While charities are increasingly using not just the web, but social media, to spur donations, cause-wired philanthropy is coming of age for brands, too.

Startups like Social Reality evangelize to major brands the value add of becoming involved, while the powerhouse that is Facebook's Causes campaign has seen massive success connecting brands with consumers around a worthy cause.Continue reading...

Chocolatier Green & Black is taking it to the people − both customers and suppliers. The organic and Fair Trade Certified chocolate producer has announced a program in which 10 residents of the U.S. and U.K. will be named Global Ambassadors and taken on a 14-day adventure challenge next spring in the Dominican Republic rainforest, where they will work with the local cocoa farming community and help build a gravity-fed water system.

Those interested have until Jan. 3 to apply; the company will select ambassadors based on what they have done for their own communities. The winners will also receive $1,000 for a local-community building cause of their choice, and they will be tasked with blogging about their experiences on the trip.

This isn't the first time Green & Black has made an effort to get its consumers involved in the company.Continue reading...

Speaking of holiday campaigns (re BMW's e-card, below), BC parent Interbrand today launched Gather for Change.

Instead of sending a traditional holiday card this year, Interbrand offices are collecting donations (big or small) and crowdsourcing the recipient.

Find out more in the video above, and click here to nominate a worthy non-profit organization.

Stars and brands are aligning to promote World AIDS Day. In addition to Lady Gaga and other celebrities' "digital death" social media log-off (above) spearheaded by Alicia Keys, Annie Lennox was named London's "HIV Ambassador" and released a PSA for World AIDS Day.  

Bono kicked off the (RED) campaign to virtually and physically "turn the world red" today (the message: an HIV-free generation of babies by 2015) with a kick-off event in Sydney, and a reminder that brands including Nike, Starbucks, Gap, American Express and Armani create and sell products exclusively for (RED) year-round.Continue reading...

"Cause-related marketing, as we know it, is dead. It's not about slapping a ribbon on a product any longer," according to Carol Cone, managing director of brand & corporate citizenship at Edelman, the public relations and corporate communications agency.Continue reading...

Once upon a time, a luxury brand needed to do nothing more than demonstrate its exclusivity to be coveted by wealthy consumers.

But in today's redefined marketing environment, says the UK's Guardian, "more awareness develops around where products come from and how they are made. ... Customers feel conflicted about what they really 'need' in this new economic landscape, discouraging purchases that previously wouldn't have garnered a second thought."

This new brand of consumer consciousness creates an interesting dilemma for luxury brands as they move into the future.Continue reading...

The 1st of the month marked the kickoff of “Movember,” a veritable “coming together” of "Mo," slang for moustache in Australia (where the Mo-vement originated), and "November" to raise awareness and funds for men’s cancer research.

The rules of the challenge are simple: start clean-shaven on Movember 1st, register at Movember.com and allow your Mo to grow for the next four weeks. As the Movember Foundation website notes, “Much like the commitment to run or walk for charity, the men of Movember commit to growing a moustache for 30 days.”Continue reading...

Blogivation. It's Procter & Gamble's way of saying it's engaging bloggers in its corporate social responsibility efforts. P&G is hoping those efforts aren't a wash — particularly as its CSR power is focused on a multi-year commitment to helping clean the world's water supplies, particularly for children and creatures.

The consumer goods giant has helped clean up oil spills including the recent BP disaster with its Dawn dishwashing liquid, and Pantene is the latest P&G brand stepping up in its "Healthy Hair for Healthy Water" pro-social initiative aimed at developing countires.

Keeping the ball rolling, the company has announced its blogger-focused Give Health Clean Water Blogivation effort to help make clean water available for developing countries and disaster relief.Continue reading...