Last Christmas, social media helped do some of Santa’s work for him. The U.S. Marine Corps Reserves’ Toys for Tots program, in collaboration with toymaker Hasbro and CafeGive, launched a Facebook giving campaign that provided toys to thousands of children who might otherwise have been sadly disappointed on Christmas morning.
Toys for Kids in Need -- via Facebook
For more than 60 years, The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation has delivered joy, hope and educational development – in the form of toys, books, games and sports equipment – to children in need.
In 2012, the need was greater than ever. More than 16 million children in the United States live below the poverty line, and one out of every three children live in families whose parents have no full time year-round employment. In the current economic climate, more parents are struggling to provide their families with even the most basic resources, let alone Christmas gifts.
To expand its Christmas gift program, Toys for Tots Foundation decided to enlist social media fans. In partnership with partner Hasbro, Toys for Tots went looking for a robust, easy-to-use and easy-to-share social media giving app that would expand its reach to more children and spread its message far and wide.
How CafeGive’s Facebook Giving App Works: Toys for Children, Data for Brands
We knew both the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation and Hasbro would need not only a giving app that would further their commitment to compassionate help, but also one that would provide a comprehensive set of tools to measure every aspect of social engagement as well. When you’re a large visible company or a nationally recognized nonprofit, you have a brand to protect, and shareholders or donors to answer to.
Our Thank Santa giving app invited Facebook members to “like” the Toys for Tots page, and then post a “thank you” note to Santa that shares their memories of their favorite toys when they were children. For every “Thank Santa” note posted, Hasbro donated a toy to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, which in turn will distribute toys to children in need. To spread the word further, each user could share the note about the bicycle, Easy-Bake oven or board game he or she loved best with their Facebook friends, encouraging others to write their own notes and earn more donated Christmas gifts for kids. Last but not least, the giving app encouraged Toys for Tots fans to make a donation themselves.
A dashboard visible only to campaign administrators allowed Marine Toys for Tots Foundation marketers to review every post, and track views and shares in order to see how people are engaging with the giving campaign.
Thank Santa represents Toys for Tots’ first foray into fundraising via social media. Here at CafeGive, we’re proud and honored to have enabled Toys for Tots’ first step into social media giving.
