eBay Foundation, the charitable arm of eBay Inc.(Nasdaq:EBAY), today launched Community Gives (www.communitygives.org), an online fundraising campaign designed to generate broad financial support for three worthy causes. Through Community Gives, eBay Community members have a unique opportunity to join with eBay Foundation to provide new books to low-income children; build a safe haven for mistreated animals; and supply access to clean, safe water in poverty-stricken countries.
“The Community Gives campaign underscores the fact that there is power in numbers,” said Julie Vennewitz-Pierce, program manager of eBay Foundation. “Individually, each of us can make a difference. However, by working together we can potentially accomplish far more than we ever could alone. Community Gives is designed to tap into the passion and commitment of the eBay user community, and I am confident that by working together we can make a significant impact on three inspiring causes.”
The goal of Community Gives is to encourage the eBay Community to make a donation to one of the nonprofits selected for the campaign – First Book, Best Friends Animal Society and Oxfam - and then spread the word about the campaign. eBay Foundation will initiate the campaign by giving $1 million dollars split evenly among the three nonprofits. To encourage others to give, eBay Foundation will donate an additional dollar for every person who gives. eBay users can give by donating with PayPal or by selling with eBay Giving Works. eBay and PayPal are waiving all donation-related fees, so 100 percent of a Community member’s donation will go directly to the nonprofit.
The three nonprofits were selected as partners in this campaign with input from the eBay Community. eBay Foundation then worked with each organization to identify concrete projects that will have tangible results in several local communities.
First Book (www.firstbook.org) was founded with a simple mission: to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. The First Book Literacy Village model is national in scope and local in impact. By partnering with existing literacy programs in thousands of local communities, First Book has distributed more than 55 million new books to children who, for economic reasons, have little or no access to books. With the support of Community Gives, First Book will reach up to 60,000 more literacy programs serving children in need.
Best Friends Animal Society (www.bestfriends.org) is working to bring about a time when every healthy companion animal can be guaranteed a good life in a caring home. Best Friends operates the largest no-kill companion animal sanctuary in the U.S., providing expert medical care, rehabilitation, and training to rescued animals from around the country. Best Friends often takes in abandoned dogs and puppies when authorities shut down local puppy mills or when local shelters are in danger of closing. With the support of Community Gives, Best Friends will be able to build a Puppy Care Center, a place where abused, abandoned, and neglected puppies will receive care, training, and all the tools they need to live a long, happy life in a loving home.
Oxfam America (www.oxfamamerica.org) is an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice. As part of Oxfam International, Oxfam America saves lives, helps people overcome poverty, and fights for social justice. Oxfam has provided access to safe, clean drinking water for millions of people in the developing world by working in more than 120 countries. With the support of Community Gives, Oxfam will help bring clean water and sanitation to rural areas in Zambia and Ethiopia, and provide access to new, safer water supplies through the development of sink wells and boreholes, upgrades to existing water sources, latrines for communities and schools, and training on how to manage the equipment and sustain the water supplies.
eBay Inc. and eBay Foundation have the unique ability to harness the passion of the eBay Community to make a significant difference in local communities around the world. eBay Foundation is building on the power of online philanthropy in a way only eBay can do, by launching a virtual campaign and mobilizing engaged users to give to concrete, on-the-ground projects that help address important needs in local communities. eBay Inc. is the first major Internet company to join forces with its Foundation in this way, and with millions of users, eBay Inc. and eBay Foundation can make a bigger difference by giving together than by giving alone.
“The Community Gives campaign is part of eBay Inc.’s Global Citizenship initiative,” said Bill Barmeier, Vice President of Global Citizenship for eBay Inc. “The mission of the initiative is to build on the positive impact of our businesses and make the most of our opportunity to be a force for good in the world. In carrying out this mission, eBay applies its resources and frequently calls on its passionate users to join in the effort. The Community Gives campaign is a perfect example.”
About eBay Inc.
Founded in 1995, eBay Inc. connects hundreds of millions of people around the world every day, empowering them to explore new opportunities and innovate together. eBay Inc. does this by providing the Internet platforms of choice for global commerce, payments and communications. Since its inception, eBay Inc. has expanded to include some of the strongest brands in the world, including eBay, PayPal, Skype, StubHub, Shopping.com and others. eBay Inc. is headquartered in San Jose, California.
About eBay Foundation
In 1998, with a donation of pre-IPO stock, eBay created a charitable fund known as eBay Foundation. Today, eBay Foundation remains an important part of eBay and serves as the main vehicle through which eBay Inc. contributes to nonprofit organizations. Annually, eBay Foundation provides grants to numerous nonprofit organizations that are working to make local communities better places to live and work. To date, the Foundation has contributed over $16 million to nonprofit organizations worldwide.
Contacts:
Kim Rubey, 408-376-7458
krubey@ebay.com
or
Social
Planets for eBay Foundation
Sonia Torres, 213-618-3801
sonia@socialplanets.com
Jessica
Scadron, 415-713-9150
jessica@socialplanets.com
