Zynga runs campaign for Haiti

Social gaming company offers limited edition virtual goods, 100% of profits for Haitian relief

Zynga, a popular social gaming company, has launched a campaign for supporting the disaster in Haiti called The Haitian Relief Fund. 

The company, which runs part of its business selling virtual goods to gamers across Facebook, has created limited edition versions of these goods to sell to its users.  Zynga said 100 percent of the proceeds will go towards supporting emergency aid in Haiti.  

This could potentially drive quite a bit of money for relief efforts.  The games Zynga is now running the campaign on top of, which include, FarmVille, Mafia Wars and Zynga Poker, reach over 40 million users daily.  

In 2009, Zynga launched a similar campaign for Haiti called, Sweet Seeds for Haiti, in which it sold limited edition virtual goods to help provide school lunches for Haitian children and other poverty in the Haiti.  Zynga raised a total of $1.2 million for Haiti, and in that campaign, only 50% of the profits were going towards the cause.  

Where can you find the limited edition virtual goods?  In Farmville, users can purchase white corn.  In Mafia Wars, users can purchase a Haitian drum.  And in Zynga poker, players can buy a special chip package which will receive a rare premium item.  

Mark Pincus, CEO of Zynga commented, "The devastation in Haiti is unimaginable, and anything we or our users can do is tiny compared to the utter loss for this nation."

Image Source - AP