Founded: 1996
Reported Contributions to Date: $200 million+
Reported Contributions in First Three Years: $25 million+

Eleven years after its launch, this General Mills corporate program engages over 90,000 K-8 schools schools in raising funds by sending in Box Top coupons worth 10 cents each.

Box Tops for Education has proved such a successful loyalty program for General Mills that it has opened it up to other marketers of noncompeting products such as S.C. Johnson and Kimberly-Clark.

The program is a stand out in terms of transparency thanks to its simple 10 cents per box top metric and the clarity with which the program's other fundraising options (online shopping and book clubs) are explained. In addition to annual announcements of overall funds raised, consumers can search online to see how much any participating school has raised.

Founded: 2002
Reported Contributions to Date: $4.2 million
CMF Guesstimate of Contributions in First Two Years: Under $1 million

Founded by social entrepreneurs in 2002 and purchased by Starbucks in 2005, Ethos Water contributes five cents to support humanitarian water programs every time a bottle is purchased and has a goal of raising $10 million by 2010. The Ethoswater.com website states that so far over $4.2 million has been invested by Ethos/Starbucks in water programs around the world that will impact more than 370,000 people.

The company's purchase by Starbucks and subsequent distribution in its coffee shops across the US and Canada increased its sales and giving dramatically. Implementation of a distribution deal with Pepsico announced in June 2006 should accelerate product movement and contributions.

Founded: 2004
CMF Guesstimate of Net Charitable Contributions to Date: $48 million
CMF Guesstimate of Net Contributions in First Two Years: $43 million

Launched on May 17, 2004 with seed funding from Nike to produce and market 5 million yellow bracelets for a dollar a piece, the Live Strong campaign caught on like wildfire. One year later, more than 47.5 million bracelets had been sold. Three-and-a-half years after the program's launch, more than $60 million worth of bracelets have been sold.

Nike no longer subsidizes the bracelets, but it has moved on to produce other Live Strong items that generate donations to LAF. No figure is available on the net proceeds to LAF generated by the bracelet program, but they are high margin items. On the LAF.org website they are sold in minimum quantities of 10 for $10 with an additional fee for shipping and handling. Estimating 60 million bracelets sold for a dollar each, 20 cents to produce each bracelet and shipping costs covered by the fee charged to consumers, this program has netted LAF about $48 million.

• 12/19 -- Susan Knobler of Luxottica Group on "Give The Gift of Sight"
• 1/15 -- Jim Armstrong of Good for Business on "Communicating Your Cause"
• 2/13 -- Mike Indursky of Burt's Bees on "Setting The Natural Standard"

Founded: 1982
Reported Contributions to Date: $200 million+
Reported Contributions in First Two Years: $2.42 million

"Paul Newman and the Newman's Own Foundation donate all profits and royalties after taxes for educational and charitable purposes. Paul Newman and the Newman's Own Foundation have given over $200 million to thousands of charities worldwide since l982," the Newman's Own website explains.

The company does not comment on its owner's charitable activities, but fortunately Paul and the company's cofounder A.E. Hotchner published a book in 2003 that sheds some light on the subject. In its first full year of business, Newman's Own had sales of $3,204,335 with a profit of $397,000 which was given to "scores of different charities," according to --- "Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good."

In 1984, revenue quadrupled to $11,943,976 from sales of 18,705,555 bottles of salad dressing and 8,371,726 jars of spaghetti sauce, "enabling us to give away $2,023,105"

Founded: 2006
Reported Contributions to Date: $50 million+

Launched in the UK in March 2006 and in the US in October 2006, contributions from the companies that license the (RED) brand had yielded more than $50 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria as of November 29, 2007.

The contributions are generated by the sale of (PRODUCT) RED-branded items from Converse, Gap, Hallmark, Motorola, Emporio Armani, Apple, and American Express (UK only). Each of those companies has made a multi-year commitment to produce (PRODUCT) RED-branded goods, invest in marketing to build demand for the products and contribute a portion of the profits from these lines to the Global Fund (the amount varies by item).

Founded: 1998
Estimated Contributions to Date: $18 million+
Estimated Contributions in First Two Years: $1 million

From 1998 through 2006, Yoplait, its parent company General Mills and its foundation raised more than $18 million to fight breast cancer through sponsorship of the Komen Race for the Cure Series, the Yoplait Save Lids to Save Lives program and other initiatives, the Yoplait website states. In 2007, Yoplait's goal is to raise $1.5 million.

In 2006, consumers sent in over 9.3 million Yoplait lids each of which yielded a 10 cent donation and Yoplait's contribution to Susan G. Komen for the Cure exceeded $1.5 million. Between 1997 and 2006, Save Lids to Save Lives alone generated $5.4 million in donations.