Approximately 2,500 people created charity badges for the Challenge, helping to raise approximately $1.2 million through more than 48,000 donations. The money will benefit 606 nonprofit organizations and projects around the world.

The Challenge champions are the eight charity badge creators (four raising funds for U.S.-based charities and four raising funds for global causes) who inspired the greatest number of people to give to their charity. For the official Challenge results, visit Parade magazine’s Challenge page.

At the conclusion of the Challenge, the donation processing partners Network for Good and GlobalGiving tabulated the results based on unique donations and in accordance with the Challenge Terms and Conditions.

All eight $50,000 awards are expected to be delivered to the winning charities within approximately 60 days after the public announcement of the Challenge champions.

America’s Giving Challenge has been a pilot program. We are very excited to gather lessons and information from this experience, and will make a decision about future Challenges sometime later this year.

We encourage you to continue fundraising after the Challenge concludes. If you entered the Challenge via Network for Good, you can continue to use the exact same charity badge for as long as you wish. The America’s Giving Challenge logo will simply be replaced by a PARADE logo. If you entered the Challenge via GlobalGiving, your charity badge will remain online but both its look and design will change. In a couple of months after the Challenge concludes, GlobalGiving will ask you to create a new charity badge through its main site – www.globalgiving.com – in order to continue fundraising.

If you created a charity badge for a U.S.-based charity through Network for Good, please direct any inquires to Network for Good's contact page. If you created a badge for a global cause through GlobalGiving, please call 202-232-5784 or post a message via GlobalGiving’s contact page.

The Challenge will conclude at 3:00 PM EST on January 31st, 2008, after which time the donation processing partners, Network for Good and GlobalGiving, will begin to tabulate the results based on unique donations and in accordance with the Challenge Terms and Conditions. At the conclusion of this review period, the names of the final Challenge champions will be posted on www.parade.com/givingchallenge. We expect to announce these official results on or about February 21st, 2008.

The donation processing partners, Network for Good and GlobalGiving, will contact by e-mail (i) the eight charity badge creators (four raising funds for U.S.-based charities and four raising funds for global causes) who have inspired the greatest number of people to give to their charity and (ii) the eight charities (four U.S.-based charities and four global causes) for which these winning badges raised funds.

Both the leading charity badge creators and the charities for which they have raised funds will be notified of their standing prior to the public announcement of the official Challenge results, which is expected to occur on or about February 21st, 2008. The final Challenge champions will be announced online at www.parade.com/givingchallenge.

Pursuant to the Challenge Terms and Conditions and upon verification by our donation processing partners, Network for Good and GlobalGiving, the top four U.S.-based charities and top four global causes will each be eligible to receive an award of $50,000.

The rankings on the Challenge leaderboards are based on total number of donations. Therefore, they may not accurately reflect the final standings as determined pursuant to the Challenge Terms and Conditions. The official rankings will be based on total unique donations, which is defined as one donation per individual per cause. These rankings will be determined after review by the donation processing partners, Network for Good and GlobalGiving, following the conclusion of the Challenge at 3:00 PM EST on January 31, 2008.

To “champion a cause,” or fundraise on behalf of your favorite charity, you must be 13 years of age or older as of the date of entry and a legal resident of one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia.

To “give to a cause,” or donate to a charity, all you need is the means to process a donation through one of the Challenge’s two partner sites -- Network for Good (typically U.S.-based charities) or GlobalGiving (typically international charities). Gift cards are not accepted forms of payment for a donation.

Only U.S.-based charities listed in the Network for Good database (supplied by GuideStar.org) or global charities listed in the GlobalGiving database are eligible as potential Challenge awardees. You may wish to review each site’s criteria for including charities in its database.

Participation is easy. To begin, visit the Challenge homepage anytime between 3:00 p.m. EST on December, 13, 2007, and 3:00 p.m. EST on January 31, 2008. You will be given the option to “champion a cause” or “give to a cause.”

As a cause champion ("Fundraiser"), you will raise funds for the cause of your choice. To do this, you will be guided through the process of creating a “charity badge” -- an easy-to-use online tool that functions like your very own interactive advertising banner. You will use the charity badge, also referred to as a “widget,” to collect donations online. Participating fundraisers have the chance to get $50,000 for their charity.

The objective of the Challenge is to introduce new ways of giving and connecting with others. The Challenge is not focused on how much money can be raised using online tools, but on how championing a cause online helps build networks of people that make a real, lasting difference. Therefore, to succeed at the Challenge, the goal is to get as many “unique donations” to your charity as possible.

A unique donation is defined as one single donation per individual. This means that duplicate donations from the same individual to a single charity badge/widget will only count once towards helping a fundraiser get $50,000 for his or her charity.

Network for Good and GlobalGiving will be processing all donations for the Challenge and will be checking donation records for each charity badge at the conclusion of the Challenge to verify the total number of unique donations.

A charity badge, or widget, is an easy-to-use online tool that functions like your very own interactive advertising banner. Once you have completed the simple process of creating a charity badge, you will use the badge to collect donations online.

The eight Fundraisers who inspire the most people to give to their charity through their charity badge/widget will get $50,000 awarded directly to their charity. Fundraisers will use their charity badge/widget to collect donations online. The eight awardees will consist of four U.S.-based charities and four international charities. Awards will be based on the greatest number of “unique donations,” NOT the total amount of money collected.

100 charities will receive $1,000 each; the 100 awardees will consist of 50 U.S.-based charities on Network for Good and 50 international charities on GlobalGiving that received the most total donations. Every online donation made to a charity via the Challenge will count toward earning that charity a $1,000 award. The $1,000 award is not based on “unique donations.” Multiple donations by the same individual (no less than $10.00 per donation) will each count towards the total number of donations for a particular cause only with respect to the $1,000 awards.

A charity can get more than one $50,000 award. These awards will be given to the charities whose Fundraisers inspire the most people to give to that cause through a charity badge/widget created for that charity. Since more than one charity badge/widget can be created for the same charity, it is possible that a charity could receive more than one award.

The $1,000 awards will not be available to charities more than once.

In addition, charities that receive $50,000 awards are not eligible for $1,000 awards. Please see Challenge Terms and Conditions for more information.

The Challenge begins at 3:00 p.m. EST on December 13, 2007, and ends at 3:00 p.m. EST on January 31, 2008.

The object of the Challenge is to introduce people to new and innovative ways to do good, make donations, and spread the word about their causes online. Access to a computer -- any computer -- connected to the Internet is essential to participating in the Challenge.

To participate you need to establish an account on either Network for Good, to focus on U.S.-based charities, or GlobalGiving, to concentrate on international charities. And to be successful in the Challenge, it helps to have easy access to a computer through which you can fundraise, donate, reach out to your network of potential donors, and encourage others to give.

You might consider using a friend’s computer or, according to the rules of use, a computer at a public library, community center, school, or place of worship. Please see the TIPS page for more information on using your charity badge/widget and spreading the word.

The terms and conditions of the Challenge require that donations be made online through either Network for Good (typically U.S.-based charities) or GlobalGiving (typically international charities). Therefore, all financial transactions will be handled electronically. You are encouraged to use e-mail, blogs, webpages, social networking sites, and other online tools to support your fundraising efforts. Please see our TIPS for more information on using your charity badge/widget and spreading the word.

No. You will need to create a new charity badge/widget in order to enter the Challenge. Please go to the Challenge homepage and follow the steps to “champion a cause.”

Only donations made through charity badges/widgets created specifically for the Challenge within the campaign timeframe (3:00 p.m. EST on December, 13, 2007 to 3:00 p.m. EST on January 31, 2008) will be counted toward your Challenge goal.

You would only want to create multiple charity badges/widgets if you are championing more than one cause. Creating two badges for the same cause would actually place you at a disadvantage in the Challenge, as all funds will be awarded based on the charities which get the greatest number of unique donations through a single charity badge. Donations on multiple badges fundraising for the same cause cannot be combined for an overall number of donations towards attaining the $50,000 award for your charity.

Yes. Having teams of people distribute the same charity badge/widget on behalf of one badge “creator” and one charity can be an effective way of participating in the Challenge. The benefit comes from working together to get the greatest number of individual donors to give to the same charity badge.

You may choose to promote somebody else’s charity badge/widget, but to participate in the Challenge and become a Fundraiser you must create a badge of your own.

Yes. Even without a credit card you can set up a charity badge/widget on Network for Good (typically U.S.-based charities) or GlobalGiving (typically international charities).

After a couple of weeks into the campaign, there will be two “leaderboards” on the Challenge homepage -- areas where you can track which Fundraisers have inspired the most individuals to donate to their cause. One leaderboard displays the five leading Fundraisers (with the most donations to their cause) for U.S.-based charities on Network for Good, while the other displays the top five Fundraisers (with the most donations to their cause) for international charities on GlobalGiving.

If you champion a cause with a GlobalGiving charity badge/widget, you will be able to see the username and donation amount of the individuals who contribute to your badge. In addition, if you have a GlobalGiving account, whatever information you have chosen to make publicly available will be displayed on your fundraising page.

On Network for Good, you will be able to see the total amount donated to you to date on your badge. You will not be able to see the names of individual donors who contribute to your badge or their donation amounts. However, the charity you choose to fundraise for can see these donation details according to the settings that a donor chooses (i.e. share my e-mail, address etc.) by logging into a Network for Good tool at https://www.networkforgood.org/Npo/reports/.

Only those charities listed on either Network for Good or GlobalGiving are eligible for consideration in the Challenge. All eligible U.S. charities are registered with the IRS and all international charities are reviewed in advance by GlobalGiving.

At the conclusion of the Challenge, Network for Good and GlobalGiving will be checking all donation records to ensure that there is no violation of the spirit of the Challenge rules. So please, no intentional gaming of the system or encouraging others to do so; efforts like this will jeopardize your eligibility.

***Please also note that creating a charity badge/widget in someone else’s name without their permission or impersonating an individual to exploit their public profile will be considered a violation of the rules of the Challenge and lead to disqualification of your charity badge/widget.

Please see the Challenge Terms and Conditions for more information.

Your Challenge donation, whether you choose to give to a charity directly through a donation processing partner or through a Fundraiser’s charity badge/widget, is most likely tax deductible. Please see Network for Good or GlobalGiving for more information.

• Supporting a charity by donating through a charity badge/widget:

  While you can make donations to the same charity badge/widget as many times as you like, only your first donation will count towards helping that badge’s Fundraiser get $50,000 awarded directly to his or her cause. Remember, all funds will be awarded based on the number of unique donations, NOT the total amount of money collected.

  In addition, please note that different Fundraisers may choose to fundraise for the same charity. This means that there could be more than one charity badge/widget per cause. You can donate to multiple badges/widgets associated with the same cause if you want to help each badge/widget gain one “unique donation.”

• Supporting a charity by choosing to “give to a cause.”

  You can donate to the same charity by selecting the “give to a cause” option as many times as you like. The 100 charities (50 US-based on Network for Good and 50 international on GlobalGiving) with the greatest number of donations to their cause at the end of the Challenge will each receive $1,000.

• Donating through a charity badge/widget.

  Yes. Please feel free to donate to as many different charity badges/widgets as you please. Your donation to each charity badge/widget will count as one “unique donation” on that badge/widget.

• Donating by choosing to “give to a cause.”

  Yes. Please feel free to donate to as many charities as you like. Each time you make a donation, you help that charity get a chance to receive a $1,000 award.

The minimum donation is determined by the Challenge’s donation-processing partners -- Network for Good (typically U.S.-based charities) and GlobalGiving (typically international charities). A minimum donation of $10.00 is required when you “give to a cause” or donate through a charity badge/widget.

You are not required to make a donation to the charity badge/widget you create, but we encourage you to get your badge started with a donation. Every unique donation counts toward your charity getting $50,000.

All Challenge donations are processed only online through either Network for Good (typically U.S.-based charities) or GlobalGiving (typically international charities). Please visit these sites for more information about accepted forms of payment. Note: “Paper” checks cannot be used as payment through either site. Please encourage your friends and family to donate online.

The top fundraising champions may be recognized for their fundraising efforts on behalf of their charity. All monetary awards will be made directly to U.S.-based 501c3 organizations included in Network for Good’s online database and international nonprofits reviewed and accepted by GlobalGiving under its criteria.

The Challenge will end at 3:00 p.m. EST on January 31, 2008. The eight Challenge champions who inspire the most people to give, as well as the eight charities receiving $50,000 and the 100 charities receiving $1,000, will be notified within 30 days of the end of the Challenge.

The awards will be distributed through Network for Good and GlobalGiving after a period for review of the recipient organizations and the number of individual donations. The awards are funded by the Case Foundation.

Network for Good is the Internet’s leading charitable resource, bringing together donors, volunteers, and charities online to accomplish good. At networkforgood.org, users can donate to more than 1 million charities and search from among more than 36,000 volunteer opportunities. In addition, nonprofits can access tools for fundraising, volunteer recruitment, and donor communication.

GlobalGiving is a marketplace for goodness -- where you can browse ways to help others around the world, pick the ones you are most passionate about, and give to the solution. GlobalGiving connects donors to projects via its website, globalgiving.com, as well as through custom giving services -- helping corporations, foundations, affinity groups, and other institutions with their specific giving needs.