What is Share To Win?
Share to Win Frequently Asked Questions for Causes
What is the 3banana “Share To Win” contest?
3banana is donating a total of $10,000 to charities and we are using social networks and the Internet as a way of identifying the ideas that we will support. Some people call this “crowdsourcing.” We put together the Share to Win contest to help health, environment and education related non-profit causes who want to push the boundaries of the social internet to get people talking about them, while having the chance to win donations for their mission. The contest is simple to enter and is designed to help non-profits attract attention and supporters while having the chance to win donations from 3banana.
Do I need work for a non-profit to enter Share to Win?
No, you don’t need to work for a non-profit to enter. You just need to believe in one. Anyone can enter the contest as long you name as beneficiary a bona fide 501(c)3 non-profit organization in the US or the equivalent status in the UK. A good place to find non-profit organizations is http://www.charitynavigator.org/. If you do not work for the non-profit organization that you nominated, you might want to tell them about your entry so they can help you get out the vote. If you see that more than one person has entered the same non-profit, you might want to join forces to improve your chance of winning.
Why should our non-profit cause enter?
In addition to the chance to win donations from 3banana, Share to Win is a great way to promote your cause because it gives you an opportunity to reach out and engage your supporters to recruit more friends. It is much easier for friends to invite friends to support your cause if you are not asking for their money directly. You get to tell people about your mission and ask for their moral support — a much better first impression with new potential supporters than immediately asking for a check.
Who’s qualified to enter?
Anyone can enter as long as the named beneficiary is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, or UK equivalent, in good standing, that serves needs in health, environment and education. If you are entering Share to Win on behalf of a charity, please include the legal non-profit name, website, and contact information in the description of your cause, so we can look them up.
How can non-profit causes enter?
Non-profit organizations or any one of their supporters can enter Share to Win by simply creating an account on 3banana and writing a note in your 3banana notebook that answers the simple question: “Why should people care about our cause?” Then share the link to your note on Twitter, Facebook and email. So that we can find your entry, be sure to Tweet it at least once with the hashtag #sharetowin. If you are not on Twitter or don’t know what that means, the simply make sure you email the link to your note to us at sharetowin [at] gmail [dot] com so we can Tweet it for you. We will publish a list of the entries from time to time, so you can check to make sure we have your entry.
What if I want to change the information on my note?
Simply login to your 3banana account, find your note and click edit.
What if someone else nominated the cause that I care about, but I want to add more information that they didn’t list in their note?
You can include the additional information in your comment. Only original note authors can edit their notes, but if a note is shared, you can enter additional information in the comments.
Who wins?
Qualified non-profit causes that get the most people to comment win! People can comment more than once, but we only will count one comment per person. One of the reasons that supporters need to sign-in to comment is to help us preserve the integrity of this process.
Who gets to vote?
Anyone can vote for your cause by leaving a comment on your note.
How are votes counted?
Votes are counted by tallying up comments made by unique users. We will use software to count the votes, and our software will eliminate duplicate comments from the same user. In addition, comments generated by robots and scripts will not be counted.
Why do supporters need to comment on the cause to vote?
We would like to support causes that demonstrate that they have supporters engaged and committed enough to write a comment about the cause. That is not too much to ask of someone who really believes in your cause. Commenting also gives the non-profit cause a potential list of testimonials to draw upon from their supporters, as well as valuable feedback and a sense of the sentiment of their supporters. Finally, we picked a methodology that requires just enough engagement for us to more easily identify and discourage spamming and abuse.
Do non-profit causes need to create an account on 3banana to win?
Yes — but it’s free and easy. You can sign up with any valid email address. If you have a Gmail account, Google does the authentication for us and you don’t even need a password! You just need to give Google permission to share your email address with us. We never need to know any other personal information from you other than your valid email address.
How can we create a note?
After logging in, all you need to do type — or cut and paste — a note in the open text entry field and press save. Once you save your note and click “share” or “email”, 3banana assigns a unique private link to your note that you can send to friends and supporters with Twitter, Facebook, or email.
How can we “get out the vote”?
Simple! Sending a link to your note by email or posting a link to your note on Facebook and Twitter are sure-fire ways to rally your supporters (and find new ones) to help your cause. And we can help you with tips and ideas! If you are looking for help and more ideas for how to get out the vote, send us an email at sharetowin [at] gmail [dot] com.
What if we are not on Twitter or Facebook? Can we still enter?
You do not need to be on Twitter or Facebook to enter. Simply create a note in 3banana about your cause and email the link to your supporters. Also email us at sharetowin [at] gmail [dot] com so we know you have entered. If your cause is not using social networks like Facebook and Twitter, we encourage you to use this excuse to give social networking a try. For any organization that depends on engaging and recruiting lots of supporters to raise money and spread its message, it is a good idea to learn how to use Twitter and Facebook.
How long will this contest run?
Each cause that enters will have until September 27, 2009, to drum up votes. We’ll stop counting comments at 11:59 PM on Sunday, September 27, 2009, PDT. Winners will be publicly announced a few days after voting stops.
What is the deadline to enter Share to Win?
You can enter Share to Win any time before voting stops. We encourage you to enter sooner rather than later, because that gives you more time to get out the vote.
How many prizes will be handed out?
Five prizes.
- Grand Prize: $5,000
- Runner Up: $2,000
- Honorable Mention, Health: $1,000
- Honorable Mention, Education: $1,000
- Honorable Mention, Environment: $1,000
What are the other benefits of entering?
If you have a compelling idea and even just a few supporters in the social networking world of Facebook and Twitter, your idea has the potential to spread far and wide very quickly. It is much easier for friends to share your idea with friends because they are not asking for money, just moral support. When your idea spreads on social networks, more people will discover your cause and hear your story.
Is there any purchase required to win?
Nope. No purchase required, and 3banana is free for you and your supporters.
Why is 3banana holding the “Share To Win” contest?
We’re doing this because we care about health, the environment and education. We also think causes who serve in those areas are full of the kind of people who also might like our product, a way to capture and share more information from the world around you. Rather than spending our marketing money, we thought we could invest it in a few good causes. We have been supporters of non-profit causes and we know that it is a very tough fundraising environment out there right now. It’s tough even to ask, knowing that people are really pulling back. With Share to Win, you have a way of engaging your supporters about your mission without asking them for money. Seems like a no-brainer decision doesn’t it?
Are there any other rules?
Before awarding the prize money, we reserve the right to check on the cause’s non-profit status and to make sure the organization is in good standing and that the cause is legitimate. Causes that are not registered 501(c)3 non-profit organizations (or the UK equivalent) in good standing and are not, in our opinion, serving unmet needs in the areas of health, education, and environment may be disqualified at our discretion. Just because we Tweet or comment on your entry does not mean we have researched your eligibility or endorsed your cause — we will list all entries and do the due diligence at the end of the campaign. We also reserve the right to disqualify anyone abusing the system or using robots to make comments. We seek to support legitimate non-profit causes serving real needs.
Email us at sharetowin [at] gmail [dot] com. You can also Tweet to us @3banana, and we will try to follow you back.
GOOD LUCK!