Social Media For Good: Businesses Making A Difference Using Social Media #12for12K

Social media is the new weapon in an organisation’s marketing communication arsenal. Increasingly social media is being harnessed to engage communities, increase awareness and in the case of not for profits, attract funds, affecting change and ultimately making a difference.

The 12for12K Challenge is a great example.

The 12for12K Challenge was founded late last year by Danny Brown, a Scot, now residing in Canada. Danny established the charity after some reflection about the degree of true connectedness in the world today. One Sunday afternoon, whilst visiting a food court, Danny spotted an elderly woman wearing a wedding ring, eating alone. Despite being active in social media where it is customary to strike up conversations with strangers, on this occasion, Danny didn’t. He later felt he had missed an opportunity to reach out. You can read Danny's original post here. In an age of supposed connectedness, Danny wanted to actively use the power of social media to reach out and help others.

The 12for12k Challenge represents Hope - Change - Belief and uses social media to raise awareness and funds to change the lives of millions worldwide. The 12for12K Challenge supports a different charity each month: 12 charities, 12 months, aiming to raise $12,000 per charity. Charities with administration costs of 10% or less and openly available financial records, are chosen by collective vote from supporters.

Danny explains: “We look at all the suggestions and see which fit our criteria first - operating costs, long term change etc,” he says. “Then we see which can help the most people or needs the most support from us. Our goal is to be the voice of the voiceless, some need us more than others in that respect.” he says.

All work for 12for12K is undertaken voluntarily – with no money being taken for administration. Donations are made by PayPal or credit card online directly to that month’s charity, eliminating third parties.

A large and growing membership

The 12for12K support base has grown significantly since its inception. In less than 12 months, almost 2,500 people have subscribed to the blog, more than 600 joined the 12for12K Facebook page and 500 the email list, in addition to countless Twitter supporters and hashtag users. 30 official blog partnerships have also been established.

The support base is truly international with US, Canada, UK, Australia Japan France, German, South America, Sweden, Italy and New Zealand just a few of the countries represented.

Charities Assisted

To date the organization has raised more than $50,000 US and supported more than eight charities.

“While this is short of our goal, its still a terrific amount for us” says Danny “and I’m incredibly proud and humbled by our supporters.’ He says.

The positive impact extends beyond the month of support. The increased awareness of chosen charities achieved from the 12for12K support encourages a continue flow of donations over the longer term.

“ We are simply a call to action for the charities.” Danny says. “ This is why all donations go directly to the charity itself as opposed through 12for12K accounts’

What’s Next?

In March next year, Danny hopes to chat about global consciousness at the South by South West Film & Interactive, a conference which attracts approximately 17,000 attendees. He is also aiming to bring a local focus to the global connections achieved via social media next year.

“One of our members Jon Aston coined the phrase Connect Globally:Think Locally," says Danny. "I have a ton of ideas about how to empower 12for12K locally so you can really make a difference where you live, no matter where in the world you are.'

Exciting times ahead – for sure – all enabled by the connection that our 21^st century technology and social media provide.

For further information or to join click here: 12for12K Follow on Twitter

Follows are some links for further background.

PS C’mon Aussies .. we’ll be rallying the troops in the months ahead and will be providing more information about local charities and causes for our support, providing information how such support can be linked to your corporate social responsibility activities.