Zynga and its players donate $1M to support safe water nonprofit

Zynga.org announced today that the company and its social game players have donated $1 million to support the safe water nonprofit group Water.org.

The contribution from the social game publisher’s charitable arm supports Water.org, which Gary White and actor Matt Damon founded to come up with market-driven, community-oriented ways to give people access to clean water and sanitation. The funds will help deliver a lifetime’s worth of water to more than 40,000 people in Haiti.

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Zynga.org has supported Water.org since 2010. With its latest in-game campaign, Zynga donated $100,000 to Water.org after its players contributed 2 trillion chips, or 15 percent of their in-game winnings, from Zynga Poker.

“Zynga.org’s ability to bring to light real-world issues and instantly give people a chance to give back and positively impact social causes through games is inspiring,” said White, who is CEO of Water.org, in a statement.

The nonprofit has made donations over time based on campaigns that have run in Zynga Poker, FarmVille 2, and CastleVille.

“More than 780 million people – two times the U.S. population – lack access to clean water, and that’s unacceptable,” said Ken Weber, the executive director of Zynga.org, in a statement. “We are thrilled to be able to engage Zynga players through their favorite games to drive increased awareness and much-needed resources for an innovative, results-driven organization like Water.org.”

To date, Zynga.org has developed more than 150 in-game charitable campaigns that have raised more than $18 million for nonprofits.

“I am humbled by the generosity of Zynga players around the world who have supported Water.org,” said Damon in a statement. “Every in-game donation is helping us realize our vision of safe water and basic sanitation for all within our lifetime.”