Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Voting begins in Toyota's annual charity car giveaway program

Your favorite charity could win a minivan that can accommodate children in wheelchairs.

Or maybe an SUV or a full-size pickup truck to transport equipment and people to an event.

On Monday, online voting started for Toyota's 100 Cars for Good, a program that awards a vehicle to 100 charities nationwide.

Four South Bay nonprofits are participating in this year's program.

They include Community's Child Inc. in Lomita, Boarding for Breast Cancer in Redondo Beach, Friendship Circle of South Bay in Redondo Beach and Beacon House Association in San Pedro.

Torrance-based Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., the Japanese automaker's U.S. sales and marketing headquarters, launched the annual program last year.

In the 2011 contest, Providence TrinityKids Care, a Torrance-based hospice program for children, won a Sienna minivan to transport young patients and their families to outings, appointments and other destinations.

"We'd love to win any vehicle to utilize for our activities we have here servicing children with special needs," said Yossi Mintz, executive director of Friendship Circle of the South Bay, which is among the 500 charities vying for the 100 vehicles.

The contest is an example of the growing importance of social media in philanthropy.

For example, Friendship Circle won

about $70,000 more than a year ago from Kohl's Department Stores based on public voting through Facebook, Mintz said.

Social media savvy even helps to organize events such as summer camps, sports leagues or youth hangouts.

"We get the best response from social media from the teenagers and even the adults," Mintz said. "With emails, you can wait. Whether it's Twitter or Facebook, we get an immediate response. It works for us."

For 100 Cars for Good, Toyota features five charities each day on its Facebook page. The public can vote for a favorite. The one with the most votes wins a Toyota vehicle, which could be worth more than $50,000.

The four other charities each walk away with $1,000 in cash.

No South Bay charities were featured on Monday, and it's unclear whether they will be competing against each other or different charities from across the nation.

Toyota also helps the charities attract votes.

"We give them social media tools," said Michael Rouse, vice president of diversity, philanthropy and community affairs for Toyota's Torrance sales and marketing operation. "We give them sample tweets and direction on how to use various forms of social media. And you'll find some that will use their traditional stuff."

Traditional approaches include newsletters and emails to supporters as well as promoting their cause on the radio.

Rouse noted that a New Jersey food bank that competed last year was staffed by elderly people with little social media experience. So they persuaded local children to help them mount an online campaign.

"We have found, based on last year's program, they get very, very creative," he said.

Involved charities also benefited from the added exposure of participating in the Toyota program, Rouse said.

"They gained a whole new community of fans and supporters and greater notoriety in their communities," the Toyota official said.

The contest, which involves at least one charity in each state and the District of Columbia, fits well into Toyota's branding, Rouse said.

"We're not just out writing checks to people," he said. "Our product becomes the star of this campaign."

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