• by Tanya Gazdik , December 5, 2012

JetBlue Airways will match all customer donations made through its TrueBlue Giving program up to $25,000 from Dec. 10-17.

The New York-based airline launched its True Giving program, which is part of its loyalty program that provides members with alternate ways to use their TrueBlue points.

TrueBlue customers now have the choice to redeem their points for future travel or donate them to benefit others. Points can be donated locally or globally to more than 2.5 million causes in the True Giving database, which is powered by Kula Causes, Inc.

"With True Giving our customers can turn their TrueBlue points into dollars and support non-profit organizations around the world that they are passionate about," said Mike Stromer, JetBlue's vice president of customer connections, in a release.

On a corporate level, JetBlue supports youth, education and the environment throughout the cities the airline serves. The airline understands that each community has its own unique needs, and each TrueBlue member has causes that are important to them. Caring and passion -- two of JetBlue's core values -- were the motivation for True Giving, he said.

JetBlue partnered with KULA Causes, Inc. -- the world's largest online giving platform -- to create the True Giving program, providing its customers with a choice in their charitable efforts. JetBlue supports a number of national non-profits on a corporate level including Carbonfund.org, DoSomething.org, KaBOOM!, and FirstBook.

Customers can make donations to the charity of their choice by entering a charity name, a keyword or selecting the regions and countries or local causes of interest. Next, customers can view their selected cause's profile for additional information and then click donate. Donations are made in increments of points; transaction fees apply. Customer donations can be applied to categories specific to each charity including development, training, advocacy, etc. Once the donation is completed, a receipt is emailed to the customer from Kula Causes.

True Giving is an evergreen donation program and it follows JetBlue's most recent donation campaign for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. Throughout the month of November, JetBlue mobilized to engage customers and TrueBlue members to raise funds for the Red Cross.

In one month, customers donated more than $835,000. The donation site, also powered by Kula Causes, provided the platform for customers to donate directly to relief efforts in their local communities in the New York tri-state area. For every one dollar donated via the site, TrueBlue members received six TrueBlue points in return. Through this transactional giving program, JetBlue's loyal customers became both donors and brand advocates.