Penny for Your E-Mail Thoughts - Industry Trend or Event - Brief Article

Industry Standard, The, Sept 25, 2000 by Joyce Slaton

Think fast: What do the U.S. Olympic team and the U.S. Post Office have in common? No, not ugly uniforms. The answer: Neither is supported by grants from the federal government.

Since it can't sell commemorative stamps, the U.S. Olympic Committee relies on corporate sponsorship and donations from fans -- the latter no easy sell. To give fans an easier way to support their team, the USOC is giving away free "usolumpicfan.com" e-mail accounts at www.usolympicteam.com The twist is that charity catalyst eGenerosity.com is getting sponsors to donate a penny to the Olympic Team for each usolympicfan.com e-mail message sent. Sponsors' ads are embedded in the e-mail, but they won't get access to user addresses, says eGenerosity.com COO Bret Besecker.

To cap contributions, each user is restricted to a daily maximum of 100 messages per account. And it's not just a temporary Olympic gimmick: "We're trying to generate good will and funding," says USOC Chief Information Officer Tony Basile. "We're not going to take access away after we've convinced people to use it."