Benevity Chosen one of Calgary’s Top Technology Companies

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) Calgary, AB – Sept 20, 2010 – Benevity Social Ventures, Inc. (www.benevity.org) today announced that it has been selected from a list of more than 300 nominees as one of ten companies to receive a Tech Rev Innovator award for 2010.  The award recognizes entrepreneurship, innovation, growth, promise, company culture, and pioneering ideas in technology enterprises with standout accomplishments located in Calgary. The full list of award winners is available on the Tech Rev website at www.techrev.ca.

“This external recognition is heartening for our team and investors, and is continued validation for Benevity’s technology that allows businesses of all types and sizes to embed optional charitable giving into virtually any business transaction”, said Bryan de Lottinville, CEO of Benevity.  “We’ve been gaining momentum with a growing list of companies that have chosen Benevity to power their employee and customer-facing giving programs and cause marketing initiatives, but it’s still flattering to be included with many of the great companies on the list of winners.”

Benevity has developed North America’s first embeddable microdonation platform, a highly customizable giving engine that socially responsible businesses can use to engage their customers, employees and corporate partners in optional charitable giving on their terms.

Tech Rev Innovator Award
Benevity was selected as a 2010 Tech Rev Innovators award winner, along with nine other Calgary technology companies, from an impressive list of more than 300 nominees.  TechRev Innovators is a platform created to shine the spotlight on milestone achievements of Calgary technology companies. The selection process evaluated companies on a number of elements including those relating to financial performance, operational growth, and market viability.  Benevity’s co-founder and CEO, Bryan de Lottinville, accepted the award on behalf of Benevity at the September 15, 2010 TechRev Innovators reception, attended by close to 300 of the most influential tech sector stakeholders in Calgary: technology entrepreneurs, investors, industry partners, and collaborators.

Benevity: Changing the Landscape of Corporate Giving, Cause Marketing and Community Investment
The Benevity platform can be used to create a wide array of charitable giving opportunities and real-time corporate matching programs as part of existing business transactions, such as online purchases, account and online banking interfaces, loyalty programs, charitable gift cards, social media applications and employee giving.

Benevity hopes that by providing the general public with convenient opportunities to make, tax-deductible "microdonations", all without leaving the sites they already know and trust, it will be able to stimulate a significant increase in philanthropic behavior and democratize access to donations for many not-for-profits who may not be recognized national brands.

“Our vision is that Benevity will become a kind of cultural utility, making giving to the cause of one’s choice as convenient and prevalent as leaving a tip at a restaurant”, comments de Lottinville.  “The latest research from pioneering cause marketing firm Cone, released just last week, included a number of statistics that suggests the timing and substance of our solution and value proposition are perfectly positioned:

-    85% of consumers have a more positive image of a product or company when it supports a cause they care about
-    83% wish more of the products, services and retailers they use would support causes
-    1 in 5 consumers will pay more for a cause-related product
-    91% of consumers think that companies should support an issue in the communities where they do business, and
-    a whopping 80% of consumers would switch to a brand that supports a cause when price and quality are equal”.

Additional Resources
•    Follow @benevity on Twitter
•    Connect with Benevity on LinkedIn/Benevity
•    Follow Benevity on Youtube.com/Benevity

About Benevity
Benevity has developed North America’s first embeddable microdonation platform, enabling socially responsible businesses to engage their customers, employees and corporate partners in optional charitable giving on their terms. Benevity lets companies integrate user-directed, tax receiptable donations and corporate matching programs into their existing transaction environments, using their own brands and systems. The Benevity platform helps companies build authentic and impactful cause marketing, workplace giving and other social responsibility initiatives that increase engagement, brand differentiation and return on social and community investment. To find out more or to request a demo, visit us at www.benevity.org or view our short video at www.benevity.org/Goodness3.0.

Benevity PR Contact:
Bryan de Lottinville
Chief Executive Officer 403.237.7875 x201
bryan@benevity.org
 

BENE9094