Some of Fortune 500's Biggest Companies Give Back

Some of Fortune 500's most profitable companies give back to charity in a variety of different ways including through special payroll systems, video games and more. The companies will be receiving awards during the upcoming United Way at the annual Spirit of America and Summit Awards show. Read on.





Wells Fargo – in Charlotte, Wells Fargo did a “flash philanthropy” event as a first attempt that will lead to greater use of flash/mobile. The company had nonprofits perform/present briefly at an event (ballet did 1 minute dance, etc.) & then asked employees to vote for nonprofits to receive grant money using mobile phones (crowdfunding & texting). Wells Fargo also has a new social media command center.
AT&T created a mobile optimized website so all employees can pledge during campaign using their phone vs. a desktop computer. Fully integrated into HR & employee systems/payroll, etc.
GE -- many campaigns using videos to get employees engaged & has dedicated social media pages for employees to share their volunteer & charitable efforts, engaging the community.
Walmart – working on associate game & “gamification”
UPS – annual eBay auction & internal auction; both public & employees raising funds, using company’s sports, entertainment & celebrity partners.
Deloitte creates a United Way video game

Deloitte & Touche USA LLP and United Way of America have teamed up to create a new video game to make learning more fun while teaching students about community service. The Virtual Team Challenge (VTC) Event! uses games, music and the internet to help teams of students compete against other teams in their class, their school and across the nation. Teams act as an event production company staging a community festival to raise money for United Way. The game teaches life skills and reinforces issues such as negotiation, business ethics and volunteering, in a fun, interactive and relevant way.

In October, the simulation was launched in 177 high schools across the U.S. with more than 5,500 high school students signed up to play. The seven teams that raise the most “virtual money” will receive a monetary donation to their local United Way and a monetary contribution to their high school to be awarded during a school assembly.

For more information, check out the official Virtual Team Challenge website.

ZergNet