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.

The Causes Team

Welcome to Causes Exchange, the guide to getting the most out of Causes! On this site you’ll find a wide range of resources, starting with weekly blog posts from members of the Causes team and awesome guests who will provide their unique perspectives on using technology to create social and political change. The primary goal of the blog is to share knowledge of what works in online organizing so that all of us can be as successful as possible within this exciting and quickly evolving space. Specifically, our team will update you on campaigns we’re helping to run and the lessons we’re learning along the way. You’ll also be the first to hear about new features on the Causes application and tips for maximizing their use. Whether you’re an individual activist, a nonprofit employee or consultant, a potential corporate sponsor, or a foundation, you’ll find resources here that will enable you to get the most out of your Causes presence. You will also find bios of the people behind Causes, job postings if you want to join the team, and links to our favorite blogs. If you have questions while you’re exploring, you can visit our Help Center and FAQ page.

It’s been two years since Causes launched, and we’re thrilled by what we’ve seen so many passionate people accomplish. From Eric Ding, a medical student who created a cause for breast cancer research and grew it to over 4.5 million members, to the Love Without Boundaries Foundation, a small nonprofit who has raised over $150,000 through their cause to give medical care to Chinese orphans, there are countless incredible stories from the 240,000 causes on the platform that we can’t wait to share with you. Many of you have helped us by sharing your experiences and giving your feedback on the tools, and we thank you for all those one-on-one conversations that have taught us so much. We’ve been telling these stories and lessons through email, phone calls, and conferences, but now we’re going to start bringing them all into one place and sharing them with everyone. Frankly, we’d love to invite you all over for a potluck, but we just don’t have enough chairs.  So we created this site instead, and we hope it will enhance your efforts by giving you an opportunity to ask questions, learn from others’ experiences, and access the wealth of knowledge that the 50 million other people using the Causes application have to offer.

Many of you have already met our activist team (Matt, Susan, or Sarah) so we’d also like to introduce you to the other folks behind Causes.  We are headquartered in Berkeley, California, where 13 of us are working around-the-clock to make and improve Causes.  We recently opened an office in Washington DC to better serve the nonprofit community.  Feel free to check out our bios in our “About” section to get to know us better.  Now that you’ve had a tour around the site, come back often! We hope this site jump-starts your creativity and we look forward to seeing all the exciting campaigns, petitions, drives, fundraisers, and contests you run.  And keep reaching out to us as you experiment – we’ll be here to help you accomplish your goals.

Sincerely,
Joe, Sean, and The Causes Team