wide range of small and local charities through this new method of giving. Because of the overwhelming response and positive feedback, we have decided to continue Chase Community Giving in the future” said Kim Davis, president of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation.
“We think this program resonated with individuals and entire communities because it allowed them to show their support for local needs in a way they never could before” Davis said. “Chase Community Giving allowed Facebook users to express their passion for smaller charities and gave a national voice to charities that historically haven’t received funding from corporate philanthropies. In many cases, these donations are the largest gift the winning charities have ever received”
The number of Chase Community Giving Fans on Facebook nearly doubled in Round Two of the program, with more than 2 million fans participating. The Chase Community Giving site added the second highest number of Fans on Facebook in the past week and the program has been the most popular corporate philanthropy crowdsourcing campaign in Facebook history.
“The enthusiastic response to Chase Community Giving confirms that this innovative means of charitable giving is more than possible–it works. Harnessing the power of social networking to give individuals and communities a voice in corporate philanthropy has proven to be a great motivator and will have a significant role in the future of giving” said Elliot Schrage, Vice President of Global Communications, Marketing and Public Policy at Facebook.
Invisible Children traditionally receives 80 percent of its funding through small donations, including many individual donations from high school and college students. The grant from Chase is the largest donation ever received by the organization, founded by three young filmmakers who saw first-hand the horrific lives of the young soldiers.
“This is a real victory for the motivated youth that have rallied behind us. Our margin of victory was so small, every single vote mattered, every phone call and personal message. Our interns and supporters across the world went without sleep and pulled out every stop to support us. We have learned that energy abounds when working toward something you love. And we love our friends in Northern Uganda” said Invisible Children co-founder Laren Poole. “Chase Community Giving has given us an unprecedented opportunity to pursue peace and a future with them”
The five runners up, based on Facebook user votes, will each use the $100,000 for a range of worthy causes, including:
* Isha Foundation of McMinnville, Tenn., which offers healthcare and wellness programs to rural populations in America and India;
/> * To Write Love on Her Arms of Cocoa Beach, Fla., which assists the 19 million Americans struggling with depression and thoughts of suicide;
/> * Friendship Circle of West Bloomfield, Mich., which provides support to families with special needs children;
/> * Bridge to Turkiye of Cary, N.C., which is providing access to education to disadvantaged girls in Turkey, who often cannot afford or are not encourage to go to school; and
/> * Gwendolyn Strong Foundation of Santa Barbara, Calif., which is focused on finding a cure and raising awareness for Spinal Muscular Atrophy, the leading genetic cause of death in infants.
In addition to the donations determined by Facebook user votes, the Advisory Board selected 17 other charities to share in $1 million in grants.
Six charities will receive $100,000 each:
* Action Without Borders and Idealist.Org of New York City, which provides online resources for people interested in not-for-profits and volunteer opportunities;
/> * Atlas Service Corps of Washington, DC, which facilitates international fellowships for rising service leaders;
/> * Camp Kesem National of Lafayette, Calif., which provides resources to create college student-run summer camps for kids with cancer;
/> * Iraq And Afghanistan Veterans Of America of New York City, which is dedicated to improving the lives of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans and their families;
/> * Seeds of Peace of New York City, which empowers youth from regions of conflict with the leadership skills required to advance reconciliation and coexistence; and
/> * Teen Living Program of Chicago, which offers assistance for homeless children and young adults.
The Board selected 11 other charities to receive $37,000 each:
* A Good Idea of San Francisco, which provides support for the homeless and underserved youth;
/> * Andrew Mcdonough B Positive Foundation of Wilmington, Del., which supports families with critically ill children, particularly with cancer;
/> * Camfed USA Foundation of San Francisco, which offers HIV/AIDS education focused on girls;
/> * East Harlem Tutorial Program of New York City, a child tutoring program in East Harlem;
/> * Generation Project of Chicago, which improves educational opportunities for children and encourages new philanthropists through donor-initiated projects;
/> * The Matthew Shepard Foundation of Casper, Wyo., which supports diversity programs in education and to help youth organizations establish environments where young people can feel safe and be themselves;
/> * Misericordia Family Association of Chicago, which supports children and adults with developmental disabilities;
/> * Mosaic Youth Theater, which is a children’s theatre in Detroit;
/> * Readysetlaunch of North Potomac, Md., which offers college readiness support for underprivileged youth;
/> * ThinkImpact of Denver, which gives U.S. students opportunities to travel to developing countries and become advocates for change; and
/> * The St Bernard Project Inc of Chalmette, La., which aides New Orleans families moving back to 9th Ward.
“As the founder of a local non profit, I know this was a transformative experience for small charities throughout the country. Over the last two months, Chase Community Giving helped small charities get their stories out, gain new fans, find new sources of support and build an online fundraising strategy for the future” said NBA Hall-of-Famer and Chase Community Giving Advisory Board Member David Robinson.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a national charity based in New York City dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide, was able to grow their support base through the program.
“The Chase Community Giving program brought much needed awareness and visibility to suicide prevention, an issue often surrounded by stigma and misconceptions. Our Facebook fan base increased nearly 35 percent which will give us the opportunity to educate the public and advocate for further suicide prevention efforts. It also gave a powerful voice to those impacted by suicide” said Robert Gebbia, executive director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. “We plan to use the $25,000 donation from Chase to help train volunteers from across the country on implementing local suicide prevention initiatives in their communities”
Chase Community Giving, a grassroots campaign launched November 16 to inspire a new way of corporate philanthropy, allowed Facebook’s 350 million users to chose from more than 500,000 of their favorite small and local charities and to vote for them to win their share of $5 million. To be eligible for the program, charities had to be a registered 501©(3) non profit, have an operating revenue under $10 million, not discriminate against any particular groups and meet other requirements as described the program’s rules.
Facebook users voted for non profits in Round One from all 50 states and the District of Columbia that serve the general public in the following areas: education, healthcare, housing, the environment, combating hunger, arts and culture, human services and animal welfare. Tens of thousands of charities rallied supporters through online videos, mass emails, and other grassroots efforts to promote their Big Ideas for making a significant local impact in their communities. On December 16, the top 100 eligible vote-getters were announced to receive $25,000 each, and moved on to Round Two to submit a million dollar grant proposal to Facebook users. Only two of the 100 organizations overlapped with Chase’s existing giving portfolio.
In addition to the donations made through the program, Chase will provide a $25,000 honorarium to each Board member who does not work for Chase or Facebook, which will be donated by Chase to the charity of the member’s personal choice.
JPMorgan Chase donates a total of more than $100 million annually to more than 3,000 non-profit organizations in local communities, nationally and abroad. This $5 million Facebook effort is in addition to the bank’s traditional philanthropic giving.
For more information on the program, visit http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving.
About Chase
/> Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), which operates more than 5,100 branches and 15,000 ATMs nationally under the Chase brand. Chase has 146 million credit cards issued and serves consumers and small businesses through bank branches, ATMs and mortgage offices as well as through relationships with auto dealerships and schools and universities. More information about Chase is available at www.chase.com.
About Facebook
/> Founded in February 2004, Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. Anyone can sign up for Facebook and interact with the people they know in a trusted environment. Facebook is a privately held company and is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif.
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