Popular FarmVille Game Raises $487,500 For Children in Haiti

SAN FRANCISCO – Oct. 20, 2009 – Zynga (www.zynga.com), the largest developer of social games, today announced that its FarmVille users have contributed $487,500 towards the welfare of children in Haiti. The “Sweet Seeds for Haiti” program, which has been running for the last three weeks, is an early step in Zynga’s efforts to promote “social goods” where Zynga players purchase virtual items as part of their game play while benefiting the greater global community. With more than 56 million monthly users, FarmVille is the largest online game. Players tend to their farm plots by harvesting crops from strawberries to eggplants, purchasing items like tractors and combines, and engaging with their neighbors. Under the “Sweet Seeds” initiative, users purchase special sweet potato seeds, of which 50 percent of the proceeds are donated to two non-profit organizations in Haiti that support the health and education of children and their families – FATEM.org and FONKOZE.org. This social goods program builds on an earlier Zynga initiative where players of its YoVille game, a virtual town with 140 million inhabitants, raised donations for the San Francisco SPCA by purchasing bulldogs and tabby cats from the in-game shelter as pets. “The sheer scope and reach of social gaming to affect people’s lives in a positive way wasn’t even a reality a few years ago,” said Mark Pincus, founder and CEO of Zynga. “Today, with ‘social goods,’ we are enabling players to unlock their power to change the world and impact the lives of children. ‘Sweet Seeds for Haiti’ is an early step for Zynga with more to come.” “Zynga has taken ‘networking’ to a whole new level, connecting tens of millions of people to some of the most isolated people in our hemisphere, the women and families of rural Haiti,” said Leigh Carter, executive director, Fonkoze USA. “Thanks to Zynga’s new social strategy, not only can we connect, we can act to eliminate extreme poverty in Haiti.” “At FATEM, Zynga’s contribution will help make local residents of the town of Mirebalais become self-sufficient by providing one of the most important tools against poverty: education,” said Jacky Poteau, president, FATEM. “Zynga has made it possible for over 500 children to have full access to quality education, and uplift them and their families from poverty.” Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and the 7th poorest in the world. Zynga's mission of connecting the world through games is enhanced by the opportunity to support Haiti’s children and their families. For additional information on the recipient organizations, please see www.FATEM.org and www.FONKOZE.org. To contribute, go to www.facebook.com/farmville and play! About FATEM FATEM is a non-profit organization based in Mirebalais, Haiti, and originally organized to bring information technology to the people in the region, thus helping with the economic advancement of the area. More recently, however, FATEM recognized the need for a sustainable means by which to support the general education of Haitian children and to ensure that these children have the necessary meals that will permit their young bodies and brains to learn and grow. About FONKOZE FONKOZE, based in Port-au-Prince, is an alternative bank for the poor. It is Haiti's largest micro-finance institution and is committed to the economic and social improvement of the people and communities of Haiti and to the reduction of poverty in the country.