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MySpace launches UK charity channel

Fundraising | Gareth Jones | 1 Dec 2007

Social networking site MySpace has launched MySpace Impact, an online channel designed to act as a hub for campaigning, charity and social action in the UK.

The aim of the initiative is to encourage the site’s 10 million UK users to engage in charitable activities, including raising money for causes directly from their profile, starting their own campaigns and using their networks to spread viral support for existing campaigns.

To mark the launch, MySpace has promised to forgo £2m worth of advertising revenue in order to promote featured campaigns from charities including Friends of the Earth, Unicef, Amnesty International and Shelter.

MySpace has also launched a viral donation tool, developed with Justgiving, which allows users to embed a charity donation button within their profile page.

The MySpace ‘widget’, which can be downloaded for free, displays how much each user has raised for their chosen charity on Justgiving and allows visitors to click and donate directly to charity through the site.

The UK Impact Channel follows in the footsteps of similar online channels in the US, Australia and Canada, and has been designed in close collaboration with the Media Trust, which has also put together a guide for how not-for-profit organisations can use MySpace.

Katie Simpson, head of creative partnerships and youth media at the Media Trust, said: “Social networking has transformed the face of charitable campaigning in the UK.

“Whilst there is still a place for the more traditional large-scale marketing campaigns, audiences are increasingly valuing personal recommendations when it comes to supporting a particular cause or charity.”

To coincide with the launch, MySpace has revealed the results of an online survey looking at attitudes to giving among 1,000 16-24 year olds. Half of those surveyed said that they regularly donated to charities, and one in five had given time or support to a cause during the last year.

The research also found that 16-24 year olds were twice as likely than 25-40 year olds to have volunteered in the last year (20 per cent compared to 9 per cent), while nearly twice as many of the younger age group had done a sponsored activity (18 per cent compared to 10 per cent).

To find out more go to www.myspace.com/impactuk

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