Beekin looks to make social games that raise $1 million for nonprofits

Social game giants like Zynga and EA raise a good amount of money for disaster relief and other charities during events. But what if that in-game event never ended? That's what former lawyer and entrepreneur Michael Fox hopes to make possible with Beekin, his upcoming New York-based social games project. According to TriplePundit, Fox hopes to raise $1 million for nonprofits in the company's first year.

While no games were announced or detailed, the company hopes to bake an infrastructure for helping nonprofits meet their goals directly into each game. "They're the FarmVille of philanthropy," Beekin founder Micheal Fox told TriplePundit. While TriplePundit says that Fox's goal of $1 million raised for nonprofits within a year is reasonable, citing the $1.3 billion the social games industry made in 2010.

However, there is an issue of exposure. Even with changes to the Ticker and other enhancements to game discovery, it's more difficult than ever to gain traction on Facebook. Well, Fox and Beekin have a plan for that: Every social game created by Beekin will be supported by a four-pillar system: major brand support, celebrity endorsements, nonprofit interest and motivated players that become aware of the social ills each game is trying to correct.

We're not too keen on that last one, but Fox's primary company, Humanitainment, has access to immense celebrity resources. If hip hop icons Kanye West and Common showed their support for the company's New Life Project, then perhaps Fox can rally other celebrities and brands to get behind Beekin. The most daunting challenge facing Beekin is whether it can create social games that can spur players to pay up.

What was your favorite social game (or social game campaign) for social good so far? Do you think these types of social games have potential to make a difference?