Checking In For Charity on Facebook Helps Businesses and Local Charities Get The Upper Hand

Checking In For Charity via Facebook or Other Social Media is a Simple Concept that Encourages Businesses to Help their Favorite Local Charities Raise Money by Having Clients "Check In For Charity". Businesses Receive Wonderful Grass Roots Advertising and Benefiting Charities Receive Fundraising and Increased Awareness. Rachel Gower, Founder of The Upper Hand Hair Salons in Houston, Hopes Other Businesses Will Embrace Checking In For Charity and Join The Upper Hand in September to Raise Money for Communities In Schools Houston.

The Nielsen Company recently reported that 28 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers now have smart phones, cell phones with operating systems resembling those of computers. In addition to emailing, picture taking and texting, these multifunctional phones also keep their owner connected to Facebook, Twitter and other social media. Checking In For Charity is a simple idea designed for businesses that want to run a social media based advertising campaign and help local charities.

To get started, a business owner simply claims and updates the business' Facebook Places page. Then, each time a client "Checks In" a post runs down the client's News Feed mentioning the business name and description. The benefit to the business, of course, is that all of the client's Facebook friends can now see that their friend frequents the business owner's store, restaurant or office. Then, at the end of the month the business owner donates a fixed amount per "check in" up to a maximum donation.

"Checking In For Charity is like digital word of mouth advertising. It is a simple, flexible idea that offers businesses a social media advertising campaign that gives back to the community. Everybody wins...businesses, charities and communities," said Rachel Gower, President of The Upper Hand Hair Salons in Houston.

As an entrepreneur, Rachel Gower knows the effort it takes to keep a small business running and how important it is for a company to give back to the community. Ms. Gower organized Checking In For Charity in hopes that other business owners would find this idea valuable and join with The Upper Hand this September to raise money for Communities In Schools Houston(CIS). CIS is the nation's largest dropout prevention organization and has a 98% success rate. CIS works with public schools' most at risk children in an effort to provide each child with a better chance to graduate.