AT&T and Causes are teaming up to launch a new social giving platform called Connect for Good. The application is layered on top of Facebook’s social graph and when users spread the news about certain causes via the social network, AT&T will donate to non-profit organizations tied to these ideas.
“The Causes Connect for Good platform enables consumers to take action around important issues, giving them opportunities to support non-profit organizations like the National Organizations for Youth Safety and The Nature Conservancy,” AT&T VP of Sustainability & Philanthropy Beth Shiroishi says. “Our hope is that this initiative will connect like-minded individuals, empowering them to share their passion for social good with their friends and family – and ultimately making measureable and positive impacts in our communities.”
Digital outreach has been able to tie itself to social platforms, offering interacting ways to give back and benefitting from the viral nature of the News Feed and similar applications. While many a contender has tried to be the new “Facebook for X,” choosing a niche and attempting to compete with the world’s largest social network, these types of cause-related services have no need or desire to challenge Facebook. Instead, they’re perfectly poised to piggyback on the site’s runaway user numbers.
Sites like Jumo, Good, and Causes have been able to do just this, and the power of Facebook definitely works to make giving “cool” in certain respects. And the deal with AT&T would seemingly make this easier: For instance, using the site to pledge not to text and drive and then sharing that pledge via Facebook means a $4 donation to the National Organizations for Youth Safety from AT&T.
