[Update 7/25: $26,000 raised through the latest auction.]
There have been two previous opportunities to have an expensive charity lunch with Eddy Cue: once back in 2014, and against just a few weeks ago. The most recent auction raised $225k for the National Association of Basketball Coaches Foundation, and the new one is currently estimating a conservative $50k, with bidding starting at just $5k …
To help with the international refugee crisis happening right now, Apple and the band Imagine Dragons have collaborated on an exclusive charity single, called “I Was Me” ($1.29). All proceeds of the song sales go to the UN Refugee Agency to support relief efforts. In addition, SAP will be donating an additional 10 cents per download for the first 5 million iTunes downloads. The Imagine Dragons track is exclusive to iTunes and available worldwide.
What can $200,000 get you in 2015? Lunch with the CEO of the most valuable company in the world and two tickets to be his VIP guest at a future Apple keynote. That’s how much Tim Cook and Charitybuzz raised at auction today as the weeks-long fundraiser came to a close after the starting bid began at $10,000 — the starting price of the 18k gold Apple Watch Edition — in mid-April… Expand Expanding Close
With well over 3,000 confirmed deaths in Saturday’s devastating earthquake in Nepal, Apple is inviting iTunes users to donate to the American Red Cross. The appeal allows donations from $5 to $200, with 100% of the funds donated being passed anonymously to the Red Cross … Expand Expanding Close
Update 2/5: Auction just wrapped up at $3,250 just over the estimated value.
Former Beats Music CEO and current Apple employee Ian Rogers is participating in a charity fundraiser through the online auction site Charitybuzz. With the estimated value pegged at $3,000, the fundraiser has a starting bid of $600, and runs for two weeks starting today. The highest bidder will have the opportunity to meet the former Beats Music CEO in either Los Angeles (where Beats is headquartered) or Cupertino (near Apple’s campus) for a private lunch meeting. Expand Expanding Close
Apple announced last night its campaign to support World AIDS Day 2014 with a series of App Store promotions and plans to donate a portion of Apple Store sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday to the Global Fund to support the fight against AIDS. Specifically for November 28th, or Black Friday, Apple shared that select Apple products will include a special edition (RED) iTunes gift care with a percentage going toward the Global Fund, and now we know exactly which products will qualify for Apple’s (RED) promotion on Black Friday.
Supported products include the iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 5c as well as each iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Air 2 which will include a $50 iTunes gift card (as well as the donation). Customers picking up an iMac, Retina iMac, MacBook Pro, Retina MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air will receive a $100 iTunes gift card. Finally, Apple will include a $25 iTunes gift card with the purchase of an iPod nano, iPod touch, Apple TV, or Beats headphones or speakers.
While it’s nice to see Apple use the Black Friday shopping event to promote (RED), its deals are admittedly less charitable than some other retailers if you’re trying to save some actual cash on your Apple or Beats purchases rather than picking up credit for iTunes or the App Store.
Apple has just announced a significant campaign to support World AIDS Day 2014 as part of its long-running (RED) program. The company will donate to the Global Fund to fight AIDS based on proceeds from its new Apps for (RED) section on the App Store, as well as a portion of online and retail sales made on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Expand Expanding Close
A range of apps have been updated today with limited-time promotions, in aid of the (RED) charity. Apple has participated in the event with an update to GarageBand, offering a limited-edition In-App Purchase that makes over 300 new drum, guitar, synth and bass loops available as an In-App Purchase. All proceeds from the sale of this expansion pack go directly to the (RED) charity, which sends the money to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The In-App Purchase, which is priced at $0.99, will be available until December 7th.
If you’re in London and want to grab an iPhone 6 tomorrow morning without all that tedious queueing, the homeless charity Depaul UK can help. They’ve grabbed a space close to the front of the queue at the Regent Street store and are auctioning it off on eBay to raise funds for homeless, vulnerable and disadvantaged youngsters.
This auction is for one spot near the front of the queue outside the Apple Store on Regent Street, London for the launch of the iPhone 6 and a Depaul UK t-shirt.
This auction is for the physical space outside the Apple Store and a Depaul UK t-shirt, not the iPhone 6. Just turn up and take your place in the queue before the store opens to make your purchase.
The auction runs until 6am on Friday, with the store opening at 8am. At the time of writing, the high bid was £105.
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The idea of a former Canadian Apple Specialist auctioning his last business card might sound rather bizarre until you see his name.
The amusing card is being auctioned on eBay, with all proceeds going to the Children’s Wish Foundation, a charity whose mission is to fulfill the wishes of children diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses. The charity fulfills the wishes of more than a thousand children a year.
At the time of writing, the high bid was $4,850 with eight days to go. If you’re feeling well-off and generous, you can bid here. The winner will get the framed shirt, lanyard and card.
This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Apple, alongside a handful of other tech companies, is reaching into its pockets for local San Francisco anti-poverty charity SF Gives. According to a report from Fortune, Apple is one of many companies that has donated $500,000 towards the total goal of $10 million that the organization is attempting to raise for local initiatives.
For the most part, signing up high-profile tech companies hasn’t presented a huge challenge thanks to Benioff and Lurie’s Silicon Valley connections. Still, while SF Gives is close to hitting the $10 million mark by its Wednesday deadline, 10 or so companies have declined to chip in. According to Lurie, their reasons vary. “For some, they feel like they’re doing their own thing: They’re giving back [already], and they’re involved,” he says. Other companies don’t generate revenue and feel it’s inappropriate to give away their investors’ money. “Then, there are others who just fundamentally believe that a company shouldn’t be doing philanthropy and that individuals should do it,” Lurie says.
The donation comes as Google and other big tech companies have been involved in controversies over their impact on the housing market and other aspects of smaller San Francisco neighbourhoods in recent months. There have been several cases of protestors blocking buses that shuttle Google employees to and from its headquarters and some even showing up at the homes of Google employees. Compare Apple’s relatively low donation of $500,000 to SF Gives— a fraction of one executive bonus— to the $6.8 million Google just gave to fund transit for low-income youth in the city following the controversies.
In addition to the images and online catalog of the products, we thought it would be interested to provide a look at Sotheby’s hardcover version of the catalog. As you can see in the images above, the book has an intriguing front and back cover design that showcase cartoon-like representations of both Ive and Newson. Inside, the catalog provides an in-depth look at the items on auction.
You can see our full gallery of images of the catalog below, courtesy of 9to5 reader Chris:
Last month we reported that Apple’s Senior Vice President of Design Jony Ive had teamed up with designer & friend Marc Newson to create one of a kind pieces for Bono’s (Product) RED charity auction scheduled for November 23 at Sotheby’s New York. Those pieces included one-of-a-kind 18k sold rose gold Apple EarPods, and Steinway & Sons piano, and other unique items designed by the pair. Today we get a look at another beautifully designed product set to go up for auction next month.
In the gallery below we get a look at the gorgeous aluminum Leica M for (RED) designed by Ive and Newson that features “a laser machined aluminum body and an anodized aluminum outer shell.” The one of a kind camera took 85 days to create with the team going through 561 models and nearly 1000 prototype parts: Expand Expanding Close
A lot of people use the iPhone, to take pictures of their food, and share the pictures on Twitter and Facebook. Sharing photos of your meals online has become a phenomenon and you probably have several friends who participate in this trend. But what if you can actually make a difference for a great cause by taking pictures of your food? That’s exactly what a new app Feedie does. The pictures you take with Feedie can be posted and shared on Facebook, Twitter, Google + and Foursquare.
Because you took a picture at a Feedie restaurant, the restaurant donates to The Lunchbox Fund. Chef Mario Batali is one of the spokesmen for Feedie and The Lunchbox Fund. The Lunchbox Fund is a non-profit organization that provides daily meals for orphaned children in South Africa. The organization works with several schools and have annually provided 240,000 meals since its inception in 2005. Feedie has provided 645 meals, since its launch in the end of April. This app is also now iOS 7 ready:
The auction listing notes that it was “Donated by: Tim Cook” and after opening earlier this morning currently has two bids of just over $5,000.
The estimated value for the auction is set at $50,000, and the winning bid will get two lucky individuals the chance to sit down with the CEO for 30min to 1 hour. However, bids don’t include travel or accommodations and Cook’s guests will also be “subject to security screening” before hand to weed out the crazies. (via @Ihnatko)
Apple has updated its official China website homepage to offer its respect and sympathy following the disastrous earthquake that has affected the country over the past few days.
The acknowledgement present on Apple’s site reads as follows:
Our deepest condolences to those who were taken away by the Sichuan Yaan earthquake, and respect to all the rescuers. May those who have passed away rest in peace, and may the survivors stay strong.
The company has also offered a statement that pledges cash donations and new Apple devices to help schools that have been affected:
In this difficult time our hearts are with the Sichuan earthquake victims. In addition to cash donations to help the victims ride out the storm, we will also commit to donating brand new Apple equipment to some of the schools in the affected region, and the local Apple staff will be on standby to provide support.
Apple has reportedly pledged 50 million Yuan in total. (Thanks to Richard Lai from Engadget for the translations.)
