Editor's Note: The following blog post first appeared on the PayPal Forward blog. It was written by Lawrence Chan, VP of Merchant Services and GM of Southeast Asia & India, PayPal.
Each March, millions of people across the globe promote the collective commitment to a better planet and a better tomorrow by switching off their lights for Earth Hour. This year, the addition of crowdfunding will allow participants to contribute even further, and I’m proud to say PayPal has been chosen as the Official Payments Partner for the initiative.
An initiative by WWF, Earth Hour is a chance to globally advocate for a more sustainable environment, and each year the turnout is truly inspiring: in 2013 alone, the cause reached over 7000 cities and over 150 countries.
With that in mind, we can’t wait to see what deepening the capacity for engagement will allow in 2014.
#YourPower - Crowdfunding At Its Best
As a new crowdfunding and crowdsourcing platform for the planet, Earth Hour Blue will allow millions of people around the world to go beyond the symbolic switching off of lights and directly contribute to environmental causes they care about, such as dismantling the wildlife crime network or saving forests and families in Madagascar.
We are thrilled to be the Official Payments Partner for the cause, as this really demonstrates an ongoing commitment to social innovation as well as the leveraging of our technology to enable online and mobile giving around the world to create real impact.
As a global leader in online and mobile payments, millions of people around the world trust PayPal as a faster, easy-to-use and more secure way to support the causes they care about most. In 2013, PayPal processed US $4.9 billion for charities globally. With over 143 million active accounts in over 193 markets around the world, PayPal will empower international donors to contribute to over 15 projects under Earth Hour Blue, driving conservation and environmental sustainability efforts.
A Better Tomorrow Through Technology
As PayPal continues to drive technology-enabled commerce, our innovative solutions have the power to significantly increase fundraising for worthy causes through online and mobile platforms. We want to empower everyone – whether individuals, nonprofits or global brands – to take action and support the causes that matter to them.
Join Us: Earth Hour will be held this year on Saturday, 29 March 2014 at 8.30pm (local times) across the world. Discover Earth Hour events in nearby cities, and simply join millions of people across the world who switch lights off for an hour – to raise awareness for the planet. You can get an early start on participating by keeping an eye on the countdown here, and by checking out WWF’s Earth Hour Starter Kit.
To help fund Earth Hour Blue projects, visit https://earthhourblue.crowdonomic.com/ and let’s see how much we can accomplish when we work together.