Zynga.org was an independent nonprofit organization started by social games developer Zynga, Inc., in October 2009. The purpose of Zynga.org was to promote and facilitate the use of social games for philanthropic initiatives. It was incorporated as a separate legal entity in March 2012. The organization was dissolved in 2016.

History

Zynga.org worked with Zynga, Inc., and more than 50 nonprofit partners, corporate partners, and other game makers. As of early 2013, Zynga.org had generated more than $15 million for charitable organizations globally and launched more than 95 in-game social impact campaigns for a variety of international relief agencies, to which 3 million players had contributed. Early Zynga.org campaigns enabled players to contribute to charitable causes by purchasing specially created virtual goods within Zynga games. For example, in October 2009, virtual sugar beets were available for players to purchase in ''

FarmVille ''FarmVille'' is a series of agriculture-simulation social network games developed and published by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to '' Happy Farm'' and ''Farm Town''. Its gameplay involves various aspects of farmland management, such as plo ...

''. Proceeds benefited two Haiti-based charities: FATEM.org and FONKOZE.org. Within the month, the sugar beet promotion had raised $427,000. In January 2010, Zynga.org raised $1.5 million in five days for

Haiti earthquake Some of the earthquakes in Haiti have been very destructive to the country. The widespread damage and high-number of casualties of events in 2010 and 2021 can be partially blamed on the fact that most of the population in Haiti resides in structur ...

Relief. The promotion ran across ''

'', '' FishVille'', ''

Mafia Wars ''Mafia Wars'' is a defunct freemium multiplayer social network game created by Zynga. Players assume the roles of gangsters while building their own Mafia-type organization. The players fight and "rob" other players online - completing jobs, ...

'', and ''

Zynga Poker ''Zynga Poker'' is a social game developed by Zynga as an application for the social-networking website Facebook as well as Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, Windows, MySpace, Tagged, and Google+. It was launched in July 2007. In 2011, with 38 m ...

''. In September 2010, Zynga.org raised $500,000 in two days for L’Ecole de Choix, a K-12 school Zynga is building in Mirebalais, Haiti. Zynga.org raised more than $800,000 in December 2010 for the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital as part of the UCSF Challenge for the Children competition. In March 2011, Zynga announced 100 percent of proceeds from purchases of virtual goods in more than seven of its games would go to Japan's

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

Earthquake Emergency Fund. In the same month,

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

contributed to Save the Children and the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

from the sales of her Japan Prayer bracelets to Zynga.org.Mike Snider
Lady Gaga, Zynga donate jackpot to Japan earthquake
USA Today, 28 March 2011. During the 2012 holiday season, Zynga.org partnered with

Toys for Tots Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. It was founded in 1947 by reservist Major Bill Hendricks. The Marine T ...

in its largest charitable campaign not related to disaster relief. The campaign raised $745,000, with 100 percent of the purchase price of certain virtual goods going to Toys for Tots. In 2012, Zynga game player contributions enabled

Water.org Water.org is an international nonprofit organization that helps people living in poverty get access to safe water and improved sanitation through affordable financing. This organization was founded by Matt Damon and Gary White. Water.org curren ...

to provide access to clean water to about 20,655 people. A two-week ''FarmVille'' campaign in partnership with AARP’s Drive to End Hunger provided more than 700,000 meals to senior citizens in need. In a ''

Words With Friends ''Words with Friends'' is a multiplayer computer word game developed by Newtoy. Players take turns building words crossword-puzzle style in a manner similar to the classic board game ''Scrabble''. The rules of the two games are similar, but ''Wo ...

'' celebrity challenge, celebrities competed to win a portion of $500,000 to donate to their chosen charity. In 2013, Zynga.org announced its partnership with

Games for Change Games for Change (also known as G4C) is a nonprofit organization. The organization provides support, visibility, and shared resources to individuals and organizations using serious games for social change. It also runs the G4C Student Challenge ...

and Half the Sky Movement, led by journalists

Nicholas Kristof Nicholas Donabet Kristof (born April 27, 1959) is an American journalist and political commentator. A winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, he is a regular CNN contributor and an op-ed columnist for ''The New York Times''. Born in Chicago, Kristof wa ...

and

Sheryl WuDunn Sheryl WuDunn (born November 16, 1959) is an American business executive, writer, lecturer, and Pulitzer Prize winner. A senior banker focusing on growth companies in technology, new media and the emerging markets, WuDunn also works with double ...

, to help create a

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

game based on the book, '' Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide''. The game is seen as the first attempt to create a popular game based on a single complex social issue. All proceeds from the game go to nonprofit organizations. In September 2016, the Zynga.org website was replaced with a redirect to Zynga's website. A tax return filed that year listed the organization as having been dissolved.

References

External links

Official Website
{{Zynga American fundraising websites Zynga Internet properties established in 2009