Vivint™, Provo, Utah, a home automation company, announced the first matching period for the Vivint Gives Back Project. During these periods, Vivint will match supporter donations made to the 100 regional finalists of the Vivint Gives Back Project, an online charitable contest.

The first matching period starts on July 21 at 12 a.m. (midnight) MDT and runs through 11:59 p.m. MDT on July 22, 2011.

During each matching period, supporters of the regional finalists can visit www.vivint.com/givesbackproject, where they will find a “donate” button on each charity’s Gives Back Project page. All donations are secure and will go directly to the charity. During the matching periods, Vivint will contribute a dollar-for-dollar match of up to $50 per person, per charity, and up to $2,500 for each organization. The matching periods could mean an extra $5,000 for each regional finalist.

Announcements of subsequent matching periods will come through the contest website, Facebook, and Twitter, and will be made 24 hours before each period. All matching periods will last for a total of 48 hours.

The 2011 Vivint Gives Back Project could generate up to $1.25 million in contributions to non-profit organizations throughout the United States and Canada. The objectives of the Vivint Gives Back Project include: help increase awareness for the charities through social media; help motivate charities to build their own social media network of supporters that will benefit their cause long after the contest is completed; and help Vivint spread its giving throughout North America where the company’s customers reside.

During Phase One of the project, fans nominated and voted for their favorite charities. At the end of Phase One, the top 10 charities in four regions in the United States, and one in Canada, were declared Regional Finalists and moved on to Phase Two. Voting will continue through 11:59 p.m. EDT on August 27, 2011. The charity receiving the most overall votes will be awarded the grand prize of $250,000, with the top scoring charities in each region receiving $100,000 apiece—plus the donations and matching donations contributed during the matching periods.

The Vivint Gives Back project was created to focus the efforts of the employees at Vivint on banding together to alleviate hardship and restore hope for people in need. Through this program, Vivint employees have the opportunity to contribute time and resources to service projects ranging from clean-up efforts in the aftermath of the Joplin, Missouri tornado, to providing meals at a Ronald McDonald House and adopting a local elementary school where our employees mentor and tutor students at risk in a long-term relationship.

The 2010 Vivint Gives Back Project awarded $250,000 to the six organizations that received the most votes. Overall, fans nominated 263 non-profits and cast more than 260,000 votes. During the project, employees also participated in 7,500 hours of community service. Security Sales & Integration magazine recognized the project as the “Best Community Outreach Program” with a 2011 SAMMY Award.

For more information, visit www.vivint.com.