Inside Facebook

SocialVibe works with brands to create ways for users to donate money to charity, where users engage in some sort of branded online experience, and the brand make a donation. And for Thanksgiving, SocialVibe has created a Facebook app that is a type of simple fundraising game, raising money for the United Nations World Food Programme.

In Thanksgiving Feast, you and your friends try to create a full meal. You start with an empty Thanksgiving dinner table, then you click to earn some food, like a virtual turkey, yams, or other Thanksgiving fare. Earning food means being presented with some sort of interactive brand advertisement, like a campaign the shoe company Timberland is doing about environmental awareness. You need to engage with the ad — answering a survey question or whatnot — in order to get the food.

Then, you’re taken back to the Thanksgiving table, where you see the virtual food on your plate. From that point, you’re asked to invite more friends to earn their own food.

SocialVibe donates a portion of the revenue from the branded ads in the app to the UN food programme — “For every virtual meal you earn, SocialVibe donates a real meal to a needy family,” as the app’s tagline says. The program, for those not familiar, provides emergency food to families around the world