St. Louis-based Givver and Its 'Social Media Giving Day' Could Change Face of Philanthropy

Does it ever seem like there’s a day for just about everything? There’s Cuddle Up Day in January, Ex Spouse Day in April, or the ever-popular Have Sex With a Guy With a Mustache Day in November.

Those are all well and good, fun and silly, but now comes one -- hatched in St. Louis -- that may be truly valuable for consumers or brands interested in philtanthropic movements.

On July 15, a relatively new St. Louis-based not-for-profit-focused technology platform called Givver.com that was beta-tested with the Obama For America campaign will launch the inaugural Social Media Giving Day hoping that consumers, brands and charities leverage its platform to Tweet donations to favorite charities.

The endeavor was dreamed up by Givver’s Greatest American Hero-lookalike founder -- Chris Sommers of the uber-popular Pi Pizza -- and is off to a good start.

Celebrities like Bill Maher and various charitable organizations are already using the Givver platform, and there is an effort underway to get some 60 U.S. mayors, as well as state and federal officials to draw up official proclamations cementing Social Media Giving Day into the American psyche every July 15.

“Particularly amongst millennials, there’s an inherent connectivity between social media and charitable giving,” said Sommers. “And all walks of organizations recognize that social media goes well beyond snapping pictures of your breakfast or updating which restaurant you’re sitting in, so we hope that Social Media Giving Day ultimately gives greater, more tangible meaning to the use of social media.”

Texting donations for charitable purposes is of course now commonplace — it’s getting like white noise — as we’ve seen via the Red Cross and nearly any natural disaster. Twitter, however, is not so much the case when it comes to charitable giving.  So after first-vetting the platform during last year’s political election season — whether with the Obama campaign or even U.S. congressional hopefuls in Florida — Sommers hopes his Givver platform can be at the center of a storm in social media giving leveraged by consumers, brands, or the non-profits themselves.

Here’s how Givver works: Visit the site and create an account which includes entering your credit card information into a secure form. Then from that point on, simply Tweet #Give along with a dollar amount at a specific charity, for example: #Give $10 @Fair_Girls. The donation is immediate, surprisingly easy, and (at least for now) Givver doesn’t charge you or the charity a fee.

“The idea for Givver originally came out of our fundraising efforts on behalf of the President and other non-profits,” Sommers said. “We recognized the inherent friction and lack of any social connection amongst donors and between the organization and its donors.”

While July 15 is still more than two months away, Sommers is engaging mayors including St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett , and other officials nationwide to gain their commitments to officially jump on boardSocial Media Giving Day.

Will Givver turn July 15 into a philanthropic holiday of sorts? It remains to be seen. But whereas hallowed dates on the calendar like October’s Bald and Free Day have little value other than to hairless men (not that there's anything wrong with that), Social Media Giving Day could be a valuable tool in growing charitable endeavors.