January 20, 2009

Passionate About Animals? From Pet Trivia to Virtual Pets,
You Can Make a Difference from the Comfort of Your Own Home

San Francisco, CA. – January 20, 2009 – The Humane Society of the United States and Experience Project, the largest online forum for anonymously connecting and sharing life experiences, today announced a joint program aimed at transforming Internet fundraising and awareness campaigns to save the lives of pets. Set to reach 10 million people in 2009, the program harnesses the passion of animal lovers on social networks to spread the word and simplify giving. The program is indicative of how non-profits are increasingly taking advantage of social media to mobilize support and fuel powerful grassroots movements.

The program has two core components. The first is a fun online trivia game built by Experience Project, which raises money from advertisers, and can be found on Experience Project.com, savepups.com and savekitties.com. The second is a series of Facebook applications that allow animal-lovers to virally spread messages of support via a simple game focused on adopting and caring for virtual pets.

“We are so proud to have teamed up with The HSUS because we strongly believe in what they are doing, and our team deeply cares about the protection of animals,” said Armen Berjikly, CEO of Experience Project. “It’s a natural fit to combine their worthy cause with our Internet expertise to make giving more simple and fun to maximize impact.”

More than 1 million people have already answered more than 10 million trivia questions across all the animal causes supported by Experience Project where 100 percent of ad revenue is donated. The Humane Society of the United States has recognized the role that social networks like Experience Project and Facebook play in driving grassroots efforts and believes that 2009 will usher in a new era in terms of how non-profits use technology to relay information and bring about change.

“We decided to work with Experience Project because of the positive and supportive nature of their anonymous online community as well as the technical expertise their team brought to the table,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. “The HSUS already has a strong presence across social networks like Facebook and MySpace, but we are hopeful that our joint program will serve to magnify that presence in and engage a new generation of animal activists.”

The program is scheduled to run through 2009, with goals of reaching 10 million people and raising substantial funds from direct advertising on the trivia games. Experience Project and The Humane Society of the United States also plan on coordinating efforts for specific promotions throughout the year, such as Spay and Neuter awareness month in February.

To play the trivia games on Experience Project, visit: http://www.experienceproject.com/savepups
http://www.experienceproject.com/savecats
http://www.experienceproject.com/saveseal...

To access the applications on Facebook, visit:
http://apps.facebook.com/savepups/
http://apps.new.facebook.com/savecats
http://apps.new.facebook.com/saveseals
http://apps.facebook.com/horsepetition


About Experience Project
Imagine a social forum that is completely anonymous where you can safely and honestly connect and communicate with others who share your passion for the same issues and aspects of life - a place where authentic human connection finally occurs on the web - this is Experience Project. Explore over two million life experiences, share your own stories anonymously, and find like-minded people who are open, supportive, and just "get it." The growing community of people who use EP to share their life experiences are the source of the social forum’s unique culture, where everyone is welcome, comfortable, and engaged. http://www.experienceproject.com.

About The Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization – backed by 10.5 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty -- On the web at humanesociety.org.