Anne Hathaway, Marc Jacobs, and Kanye West are just some of the celebrities who have donated one-of-a-kind items to RE/CREATE New York’s new online charity auction for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.

The auction, which begins today on eBay.com, features a host of exclusive items including  a pair of Nike Air Yeezy II Sneakers signed by West, a signed (and kissed) book by model Kate Moss, and an autographed breast plate worn by the actress Julianne Moore during the making of the upcoming horror film remake “Carrie.”

In total, over 50 items supplied by prominent entertainers, designers and writers will be auctioned off online over the course of three rounds. (For fun, participants have also put together a personalized playlist of their favorite tunes, which are featured alongside their auction lots.)

According to event organizers RE/CREATE New York, the new charitable platform of strategic agency CREATETHE GROUP, Inc., 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit the Sandy relief efforts of volunteer organization New York Cares.

 “We are touched by the enthusiasm of our friends to collaborate for the benefit of a city we hold close to our hearts,” said CREATETHE GROUP Chief Executive James Gardner. “Building and powering global digital businesses is at our core, and we’re honored to use this skill set to support New York Cares and the people who remain affected by this natural disaster.”

In addition to eBay, other RE/CREATE New York partners include Spotify and Rackspace.

The funds went to the School Money Pocket Fund, set up by The Straits Times newspaper as a community project in 2000 to help students in need with school-related expenses.

Volunteers for the project built a replica of the Marina Bay Floating Platform, the venue for the National Day Parade, out of LEGO® bricks and minifigures. Donors could buy a pair of mini-figures for $5 (SGD): One minifigure would sit in the replica’s seating gallery, and the other was a keepsake. The project eventually used 200,000 bricks and minifigures over an area the size of a volleyball court.

PayPal was the exclusive payment partner for three out of four of the payment solutions for the Building a LovingSG charity drive. Singaporeans used PayPal to donate on the National Day Parade’s website, Facebook page and via QR codes from posters across 50 bus stops island-wide.

PayPal was also a sponsor for the project, donating $10,000. It also matched employees’ donations dollar-for-dollar, raising an additional $3,000.  Employee donors even got customized PayPal minifigures, which they further personalized at a fun internal event before sending them to take their places on the replica.

“I loved LEGOs® as a child though I didn’t have enough pocket money to buy some myself when young,” said Rupert Keeley, SVP for APAC and EMEA PayPal, who donated to the project. “I am delighted that PayPal has been part of this nation-building LEGO® project where proceeds go towards children in need.”

The first round of charity auction items available on eBay Celebrity includes a chance to attend actor Brad Pitt’s “A Night to Make It Right” gala at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans on March 10. Consumers can bid on tickets to the event along with a personal meet and greet with Brad Pitt. Additional auction items that will become available throughout November include memorabilia from notable personalities such as Sienna Miller benefitting International Medical Corps, Jeff Bridges benefitting Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign™, Katy Perry benefitting the American Red Cross, Hayden Panettiere benefitting The Whaleman Foundation, and Tarina Tarantino benefitting Art of Elysium.

I like the social features of the site too. There’s a “Tweet deck”; recent videos; opportunities to connect via different social channels; and a scrolling ticker showing the “impact to date” in real-time. Exciting stuff.

Cheers!
RBH

EMI Group has committed to match all funds raised from the auction up to a maximum of one million euros.

The first phase of the auction begins today, April 5, and will run until April 15, with more than 200 exclusive items. A second phase of the auction will take place between April 11 – 21st.

You can view all the items at ebay.com/EMIfamily4Japan. I’ve already bid on the VIP tickets to Coachella and will continue to do so.

Here’s a snapshot of just some of the items available in the first phase…

30 Seconds to Mars – two tickets to a US show of their choice, a meet and greet with the band, a limited edition signed piece of merchandise, access to watch the show from the side of the stage, and a spot to join the band onstage during their performance of ‘Kings & Queens’

Aaron Neville – signed poetry book

Alice In Chains – a signed setlist, and 20 piece poster set

Angela Gheorghiu – her kimono costume from Madame Butterfly

B-52s – a dress worn by Kate Pierson, and a signed guitar

Bat For Lashes – costume worn by Natasha, and a signed letter

Beastie Boys – a Japanese gold record, a Japanese MTV award and a rare copy of their BAPE dolls, all signed.

Celtic Woman – original dress worn by Mairead Nesbitt in the ‘A Christmas Celebration Live’ DVD

The Chemical Brothers – pair of guest tickets for Coachella, a meet and greet with the band plus a signed set list

Coldplay – Chris Martin’s jacket from the Viva la Vida world tour 2010

Darius Rucker – signed guitar, signed football and signed CD

Depeche Mode – a limited edition lithographic print create to celebrate the release of the Tour of The Universe Barcelona DVD, signed by the band and framed.

Dierks Bentley – handwritten lyrics to ‘Beautiful World’, signed CD, signed photo, and a signed football

Eric Church – signed acoustic guitar

Family Force 5 – a private dinner with the band in Atlanta

Good Charlotte – a meet and greet with the band, a signed guitar, and free tickets to a live show

Herbert Grönemeyer – dinner with him in Berlin

Hot Chip – the original drawings for the ‘Coming On Strong’ album

Huey Lewis & The News – hand written, autographed & framed lyrics, plus a personalized certified gold album for Greatest Hits, and a VIP concert experience & personal phone call from Huey to the winner

Immodesty Blaize – 1940′s dress from major photoshoot

Jane Birkin – her own ‘Birkin’ handbag

Julien Clerc – signed platinum disc

Keith Urban – two tickets and a private meet & greet on his Closer tour

Keren Ann – a signed guitar

The Kooks – handwritten lyrics to ‘Ooh La’

Lady Antebellum – signed acoustic guitar

Little Big Town – signed acoustic guitar

Luke Bryan – a signed guitar

Melanie Chisholm – her Cavalli belt as worn on the Spice Girls’ world tour

Michael Franti – five nights at his Bali yoga retreat

Raphael – NRJ Award for Best Male Artist from 2006

Sick Puppies – a signed acoustic guitar

Simple Minds – spend a day on tour with the band

Tiziano Ferro – painting created for him by a top artist, inspired by his music

Vasco Rossi – a special black carpet, used at the launch of his new album

We’re half way into Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Bling My Bra fundraiser is well underway.

A lot of folks here at eBay got together recently and “blinged” a large number of bras and shipped them off to eBay Ink Social Media Seller Kat Simpson at Bling My Bra central… the Montgomery Advertiser was on hand to film her opening up the boxes and also covered the story. Check out the vid… Awesome!

Down in Dallas, eBay Ink Social Media Seller Melinda Jackson was joined by Dallas Cowboy great Randy White on Fox 4 News Dallas…

For those of you on Twitter, please remember to use the hashtag #BlingMyBra in your tweets.

Cheers,
RBH

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Bling My Bra folks are at it for the second year in a row. They will be auctioning off one-of-a-kind themed art bras through Giving Works auctions on eBay. Proceeds will benefit Susan G. Komen For the Cure. Look for eBay seller ID BlingMyBra or do a keyword search for “bling my bra”.

I’ve decided to get in on the action this year and will be designing my own eBay Ink Blog Bra. This could be interesting.

You can find out more about the Bling My Bra auctions and how you can help.

For those of you on Twitter, please remember to use the hashtag #BlingMyBra in your tweets.

Cheers,
RBH

Related Reads:
Auctiva: Organizers Seek Bras With ‘Bling’
ColderICE: Press Release: Bling My Bra Breast Cancer Charity Auctions

How it works:
eBay Giving Works enables eBay users to support their favorite causes whenever they buy and sell. Today the program offers five easy ways to make a difference:
• Community Selling: Any seller can donate part of their sale price to a nonprofit. The seller decides which organization to support and how much to give (10-100 percent), and gets a tax deduction for their gift.
• Direct Selling: Nonprofits can sell their own items on eBay to raise funds. eBay waives most basic selling fees for nonprofits, making Direct Selling practically free.
• Shop eBay Giving Works: Every item posted by a Community or Direct Seller bears the eBay Giving Works blue and yellow charity ribbon, so it’s easy for buyers to shop for items to support causes that matter to them.
• Give at Checkout: 1.5 million shoppers every day are invited to add a donation on top of their eBay purchase, when they pay by PayPal. Give at Checkout has raised nearly $5 million in its first 12 months.
• Donate Now: eBay and PayPal users who discover an eBay Giving Works organization they care about can give as little as $1 right away without buying or selling.

It goes without saying that the fact that $50 million was raised in 2009 alone, coupled with the unbelievable final auction price of the lunch with Warren Buffett (the highest value charity auction ever sold on eBay at $2.63 million), greatly contributed to this superb achievement.

Cheers,
RBH

eBay
A reminder that you can buy, sell and/or donate items via a dedicated landing page on eBay.com, with proceeds going to Save the Children, The American Red Cross, and other nonprofits involved in the relief effort. The eBay Community (over 326,000 donors) has now raised over $1 Million as of Midnight EST last night across the US & UK sites. This excludes funds raised for charity sales on the site, and reflects only cash donations through Give at Checkout and Donate Now.

PayPal
A reminder that PayPal is waiving fees for all U.S. 501(c)3 charitable organizations collecting for disaster relief in Haiti. For fee waiver consideration, send an email to nonprofit@paypal.com. To date, PayPal donations are at $4.5 Million.

I realize that the need for relief and help in Haiti is still in its infancy but what individuals have accomplished together over such a short period of time is nothing short of remarkable. I’m sure in a few weeks you’ll be resetting my expectations once again. For now, I just wanted to say thank you and let’s keep giving in anyway we can.

-RBH

On Tuesday, Jan. 12 shortly before 5 p.m., a 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. According to The Red Cross, about 3 million people were affected by the quake — one-third of Haiti’s population.

In the wake of the devastating quake, more than 100,000 people are feared dead with thousands of others injured or without homes. Reports from the scene say that getting aid to the injured is difficult because many hospitals have been destroyed and medical supplies and heavy equipment are desperately needed.

To help with relief efforts, early response from eBay Foundation includes a special gift-matching program for global eBay Inc. employees making charitable contributions to organizations providing rescue and relief efforts in Haiti.

eBay and PayPal are also responding to the disaster by providing our communities of users with easy methods of donating to the relief effort.

** Buy, sell and/or donate items via a dedicated landing page on eBay.com, with proceeds going to Save the Children, The American Red Cross, and other nonprofits involved in the relief effort.
** Donate to the Red Cross or Save the Children through Give@Checkout. For a limited time, when you purchase an item on eBay.com, you can donate to these charities during checkout.
** PayPal is waiving the payment processing fees for donations to Save the Children for the next 30 days. Links to make donations to Save the Children (which accepts PayPal for donation payments) will be featured on various PayPal onsite placements, including the PayPal home page. Here is the link to the dedicated page.

Based on the tragic reports I hear coming out of the area, I can’t imagine what people close to this disaster are going through right now, but my thoughts and prayers go out to all families and people involved.

-RBH

UPDATED — 1/17/10

** Through Saturday, January 16th, the eBay Community has raised over $373,000 USD through the Give@Checkout and Donate Now features on eBay.com, with proceeds going to several nonprofit organizations focused on the recovery.

** The eBay Foundation is providing $100,000 USD to support the efforts of three organizations involved with relief efforts: The American Red Cross, Save the Children and Oxfam. 

** As of Friday, January 15th, eBay will waive all donation processing fees for Give@Checkout and Donate Now for a period of 30 days, to ensure that 100 percent of every donation reaches the non-profit organizations providing the relief.

** The eBay Foundation has also implemented a special gift-matching program through February 28 for global employees who want to make a charitable contribution to organizations providing rescue and relief efforts in Haiti. When employees make a gift to the American Red Cross, Save the Children, or Oxfam (or one of their local affiliates), the eBay Foundation will match the gift up to $250 USD per employee. Note: This special match will not count against the $500 USD matching opportunity that U.S. employees have for 2010 which can also be utilized for Haiti Earthquake relief.

** Through eBay’s Giving Works program, Sellers can commit to donating a percentage of their listing’s final sale price to the nonprofit of their choice. As of 1/16/2010, over 17,000 listings from over 3,200 sellers, supporting 43 nonprofits that are assisting with the relief effort, were available for purchase on eBay.com.

UPDATED — 1/18/10

** Through Sunday January 17th, the eBay Community has raised over $497,000 USD through the Give@Checkout and Donate Now features on eBay.com, with proceeds going to several nonprofit organizations focused on the recovery.

Every little bit helps
While funds raised by nonprofits are at an all-time low, this year’s eBay Giving Works figures were released during a year of significant growth for online fundraising. Online giving is growing at 44% per year, seven times faster than offline giving growth. Online giving has enabled charities to leverage the power of the individual through smaller, more modest donations. The eBay charity program was built expressly to support this kind of fundraising, capitalizing on the philanthropic instincts of eBay’s 89 million member community and pioneering a new model for giving back.

How it works:
eBay Giving Works enables eBay users to support their favorite causes whenever they buy and sell. Today the program offers five easy ways to make a difference:
• Community Selling: Any seller can donate part of their sale price to a nonprofit. The seller decides which organization to support and how much to give (10-100 percent), and gets a tax deduction for their gift.
• Direct Selling: Nonprofits can sell their own items on eBay to raise funds. eBay waives most basic selling fees for nonprofits, making Direct Selling practically free.
• Shop eBay Giving Works: Every item posted by a Community or Direct Seller bears the eBay Giving Works blue and yellow charity ribbon, so it’s easy for buyers to shop for items to support causes that matter to them.
• Give at Checkout: 1.5 million shoppers every day are invited to add a donation on top of their eBay purchase, when they pay by PayPal. Give at Checkout has raised nearly $5 million in its first 12 months.
• Donate Now: eBay and PayPal users who discover an eBay Giving Works organization they care about can give as little as $1 right away without buying or selling.

A recent study of eBay shopping behavior, conducted by Columbia Business School, verified the philanthropic instincts of the eBay community, indicating that eBay buyers are actually willing to pay more to do good. Results showed that an eBay Giving Works item advertising that 10% of proceeds will be given to charity is nearly 20% more likely to sell than its non-charity equivalent, and at a 2% higher price.

“The eBay community has proven time and again that small actions, when brought to scale, can have a big impact,” said eBay Inc. CEO John Donahoe. “It’s what makes the eBay marketplace so unique, and what enables our community to do good things for causes they believe in. I want to thank every single buyer and seller who connected through eBay and gave back to their communities through eBay Giving Works. Your generosity this year, especially in such a tough economy, isn’t just impressive – it’s inspiring. We’re looking forward to helping you do even more good next year.”

You can read the full press release by visiting the ebayinc.com newsroom.

Fast facts about eBay Giving Works:
• Every minute, over $91 is raised for good causes on eBay
• Eight nonprofits in the U.S. have raised more than $1 million with eBay Giving Works
• The most money raised for charity from a single listing on eBay was $2.1 million in 2008, for a power lunch with Warren Buffett benefiting the Glide Foundation. The same auction in 2009 went for $1.68 million
• Kim Kardashian, a Top Rated eBay seller and avid eBay Giving Works supporter, has raised more than $47,700 for charity through the sale of her own clothing; she has raised $26,000 in 2009 alone
• In November and December of 2009, eBay Inc. matched $230,000 in funds that were committed via Give at Checkout

Cheers,
RBH