Virtual Charity Goods Come To FarmVille

Over the weekend Zynga introduced a new virtual item into its FarmVille social farming sim, which is currently the most popular social game on Facebook. The new virtual item is called Sweet Seeds for Haiti, a seed that costs 25 FV. The virtual seed lets users grow a virtual sweet potato crop that never withers and sells for 125 coins per harvest while also conferring XP bonuses. Zynga promises that 50% of the proceeds from each Sweet Seeds for Haiti sale will be donated to the Haitian charities FATEM and FONKOZE. 

FATEM is a charity devoted to feeding and educating Haitian children while FONKOZE is a financial charity that offers microbanking services to the poor. The Industry Standard estimates that Zynga has sold 100,000 Sweet Seeds for Haiti since the item went on sale last Friday. Zynga has not yet released any figures regarding how much money the virtual item raised for the two participating charities, but the Standard estimates that the figure could be as high as $250,000. The Sweet Seeds for Haiti virtual item costs 25 FV, which users can purchase for $5. 

That said, FarmVille players can also earn FV through gameplay, so there is no guarantee that Zynga is donating at the estimated rate. Facebook virtual goods have been used as a fund-raising platform by charities before, with major Facebook charity virtual items, with prior campaigns including virtual gifts sold in honor of UNHCR and the PayPal-sponsored "Regift the Fruitcake" campaign. While competing social games like (lil) green patch have long included charity donations as part of the game mechanics, charity goods are something entirely new for Zynga. 

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