Jump to content

Omaze: Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
→History: rm editorial/pull quote
Tag: Reverted
→History: rm fluff
Tag: Reverted
Line 21: Line 21:


In 2011, the pair attended a [[Boys & Girls Clubs of America|Boys & Girls Club of America]] charity event in Los Angeles.<ref>{{Cite web |last=X |date=2019-09-15 |title=He lost a chance to shoot hoops with Magic but found a calling |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-09-13/omaze-ceo-matt-pohlson-lost-a-chance-to-shoot-hoops-with-magic-but-found-a-calling |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> The auction featured a chance to play basketball with [[Magic Johnson]] and attend an [[Los Angeles Lakers|LA Lakers]] game with him. The event was attended by mainly high-net worth individuals and the Magic Johnson experience was auctioned off for $15,000.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |last=Mega |first=Laurie |date=2022-08-04 |title=Lessons on Living (And Dying) From Omaze Founder Matthew Pohlson — Exclusive |url=https://foundr.com/articles/leadership/personal-growth/matthew-pohlson-omaze |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=Foundr |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2011, the pair attended a [[Boys & Girls Clubs of America|Boys & Girls Club of America]] charity event in Los Angeles.<ref>{{Cite web |last=X |date=2019-09-15 |title=He lost a chance to shoot hoops with Magic but found a calling |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-09-13/omaze-ceo-matt-pohlson-lost-a-chance-to-shoot-hoops-with-magic-but-found-a-calling |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> The auction featured a chance to play basketball with [[Magic Johnson]] and attend an [[Los Angeles Lakers|LA Lakers]] game with him. The event was attended by mainly high-net worth individuals and the Magic Johnson experience was auctioned off for $15,000.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |last=Mega |first=Laurie |date=2022-08-04 |title=Lessons on Living (And Dying) From Omaze Founder Matthew Pohlson — Exclusive |url=https://foundr.com/articles/leadership/personal-growth/matthew-pohlson-omaze |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=Foundr |language=en-US}}</ref>

This sort of figure was out of reach for Pohlson, Cummings and most other people. So the pair decided to create a model where the wider public could take part in such fundraising events.<ref name="auto1"/> In July 2012 they launched Omaze, which offered customers the chance to win experiences through sweepstakes, while also raising substantial funds for charities.


The pair were able to use their contacts in the entertainment industry to give anyone the opportunity to meet and take part in activities with celebrities as prizes. Omaze's first big success was offering a chance to accompany actors [[Bryan Cranston]] and [[Aaron Paul]] to a [[Breaking Bad]] screening in the iconic RV from the series. The sweepstake raised $1.7 million for Kind Campaign.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Blistein |first=Jon |date=2013-09-19 |title='Breaking Bad' Stars Raise Over $1 Million for Charity |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/breaking-bad-stars-raise-over-1-million-for-charity-203971/ |access-date=2024-09-30 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref>
The pair were able to use their contacts in the entertainment industry to give anyone the opportunity to meet and take part in activities with celebrities as prizes. Omaze's first big success was offering a chance to accompany actors [[Bryan Cranston]] and [[Aaron Paul]] to a [[Breaking Bad]] screening in the iconic RV from the series. The sweepstake raised $1.7 million for Kind Campaign.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Blistein |first=Jon |date=2013-09-19 |title='Breaking Bad' Stars Raise Over $1 Million for Charity |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/breaking-bad-stars-raise-over-1-million-for-charity-203971/ |access-date=2024-09-30 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref>

Revision as of 01:58, 31 October 2024

Omaze
FormationSeptember 2012 (2012-09)
Founder
  • Ryan Cummins
  • Matthew Pohlson
PurposeCharity Fundraising
HeadquartersCulver City, California, U.S.
Key people
Websiteomaze.com

Omaze is an entertainment company that works with charities.[1] It raisesfunding for charity organisations through its house prize draws in the UK, with a portion of the income raised going to charity.

American entrepreneurs Matthew Pohlson and Ryan Cummings established the organisation[2] in the US in 2012. It initially specialised in celebrity-experience draws, before switching focus to UK house draws in 2020.[3]

History

Pohlson and Cummings met at Stanford University in the late 1990s.[2]

Both had an interest in film and, after graduating, Pohlson appeared in theatre in Los Angeles and the TV series Everwood (2004), Scrubs (2005) and Hollywood Dreams (2006). Pohlson and Cummings also collaborated as producers and writers on A Decade of Difference, a concert to mark the first decade of the William J. Clinton Foundation, which aims to strengthen global interdependence. It featured the likes of Bono, Matt Damon, Lady Gaga and Tony Blair.

In 2011, the pair attended a Boys & Girls Club of America charity event in Los Angeles.[4] The auction featured a chance to play basketball with Magic Johnson and attend an LA Lakers game with him. The event was attended by mainly high-net worth individuals and the Magic Johnson experience was auctioned off for $15,000.[5]

The pair were able to use their contacts in the entertainment industry to give anyone the opportunity to meet and take part in activities with celebrities as prizes. Omaze's first big success was offering a chance to accompany actors Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul to a Breaking Bad screening in the iconic RV from the series. The sweepstake raised $1.7 million for Kind Campaign.[6]

Omaze also partnered with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo,[7] Oprah Winfrey, actors from Star Wars,[8] Michelle Obama and many other leading figures in entertainment, sport and politics.

Notable prizes included: wine-tasting with Jennifer Lawrence[9]; riding in a tank and crushing things with Arnold Schwarzenegger[10]; dinner with George Clooney at his Lake Como house[11]; winning a Lamborghini, receiving the keys from Pope Francis.[12]

More than 350 charities,[13] including Make-A-Wish, International Rescue Committee, Save the Children, UNICEF, the Red Cross, and Team Rubicon benefited from the draws. Omaze funded a new ECMO ambulance for the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Centre[14] and the creation of a $1 million community centre for People Assisting the Homeless.[15]

Cummings stepped away from the business in 2018.  Pohlson, feeling that the celebrity-experience model was losing momentum, launched the Omaze Million Pound House Draw in 2020,[16] with then Omaze Senior Vice President International, James Oakes, alongside Mike Longden and Anoushka Millard. It featured a £1 million Cheshire property and raised £250,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Omaze decided to focus entirely on this house draw model in 2023 and moved its head office from Los Angeles to London. Omaze does not currently operate in the US. Pohlson has said that house draws can raise twenty times as much money as celebrity sweepstakes, despite requiring much the same amount of work[17]

As of September  2024, Omaze has given away 29 houses, all worth more than £1 million. Locations include Somerset, Cheshire, Cornwall, the Lake District and London. The UK draws, which also include cars and cash prizes, have generated more than £56 million for national charities including Teenage Cancer Trust, British Heart Foundation, The Prince's Trust, the NSPCC, GOSH Charity, Cancer Research UK, Alzheimer's Research UK, RSPCA, Blood Cancer UK, Global's Make Some Noise, Dogs Trust, Marie Curie, RNLI, Macmillan, Breast Cancer Now, NHS Charities Together, WWF-UK, the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK, BBC Children in Need, Prostate Cancer UK,  London's Air Ambulance Charity and the RSPB and local charities including Cornwall Rural Housing Association, Hackney Foodbank,  Well Communities, Holt Youth Project, Glaven Caring, FORCE Cancer Charity, Kensington & Chelsea Foundation, Colehill Community Library, Wilmslow Youth and East Cheshire Hospice.Worldwide. Omaze has generated more than $225 million since its 2012 inception.[1]

Matthew Pohlson is currently Omaze CEO.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "About Omaze UK | How the Million Pound House Draw Works". Omaze UK. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  2. ^ a b Welch, Andy (2023-04-04). "Too good to be true? What it is really like to win a £3m dream home". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  3. ^ "Written evidence submitted by Omaze to DCMS Committee Inquiry into Gambling Regulation".
  4. ^ X (2019-09-15). "He lost a chance to shoot hoops with Magic but found a calling". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  5. ^ Mega, Laurie (2022-08-04). "Lessons on Living (And Dying) From Omaze Founder Matthew Pohlson — Exclusive". Foundr. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  6. ^ Blistein, Jon (2013-09-19). "'Breaking Bad' Stars Raise Over $1 Million for Charity". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  7. ^ Carter, Courtney (2015-10-07). "Raise Money for Charity and Meet Cristiano Ronaldo with Omaze!". Impakter. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  8. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2017-04-11). "'Star Wars: Force For Change' & Omaze Kick Off 40th Anniversary Of Sci-Fi Franchise With New Charity Campaign". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  9. ^ Eads, Lauren (2017-08-18). "Jennifer Lawrence invites fans on wine tasting tour". The Drinks Business. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  10. ^ Kastrenakes, Jacob (2014-03-12). "Arnold Schwarzenegger invites you to ride in his tank and crush things for charity". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  11. ^ "George and Amal Clooney offer fans the chance to dine with them at Italian home". Sky News. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  12. ^ Glatz, Carol (2018-12-05). "Pope's white Lamborghini up for raffle; winner gets trip to Rome". Catholic Herald. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  13. ^ Bernstein, JIll (October 2020). "Meet the for-profit business model that's raised over $130 million for charities". Fast Company.
  14. ^ Mathew, Viju (2020-08-14). "How Omaze's Innovative Approach to Charity Lets It Give Away Amazing Cars—and Raise Money Doing it". Robb Report. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  15. ^ "You Could Win a Custom Tiny Home by Donating to This Charity". House Beautiful. 2020-04-09. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  16. ^ Whitworth, Damian (2022-10-25). "The man who raffles mansions and dates with the A-list". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  17. ^ "Jazz Shaper: Matt Pohlson". Mishcon de Reya LLP. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Omaze&oldid=1254454009"