Make a donation to Compassion International through our Facebook Cause.

The 2009 America’s Giving Challenge has begun, and through the Giving Challenge, the Case Foundation will give away a total of $170,000 in daily and overall prizes to non-profits over the next month.

America’s Giving Challenge offers Compassion a great opportunity to demonstrate the worthiness of using social media in pursuit of our mission, and it offers you a chance to make a significant difference on behalf of that mission:

In response to the Great Commission, Compassion International exists as an advocate for children, to release them from their spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enable them to become responsible and fulfilled Christian adults.

America’s Giving Challenge – How Does It Work?

• The Giving Challenge runs from Oct. 7 at 3 p.m. ET to Nov. 6, 2009 at 3 p.m. ET.
• Each day the Case Foundation will award a prize to the cause that has the most individual donors* on that day, not the most money raised.
• $1,000 each day to the cause with the most unique donations that day.
• $500 each day to the cause with the second most unique donations that day.
• At the end of the Giving Challenge, the Case Foundation will award prizes to the causes that have the most individual donors throughout the entire Giving Challenge.
• $50,000 to the cause with the highest number of unique daily donations over the 30 days.
• $25,000 to the cause with the second highest number of unique daily donations over the 30 days.
• $10,000 each to the next five causes with the highest number of unique daily donations over the 30 days.
• Donations must be made to a cause using the Causes application on Facebook, but anyone can donate – even someone without a Facebook account.
• The minimum donation is $10.

America’s Giving Challenge – How You Can Support Compassion International

1. Make a donation to Compassion International through our Facebook Cause.
• Donating $10 once a day over five days has a greater impact in the contest than donating $50 on one day.
2. Tell your family and friends about America’s Giving Challenge, and ask them to donate to Compassion International through our Facebook Cause; the URL is http://www.causes.com/compassion.
   • Use all the technology and communication methods you have at your disposal (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, text, phone, e-mail, word of mouth, etc.)
3. Add the Compassion and America’s Giving Challenge application to your Facebook profile.

Because success is measured by the total number of individual donors, the key is to motivate as many people as possible to donate once, have them get as many people as possible to donate once, and then have those people get as many people as possible to continue the cycle.

We anticipate the competition during America’s Giving Challenge to be extremely tough, so getting out of the gates quickly will also be important. Mobilize early before other organizations have a chance to get up to speed.

As we get more information, ideas and tools that could assist you, we’ll definitely share it all with you.

Thank you for supporting our mission to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name and for supporting our mission during America’s Giving Challenge. Any prizes we win will be used for the benefit of our Child Survival Program.

Please use this post as your forum for questions and to let others know what you’re doing (e.g., what’s working and what’s not). We’ll post updates here as well.

*Multiple donations to the our Cause by the same person in the same day won’t be counted in the total number of unique donors, but contributions by the same person on different days will be counted. A day runs from 3 p.m. ET to 3 p.m ET.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

That lesson hit me hard this week when my 11-month-old son, Morgan, got sick.  His doctor tells us that it’s a gastrointestinal virus that’s going around. The worst part of it is diarrhea. Poor little guy, he’s just so uncomfortable. So, we’ve been giving him plenty of fluids, trying to get him to take naps (though he’s been extremely restless) and just loving on him…cuddling.

Then I remembered a statistic in our Health Quick Facts section of Compassion’s website: 

There are 1.5 million diarrhea-related deaths of children under the age of five in this world, every year.

1,500,000 children dying of what my little boy has right now.

My son is fortunate. We can afford to take him to the doctor. We have access to clean water and formulas that can help replenish the nutrients his body needs. And I am thankful to God for that. But I pray for those families who don’t have the same. I pray for those who, because of latitude and longitude, have no access to clean water and formula…or can’t afford to visit the doctor.

It’s not really fair, is it? We were born here, so we thrive. They were born there, so they struggle to survive. But poverty has never played fair. And God told us what the great equalizer is: YOU and ME. He called for those of us who have to share with those who do not.

Today, I ask you to pray for children in poverty. I ask you to cross the lines of longitude and latitude and give to those who suffer due to something as silly as geography. Maybe it’s through sponsoring a child. Or maybe it’s giving to one of Compassion’s funds designed to help those in need.

Whatever it is, find a way for your hope to cross the globe.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates