Help Raise Funds to Charity by using Windows Live Messenger

Seems like Microsoft is focused more towards charity to promote their products, earlier we saw them raise funds to charity by encouraging users to use Windows Live Search. Now, they have come up with a new initiative called I’m which will donate a portion of revenues generated from Windows Live Messenger to charity organization to donate a portion of their ad revenues generated from Windows Live Messenger.

American Red Cross, Boys & Girls Club, National AIDS Fund, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, ninemillion.org, Sierra Club, StopGlobalWarming.org, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the US fund for UNICEF are the 9 charity organization participating in this movement. Although Microsoft has set no caps on the amount to be donated to each charity organization, it’s said that each charity organization would atleast receive 100,000$ each year.

How can you help?

Other than using Windows Live Messenger, you need to do nothing. Keep in mind that you must be using Windows Live Messenger 8.1+ (Trillian, Gaim won’t work). To opt-into the initiative, Go to Tools > Options (within Windows Live Messenger) and place anyone of the following text code (in bold) to the cause of your choice into your Display Name:

  • red+u : American Red Cross
  • bgca : Boys & Girls Club
  • naf : National AIDS Fund
  • mssoc : National Multiple Sclerosis Society
  • 9mil : ninemillion.org
  • sierra : Sierra Club
  • help : StopGlobalWarming.org
  • komen : Susan G. Komen for the Cure
  • unicef : The US fund for UNICEF

Download Windows Live Messenger, if you haven’t installed it. Read more about I’m initiative here.

Thanks: Jason

This post was published by on March 3, 2007

About the Author: Thilak Rao works as a Social Media Expert. He is one of the first professional bloggers from India, and he loves to write, travel and click photos. Follow him on Twitter @thilak

  • http://www.technospot.net/blogs Ashish Mohta

    Seems like a good idea.But they should have some kind of points kind of system so people will have some competition kind of thing

  • http://tech-buzz.net Thilak

    Ashish: That would have certainly been interesting, if we had some incentives in it. Since its charity, I wonder if such a model would work.

    Anyways, nice thought!

  • http://www.donthaveone.com Ananonymous

    Providing moral incentives to people to use a product is just pathetic and sounds very desperate! If you want people to use something, make it better…

  • Bharat

    even if no insentives, there should be at least a way of acknowledgement to register the fact that people are doing a certain thing & it has its impact. for example, one can play a very nice game on http://www.freerice.com

    where along with building once vocabulary one donates 20 grains of rice each time one clicks on the right answer. at the same time, they also have a system of points. these rice are donated to the world food programme run by the united nations.

  • Bharat

    even if no insentives, there should be at least a way of acknowledgement to register the fact that people are doing a certain thing & it has its impact. for example, one can play a very nice game on http://www.freerice.com

    where along with building once vocabulary one donates 20 grains of rice each time one clicks on the right answer. at the same time, they also have a system of points. these rice are donated to the world food programme run by the united nations.