Aside from producing and selling new ranges, most big global companies pay a lot attention to charity and social projects, proving that today business means not only making money but sharing it as well. Sometimes, to pursue these goals, companies create unpredicted alliances—one of them—Ford Motor Company plus General Mills—has been formed recently to support the school funding the Box Tops for Education (BTFE) initiative in the USA, running for the 15th straight year. Starting today, October 3, the automobile giant joins the food manufacturer in rolling out a two-month program to generate $1 million in support for schools across the country.

“The partnership with Ford is a major step for Box Tops for Education as we continue to offer new ways to activate the program beyond the packaged goods category,» said Mark Addicks, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for General Mills. «Ford’s involvement in the program will allow us to drive needed revenue for schools across the country in a very interactive way with one of America’s most storied brands.”

Photo: The front page of the FordDrivesBoxTops website

In general, to get the money, schools collect the coupons from packs, usually worth 10 cents a piece, sent to them by consumers and later reclaim them to General Mills in return for money donation. To get involved in the BTFE philanthropic effort aimed at fundraising money to be used to support local schools, aside the traditional way of getting involved, consumers can request a brochure from the official Ford/BTFE program website at FordDrivesBoxTops.com, watch product videos on the program website, or purchase a Ford vehicle at dealerships during October and November, earning credits (for instance, when one buys a vehicle, he or she gets 250 ‘eBoxTops’ credits, equivalent to $25). In addition to that, Ford is going to give away eBoxTops vouchers through sweepstakes—the winners will donate the money on the cards (five of them are 10,000 Box Top prizes worth $1,000 and one is 200,000 Box Tops prize valued $20,000) to the school of their choice.

“Since this company started, Ford has always looked for ways to support our country’s young people and their education. We are delighted to be the first automotive company to partner with General Mills on Box Tops for Education because it provides us a unique way to reach and help students across the whole country,” said Jim Farley, group vice president, Ford Global Marketing. The company has been supporting education for years, donating money to a variety of activities—in the past 15 years only, it has given $100 million to a range of school programs. In 2007, Ford launched Drive One 4 UR School program to support sports and extracurricular activities in schools—during test-drive fund raising events, the manufacturer donates $20 to the participating high school for every valid test-drive completed, up to $6,000 (though this initiative it has already given $5.5 million to U.S schools).

For the promotion, which helped generate $400 million for more than 90,000 schools in a almost decade in a half, General Mills partnered with a range of brands including Kleenex tissues and Nestlé beverages to name just a few. Ford has become the 11th ‘licensed partner,’ which can use the Box Tops brand logo, the first outside company officially invited to join the General Mills initiative was SC Johnson with its Ziploc brand. While most of the initiative is based on traditional approach of collecting clip Box Top coupons from products and sending them to schools, General Mills also utilizes a digital component. “For Box Tops, the move is part of a strategy to move beyond packaged goods with its year-old ‘eBoxTop’ initiative. Though the program, money is electronically credited to schools in reward for consumers who engage in sanctioned activities, such as shopping online at a special web site portal where goods from Target, Best Buy and other retailers are sold,” reports AdAge.