What is a RibbonTone?
What is the mission of RibbonTones?
Why are none of the RibbonTones by artists I’ve ever heard of?
What about awareness ribbons that have more than one cause associated with them?
Why don’t I see my organization listed as one of your partners?
How can my organization benefit from RibbonTones?
How may I suggest a cause for a RibbonTone that is not already covered?
Are there plans for more RibbonTones?
How much of my contribution is passed on to the charitable organization I support?
Is my entire contribution tax deductible?
How do you help with medical costs?
What is the difference between a ring tone and an answering tone?
These RibbonTones are catchy. Are these part of a whole song?
How much money will my phone company charge to download?
Can I download multiple RibbonTones?
What is a RibbonTone?
A RibbonTone is a ring tone for a cellular telephone that benefits awareness ribbon-related organizations. The word "ribbontones" is trademarked as of December 2009.
What is the mission of RibbonTones?
The mission of RibbonTones is to provide simple and efficient ways for awareness ribbon-related fundraising in the areas of research, awareness, programs and medical expenses.
We accomplish this by:
We value health, adventure, compassion, service and integrity.
Why are none of the RibbonTones by artists I’ve ever heard of?
When a RibbonTone is on your phone, it isn't Britney Spears latest hit that also happens to be part of a charitable offering. The songs we use are not radio hits by big name artists. That would overshadow the purpose of the RibbonTone. Each RibbonTone is intended to create awareness. The RibbonTone is unique to the cause and should be associated with that cause alone. We prefer unknown artists. If you ever hear a RibbonTone on the radio it's because the song was catchy enough to generate interest outside of the cause and people downloaded the entire song. If that happens, people will say, "Hey, there’s that RibbonTone song on the radio".
What about awareness ribbons that have more than one cause associated with them?
Some RibbonTones have more than one cause associated with them. The red ribbon, for example, is associated with AIDS and suicide prevention awareness. The purple ribbon is associated with lupus, Alzheimer's and fibromyalgia. The bottom line is, we want to help. When an awareness ribbon is shared by multiple causes, we will create a RibbonTone for each cause. So, there may be three RibbonTones associated with the purple ribbon but each RibbonTone will be associated directly to that cause in order to keep the causes separate and increase awareness.
Why don’t I see my organization listed as one of your partners?
We do our best to partner with as many awareness ribbon-related organizations as we can find for the cause. We may have overlooked your favorite. Or we may have approached them with this opportunity and they passed on it. Ask the decision-maker at your favorite charitable organization to contact us.
How can my organization benefit from RibbonTones?
Partnership is simple. You must be a bona fide non-profit organization with 501(c)3 status and fall into one of the following categories: awareness, research, programs or medical expenses. If you do, contact us and we’ll tell you everything you need. Your organization needs to have a website, a marketing strategy and be able to provide us with a hard-copy of your IRS Determination Letter. Well-established organizations usually have no trouble becoming a partner but it doesn’t preclude smaller organizations from partnership.
How may I suggest a cause for a RibbonTone that is not already covered?
Contact us. We may not be able to get to every cause, but our ears are always to the ground.
Are there plans for more RibbonTones?
We started off with the Pink RibbonTone to benefit breast cancer agencies and causes. The Puzzle RibbonTone for autism and the Blue RibbonTone for prostate cancer were added most recently. We intend to create RibbonTones for the purple, violet, orange and red awareness ribbons. We also intend to be open to create a ribbon for a natural disaster in the event one is needed.
How much of my contribution is passed on to the charitable organization I support?
80% of the net proceeds go directly to the charitable organization you support. The net is what's left after the phone company and tech provider take their fees out of the gross sale. So, roughly 32% of your contribution makes it to the organization you support. Other companies offering music downloads for charity only give 10%.
Is my entire contribution tax deductible?
That's a question we can’t answer. This is brand new stuff we're doing here. You will need to ask your tax expert how it will affect your taxes. It may be helpful to know the formula above to show your tax expert how much of the cost of the RibbonTone actually benefits the charity.
How do you help with medical costs?
To partner with us for help with medical costs it is a little tougher. We will need some very specific information to verify the cause as I'm sure you're aware someone may want to misuse this offer. You will need to have a website and a marketing plan to generate traffic to your site in order to recruit donors. This in itself may eat up a lot of money and may not be recuperated. You may want to look into getting the help of a sponsoring organization that is willing to help you market your cause. Community groups and coffee houses tend to have a lot of these outlets for helping community members and raising awareness that a family is in need of financial help. You will need to ask your tax advisor how any income generated from these efforts will affect you.
What is the difference between a ring tone and an answering tone?
Ring tones are the sounds you hear from a cell phone as it rings on the receiving end. Answering tones are the sounds you hear when you call someone. Using the RibbonTone as either a ring tone or an answering tone depends on what your phone allows. Many models do not allow you to apply music as an answering tone. If your phone does allow a RibbonTone to be applied as an answering tone, we encourage you to do this in order to increase awareness of the cause.
These RibbonTones are catchy. Are these part of a whole song?
Most of them are. Only the RibbonTone (that 20-second excerpt) benefits the charity. If you download the entire song those proceeds benefit the artist who created the song. This is how we offer an incentive to artists to let us use their songs for ring tones.
How much money will my phone company charge to download?
Data charges apply to every download. That’s the phone company's cost of allowing data to flow to your phone. You will need to check with your phone company and ask what your data plan allows. If you are not a big fan of text messages or if you're not regularly downloading mobile content to your phone, you will want to check on the data usage fees.
Can I download multiple RibbonTones?
You will only be allowed to download one RibbonTone each time you pay for one. You will not be able to transfer it to multiple phones. We encourage you to make sure everyone in your family has a RibbonTone but they will need to pay for each download. If you are big-hearted and want to support multiple causes, you can have the pink RibbonTone, the puzzle RibbonTone and the purple RibbonTone all on one phone. Each requires a separate download and fee. |
