Chase Community Giving Launches Summer 2010 Online Program ($5 million to 200 charities!)

Chase, the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co., has announced the launch of its Chase Community Giving Summer 2010 program on Facebook. The program will award a total of more than $5 million to be shared among two hundred charities.

Chase Community Giving is a program that allows users to vote online for the local charities that matter most to them. By participating, users will help Chase direct corporate philanthropy dollars to eligible small and local organizations working in the focus areas of primary and secondary education, youth development, healthcare, housing, community development, the environment, combating hunger, arts and culture, human services, and animal welfare.

The first Chase Community Giving program, held earlier this year, was the most popular corporate philanthropy crowdsourcing campaign of its type. More than two million Facebook users became fans of the program and helped decide which of the more than 500,000 charities that participated should receive a share of $5 million. More than a hundred winners from thirty-one states were selected.

For the summer 2010 program, the number of charities eligible to receive awards has doubled and several new tools have been introduced. Charities will be able to edit their charity profiles and add meaningful media to help tell their stories in the form of videos and photos. In addition, badges, which users earn to indicate their commitment to their community, have been introduced. And a Gift Vote feature that lets users earn the right to give additional votes to a friend has been added.

To underscore the program’s focus on small and local organizations, 501(c)(3) public nonprofits with operating expenses of $1 million or less are eligible to receive funding. The top vote-receiving charities meeting the eligibility and other requirements of the program rules will receive the top grants. The eligible charity with the most votes will receive $250,000; the top four runners-up will receive $100,000 each; and the remaining eligible charities in the top two hundred will each receive $20,000. There will be one round of voting. Voting begins June 15 and ends July 12, 2010.

For more information and program requirements: http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/