A Mobile App That Lets You Check In For Charity

Foursquare. Gowalla. Google Latitude. Loopt. BrightKite. And, if the rumors are correct, soon Facebook, too. These are the players in the race for location-based application supremacy, one of the hottest segments of the web startup market. And while each of these services allows users to "check-in" -- i.e. let their friends know where they are, and help them find cool new local places to check out -- there's also one company out there that's using check-ins to increase donations to charity.

CauseWorld is an application for iPhone and Android that allows anyone who checks in at a retail locations to get "Karma" points. These karma points can then be converted to cash and donated to one of nine cause areas, ranging from carbon offsets to caring for injured animals to planting tress and more.

The way it works is that big brands and retailers pledge in advance to bankroll a certain amount in donations. When people trade in their Karmas to donate to groups, it's actually those brands and retailers that are making the donation.

For the brands and retailers, there is a lot more at stake than just their corporate philanthropy program. CauseWorld is providing a direct incentive for people to go into a store. They don't have to buy anything to get Karmas, but once they're in the store, they are highly likely to actually purchase something.

The program launched a pilot last December with $500,000 donated by Kraft and Citi. Recently, Proctor and Gamble announced it would give Karmas to people who use their phones to scan one of 27 different products, and Citi has been pleased enough with the results that it is upping its total commitment to $700,000. The company also announced that users would now be able to use Karmas to support microfinance organizations BRAC and ACCION USA.

I love this because of how simply and clearly they've combined incentives. Location-based services are increasingly popular among users as a way to increase the social nature of their normal retail experiences, and being able to genuinely contribute to important social causes through their participation is a great way to get them to check in more frequently. It makes total sense for retailers and brands who need traffic to get sales, and it's an option that those already with philanthropic commitments can align with.

The application has been downloaded some 300,000 times, putting it on par with some of the bigger location-based check-in services. CauseWorld is part of a larger company called shopkick that promises even more experimentation with the intersection between online action and offline retail experiences. With the creativity they've displayed with CauseWorld -- and the backing of some of the most respected investors in Silicon Valley -- I'm certainly excited to see what they come up with next.

Photo Credit: Beth Kanter