#StokesMe 2012 from Stokes Me on Vimeo.
The Stokes Me Surfers Helping Humans fundraising campaign runs through Oct. 30th. SIMA Humanitarian Fund President Ross Garrett updates us on the progress made during the first two weeks of this innovative online challenge.
Please remind our readers of how the Stokes Me campaign works, and what the goals are.
Stokes Me is a 30-day contest to see which brand and which individual can raise the most money for surfing-related humanitarian causes.
Which companies have raised the most funds to date?
At the moment, on Friday Oct. 12 at 5pm, Surfline is in the lead, followed by Shop-Eat-Surf, Ocean Minded, and the Board Retailers Association. Billabong & Nixon are tied for 5th place.
It is by no means a done deal though – someone could come in on October 28th and win the whole thing.
Do you have examples of companies that are doing something interesting or unusual in their Stokes Me campaign?
At Surfline, we challenged the employees themselves, offering a case of wine for whoever raises the most money.
GLOBE included the leader board and the story of the SIMA Humanitarian Fund beneficiaries in an email blast, and Hurley put up sports water bottles for the first 100 donations in one of their posts.
The most successful efforts are when people tell the stories of the beneficiary organizations, using social media and their own websites. We’ve provided the teams with photos, links and video from each of the benefitting organizations.
Do companies and individuals still have time join the campaign? What do they need to do?
Absolutely! Companies and individuals can join at any time at stokesme.org. It’s not over until it’s over.
What are the prizes for the top fundraisers?
The great thing about this campaign is it can focus in on the individuals and their contribution as well as on the company as a whole.
The brands are competing mainly for the SIMA Humanitarian Award. Companies also win complimentary advertising on Surfline.com and in Surfer Magazine.
Individuals are competing for a trip for two to Hawaii to attend the Triple Crown of Surfing on the North Shore. Employees can get engaged in the campaign and help their company win at the same time, all for the benefit of some really important surfing-related organizations.
