This Sunday, May 15th, is Denver’s annual Kaiser Permanente Colfax Marathon.  It will be the third year that I have volunteered for the marathon.  Should be fun!  Today I got an email from my volunteer team captain with the following information:

” Calling all Kaiser Permanente Colfax Marathon volunteers! To thank you for your efforts, Bellco Credit Union will randomly select 5 volunteers to receive a $100 gift certificate to Runner’s Roost. Simply take a picture of yourself race weeked at the Expo, along the race routes, or at City Park in your volunteer t-shirt and then share it with Bellco on their Facebook page.  http://www.facebook.com/BellcoCreditUnion

Celebrating 75 years in Colorado, Bellco Credit Union is proud to support the 2011 Kaiser Permanente Colfax Marathon and all the volunteers who make race day possible. Life is a marathon, not a sprint – Bellco helps its more than 
193,000 members to face this challenge with the right set of services to meet their financial needs. Stop by one of its 15 branch locations or check out  www.Bellco.org.”

What a great idea!  Fabulous way for Bellco to get great visibility with the over 2,000 volunteers helping make the event happen and stand out from all the other non-title sponsors of the event.  Having volunteers compete for $100 by posting photos on Facebook means many new people will go to their Facebook page and as they are looking at the posted photos, they will also learn a bit about Bellco and what they do.  Also, all the friends of those that post will also be able to see Bellco is involved in their newsfeeds.  Existing Bellco customers and employees will also see that Bellco is supporting local volunteers – I am sure that will build even greater loyalty among those folks, as well.

For a small investment, this will definitely get Bellco a lot of exposure at the same time they are honoring the volunteers that are giving of their time to make the marathon happen.  It is strategic and a great way to demonstrate their commitment to business giving and the community.   I like it!

From the press release:

“About the Colfax Marathon

The sixth annual 2011 Kaiser Permanente Colfax Marathon takes place May 14-15, 2011 and includes the full marathon, half-marathon and marathon relay, as well as the new Colfax 5K and kid’s race.  Established by the cities of Aurora, Denver and Lakewood to encourage Coloradans to be healthier, the marathon has established itself as an iconic race for the mile-high city. We support local charities and nonprofits by providing one of the country’s biggest fund-raising platforms through the DaVitaCharity Partner Program. We are proud to partner with corporate sponsors who make our race a success, including: Kaiser Permanente, DaVita, 9News, The Denver Post, Comcast, 104.3 The Fan, The DenverAthletic Club, Primrose Schools, Jim ‘n Nick’s BBQ, and more. To learn more, visit www.runcolfax.org or follow us on twitter @runcolfax or facebook.com/runcolfax.

About Kaiser Permanente Colorado

Kaiser Permanente Colorado is the state’s largest nonprofit health plan, proudly working to improve the lives and health of Denver, Boulder, and southern Colorado area residents for 40 years. Kaiser Permanente Colorado provides comprehensive health care services to more than 535,000 members through 21 medical offices and a network of affiliated hospitals and physicians. The health plan was named “Highest in Member Satisfaction” among Commercial Health Plans by J.D. Power and Associates for the third straight year. Kaiser Permanente was also recognized by the National Committee for QualityAssurance (NCQA) as the top-ranked private health plan in Colorado, No. 9 in the nation and one of the top 5 Medicare plans in the U.S. for the second year in a row. In 2009, Kaiser Permanente proudly directed more than $82 million to community benefit programs to improve the health of all Coloradans. For more Kaiser Permanente news, visit kp.org/newscenter or follow us on twitter @kpcolorado orfacebook.com/kpcolorado.”

Have you seen the TownePlace Suites Make a Bed Program on Facebook? I decided to check it out thought I am never very thrilled to click yes to anything that allows someone to access my friends etc…but I figured Marriott is a reputable company.  So click I did!  One click, the bed made itself and $2 was donated.  Check it out!

From the CSRWire press release: “You may not like making your bed at home, but with TownePlace Suites by Marriott, making a bed makes a difference. Any time between now and November 1, 2010, with a simple click on the brand’s new Facebook applicationwww.facebook.com/makeabed, you can make a bed and TownePlace Suites will donate $2 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Our goal is to donate up to $50,000 by November 1, 2010.

In addition to helping others, you help yourself. After making a bed, you can register to win a Flip Video™ Camera. Take it one step further by sharing the Make a Bed app with your Facebook friends to help make an even bigger difference for people in need. When four of your friends on Facebook make a bed and register, you will be entered to win a 7-night stay at any participating TownePlace Suites location.”

I was checking my Facebook wall a few minutes ago and noticed an ad from Starbucks about their new (RED) affiliation.  As a kickoff they are doing a donation of $.05 per “handcrafted beverage” to the Global Fund on December 1st, World AIDS Day.

Facebook clearly offers a huge marketing reach for a cause marketing ad like this!