ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
Unless you have avoided all means of social media and news it is hard to have missed all this buzz and excitement of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Facebook news feeds are filled with people challenging one another to pour freezing cold water on themselves and donate to a worthy cause. For those more unfamiliar, the ALS Ice Bucket challenge is an incredibly successful advocacy and fundraising campaign for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) which is a progressive neurodegenerative disease. ALS affects approximately 30,000 Americans and leaves patients with a life expectancy of about two years from the time of diagnosis. The campaign utilizing the hashtag #ALSIceBucketChalenge continues to go viral.
As the campaign advances, some question the true success of the campaign. Some Facebook posts indicate that some individuals are questioning the effectiveness of the campaign. However, on Friday the ALS Foundation announced that the challenge has helped to raise $100 million in the past month. The question the ALS Ice Bucket challenge now leaves other charities debating is what can they do to utilize social media and motivate the public to become enthused about being advocates and fundraisers for a plethora of other causes.
Controversy focusing on the ALS Foundations application to trademark the phrases “ice bucket challenge” and “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” left many unhappy. The ALS Foundation addressed this issue on Facebook saying, “We filed for these trademarks in good faith as a measure to protect the Ice Bucket Challenge from misuse after consulting with the families who initiated the challenge this summer. However, we understand the public’s concern and are withdrawing the trademark applications. We appreciate the generosity and enthusiasm of everyone who has taken the challenge and donated to ALS charities.”
The Ice Bucket Challenge continues to appear all over social media and news sources haven’t stopped reporting. The advocacy and fundraising efforts have had a huge impact on the foundation and may pave the way for other charities outreach in the future. Needless to say, a little ice can go a long way.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/18/business/ice-bucket-challenge-has-raised-millions-for-als-association.html?_r=0
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/08/28/can-the-als-association-trademark-the-ice-bucket-challenge-its-going-to-try/
http://www.alsa.org/fight-als/ice-bucket-challenge.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dandiamond/2014/08/29/the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-has-raised-100m-but-its-finally-cooling-off/
Picture from: http://allfacebook.com/als-ice-bucket-challenge-update_b134010
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The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge seems to have dominated social media the last month. I have probably watched 40 videos from social media sites of people I know doing the challenge. Personally, the challenge has raised awareness for myself. Before the ice bucket challenge came to be a rising trend I had never known what ALS stood for. I had heard it before but never knew what the parameters of the disease were. The ALS Association’s annual budget is $25 million. Since the Ice Bucket Challenge’s start a little over a month ago, more than 3 million people have donated. In the same period last year the ALS Association raised $2.8 million. During that period this year, the donations have quadrupled the association’s annual budget bringing the total donations to $100 million. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge phenomenon has created it’s own phenomenon within charities; it has been said that the way charities fundraise has been altered forever.
http://www.alsa.org/about-us/ice-bucket-challenge-faq.html
http://time.com/3222224/als-ice-bucket-challenge-donations-million/