Two years ago, LivingSocial launched an initiative in which it donated 1% of all US purchases to a charitable cause. Now, since acquiring and rebranding GoNabit, LivingSocial has a presence in the Middle East and is bringing the same initiative to the region this year.
In its first chance to participate in the annual 12 Days of Giving program, LivingSocial Middle East will be donating 1% of all purchases made by members in the UAE and Lebanon to two GlobalGiving projects – Gulf for Good and Empower 20 Female Entrepreneurs in Lebanon.
Speaking about the initiative, Dan Stuart, Managing Director of LivingSocial Middle East said:
“For the third year in a row LivingSocial will help improve the lives of those in need internationally, and we are proud to be a part of the 12 Days of Giving Program. As a company dedicated to local commerce we’re excited to be working with GlobalGiving and playing an important role in directly helping local communities and in encouraging charitable work in our region with two worthy organizations.”
LivingSocial will be giving back to its global community not only in the Middle East, but will also be bringing the initiative back to Australia, New Zealand, France, Canada, Ireland, UK and the Netherlands, where it will be working with local charities, raising money for non-profits in each country. The daily deals site will also be donating proceeds in the US to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.
The UAE-based charity which will be benefiting from the initiative is Gulf for Good, which organizes world wide adventures and challenges. Participants are then able to raise funds through these challenges, and donate them to regional charities. In Lebanon, Empower 20 Female Entrepreneurs aims to do exactly what the name says – providing opportunities to marginalized communities in Northern Lebanon.
Donna Callejon, Chief Business Officer for GlobalGiving said:
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“By engaging its members around the globe, LivingSocial continues to support important causes internationally. Projects being supported by LivingSocial range from making wishes come true for sick children in France to funding ongoing rebuilding after the Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand.”
LivingSocial Middle East recently saw a record breaking sale in Lebanon, bringing in over $26,000 through just one deal. It’s worth noting that these kinds of figures are coming out of a country which has crippling Internet speeds, among the slowest not only in the Middle East, but in the world.
The site is continuing to pull in impressive figures globally. In the US alone, LivingSocial raked in $1.97 billion, so 1% of that amount is certainly no small change. With well over 46 million members, LivingSocial has also just received $176 million in funding, and the daily deals site is well on its way to raising the planned $400 million, giving it a valuation of around $6 billion.
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