It seems odd to critique a program that just gave $5,000,000 to non-profits, but that’s exactly what I’m about to do. The Chase Community Challenge ended on Friday with some happy people and more controversy. You’re connected to the Challenge if you ever dated someone in high school who was a friend of a friend who went on to be the cousin of a guy’s college roommate who started a non-profit. Such connections earned you dozens of emails, facebook messages and tweets begging for your vote. As much as I appreciate Chase donating so much money to so many non-profits (100 were whittled down from 5,000) and as much as I don’t actually mind voting for people who ask me, there was a misfire here. The non-profits that enter these contests must be happy or things tend to go poorly. Remember: they’re more than purveyors of positive sentiment, they’re also the loudest when they feel wronged or unhappy. You have to leave them happy and moneygrabs aren’t the best way to do that.

That’s not to say these contests can’t be useful to non-profits. Those that could use both money and exposure get it. I didn’t know the “Feel Your Boobies Foundation” existed before the challenge. Not only do I now know they exist, but that they are headquartered a short drive from a family member that could benefit from their services. I tell that family member and offline action ensues. If they win money, that helps too.

The problem is that I see them becoming more and more less useful. Non-profits (and their supporters) are starting to show signs of VBCB (Vote-Base Contest Burnout). Do you know how hard it is for many of these (*generalization alert*) super nice, wouldn’t hurt a fly, non-competitive, non-profit leaders to BEG their friends, family and supporters for votes over and over again? The first time is exciting and exhilarating. The next time a little less so until finally it becomes a painstaking “I know I bug you all the time, but” email that scrapes the bottom of their social capital piggy bank. In the end, you run the risk of them not liking you very much regardless of the opportunity.

If you want to build actual brand ambassadors using this formula here’s one simple way these contests can evolve to bring all the good (and more) with less of the bad.

Don’t make it all about the money.

Only 2% of all Chase participants won money and that’s actually pretty high. Future contests need to start from the premise of “how do we bring value to the other 98%?”

You have to give people a reason to participate beyond the money. Better yet, don’t make it about the money at all. Until about a year ago I was the community manager at Ideablob – a vote-based contest platform that granted $10,000 a month, but also crowdsourced and encouraged new ideas. Actually, we were a crowdsourcing platform that used the $10,000 a month prize to encourage people to participate. A vote was great, but how about a piece of advice that could fundamentally alter the way I think about my organization or services? That’s priceless. We also worked hard to understand each participant and actively looked for ways to grow community through introductions between users or an industry expert. We wanted every user to feel like they were a part of a larger, valuable, energetic community of organizations working to improve some aspect of our world. We worked to grow their social capital, not just give them a reason to spend it. Whether they won or lost (*generalization alert*), they loved us for it.

After Chase finalist Jessica Rauch won $10,000 on Ideablob for The Generation Project she told Beth Kanter about her experience and didn’t mention the money:

“The website is such a great way to connect with entrepreneurs. We received some really great advice and encouragement and met a lot of people who want to help us develop our idea.”

That’s exactly how we wanted people to feel. Users had an intangible benefit from participating and their satisfaction meant we both benefited in the end.

So what do you think? Am I off-base here? Does VBCB exist? Please comment and let me know. Also, stay tuned for a post later this week on some things brands should keep in mind if they decide to dive into similar contests.