Video games, once dismissed as mindless entertainment at best and a danger to society at worst, have instead emerged as an opportunity for education, connection and philanthropy.
The military game Call of Duty, released in 2003 to universal acclaim, introduced World War II’s history to a new generation. The on-going series holds the Guinness World Record as the best-selling games of their kind.
The games’ creators, Activision Blizzard, haven’t rested on their laurels, though. Instead, they established the Call of Duty Endowment in 2009 with the mission to place veterans in high-quality careers. And in April of 2022, the Endowment reached its goal of placing 100,000 veterans into meaningful employment two years ahead of schedule.
Over the past 12 years, the Endowment has partnered with nonprofit veterans organizations in the US and the UK to invest in targeted training, such as interview skills and resume writing, which show dramatic results in hiring for those who receive the training. They even released a white paper based on their data to make recommendations to policy makers and philanthropic donors, in addition to making suggestions directly to veterans and employers.
“There is no better, more supportive resource for veteran job placement than the Call of Duty Endowment.”
– VetJobs CEO Rear Admiral Dan Kloeppel, U.S. Navy (retired)
In addition to all of that support, the Call of Duty folks encourage the gamers to get involved, too. As you can see from the media above, they recently held the first ever in-game charity race and raised $1M!
Gone are the days when video games could be dismissed as irrelevant. In fact, the amount of money raised for nonprofits through video games is exploding every day. Is there a way to incorporate this new and exciting phenomenon into your own fundraising strategy? We think so!
Watch this space for further exploration on this topic!
Hat tip: Good News Network
