We are now official Thought Leaders in the space

It seems like everyone these days is a thought leader. I've been referred to as such so many times in the past few months that I'm ready to change the title on my business card from Founder & CEO to Thought Leader.

Backstage has taken its thought leadership to a whole new level.  Alex Mendelev - our new VP of Business Development - was part of a recent panel discussion at a Mobile Monday event in Vancouver. According to their website, MoMoVan (as they like to call themselves) is an open forum held for the global community of wireless industry professionals... in Vancouver. Earlier this month, roughly 90 attendees heard how B.C. companies are monetizing virtual goods. As thought leaders in the space, we were invited to attend. VIATeC wrote a story about the panel's insights into the emerging market of virtual goods.

Backstage: now with 50% more thought leadership.

Fundraising in February

Thanks to our fabulous and generous Scratch and Win players, we were able to make a donation of over A$13,000 to the Australian Red Cross. The money will be earmarked for disaster relief to help the unfortunate citizens of Victoria.

"After a record breaking appeal and with the bushfires in Victoria now thankfully under control, Red Cross and the Victorian and Australian Governments thank the community for their generosity, recognising a number of events are still to be held." Click Here to read more.

As someone affected by these bushfires, I would like to say thank you so very much for helping out in these awful times. It was like hell on earth, and the aftermath of help from Australians and others around the world amazes me to no end.

Danae Laskowski | Posted on the Scratch and Win Facebook forum at 14:22 on March 21

Meanwhile, thanks to our equally fabulous and generous Pull Tabs players, we were able to make a donation of over $11,000 to the Heart and Stroke Foundation today. 

Russ and Marc present our giant novelty cheque (and a real cheque) to the good folks at the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

A huge thank you to Backstage Technologies for raising funds during Heart Month for the Heart and Stroke Foundation! Thanks to the support of Backstage and to all the players who donated, we are able to move closer to our goal of generations free from heart disease and stroke. We are so impressed with what Backstage have managed to achieve in a little less than a year—providing over $100,000 in support to various excellent causes. Backstage truly is a company with a real and virtual social conscience!

Barbara J. Haley | Area Manager Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC & Yukon

Since April of 2008, Backstage has raised over $100,000 for worthy charities from around the world. We thank our customers for their continued support and generosity: your gaming fun is helping to change the world.

Our Biggest Charity Campaign Yet!

Our Doctors Without Borders campaign ended on October 31st.  The results are in:

$7,213 Scratch and Win
$6,819 Pull Tabs

Grand Total: $14,032

This has been our best charity fund raiser yet. We continue to be amazed by the generosity of our committed Facebook players that have once again illustrated the power of social networks to raise funds for worthwhile causes.

For November we are running two separate campaigns. On Scratch and Win, we are participating in the VIATeC Food Bank Challenge to help feed those in need during the holiday season. Backstage is a member of the Vancouver Island Advanced Technology Centre (VIATeC), and each year there is a friendly competition amongst hi-tech companies in our region to see who can raise the most money/donations for the local food bank in the run up to the holiday season. We've done well in the past, but this is the year Backstage hopes to win the challenge, with the help of our generous players.

Over on Pull Tabs, we are growing moustaches to support the Movember campaign to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer research. For the entire month of November our players will have the opportunity to buy a special moustache themed Pull Tab ticket and prize set. As an added bonus, Backstage employees will be growing their own horrible moustaches. Stay tuned for updates and facial hair progress.

With both charity campaigns, the tickets cost $0.10 through Spare Change, with net proceeds going directly to the charities.

Backstage Technologies raises over $9,500 for the BC Lions Society

Backstage Technologies today announced that its successful “Scratch and Win” charity campaign has resulted in a donation of $9,587.08 to the BC Lions Society for Children with Disabilities.  These funds will be used to help provide children with disabilities experience a week long camping adventure at no cost to their parents or guardians.

Lions Club CEO Stephen Miller was emphatic in his praise for both the generosity of Backstage and the power of fundraising through Facebook. “Wow! I am a believer in Backstage and the power it has within the virtual world. You guys are awesome to deal with and we are truly honoured to have worked with you. You’ve really made a big difference in the lives of hundreds of children with disabilities.” 

“As a father of three children, the BC Lions Society Send a Kid to camp campaign is something that really hits close to home,” said Dr. Russell Ovans, president of Backstage Technologies. “I can only imagine the difficulties parents face raising a child with special challenges. This was an easy campaign to get behind.” 

Scratch and Win is a Facebook application that lets players enjoy playing free virtual scratch-off lottery tickets. Winning tickets award players tokens which they use to purchase themed virtual prize sets as they advance through the game. To raise money for charity, Backstage sold a special BC Lions Society ticket at ten cents a piece with winning virtual prizes being artwork made by children who had attended past Lions Society camping adventures. The unique power in this new fundraising concept is the ability for charities to connect with willing donors at very small levels. As one game player and donor commented, “I’m glad to have been able to contribute to this special charity. It may have only been five dollars, but five dollars is all I could give.” This simple concept has put over $40,000 into the pockets of needy charities across this country.  

This is the third charity in as many months that Backstage has assisted. Notable partners include The Land Conservancy of BC, The BC SPCA and the BC Lions Club. Backstage is currently partnering with Doctors Without Borders to raise money and awareness for the plight of refugees around the world.