The initiative is working with charity organization FORGE, which works with displaced communities in Africa. The challenge itself is to meet their budget gap of $100,000 through a pro-bono SEM campaign designed to increase awareness and donations.

"Over the last few years, SEM community has often come together to address various social causes or raise money for charities – particularly during this time of year," Boris Mordkovich, who brought the project to my attention tells me. "This year, non-profit organizations and charities have been hit particularly hard and many of them are facing financial difficulties threatening their ability to continue operations. So, a couple of weeks ago, a small group of search engine marketing professionals have decided to make a difference and come together to help a charity in need."

"The marketers – 4 people in total – have been putting in a tremendous amount of work and effort into this already and will continue to do so into the new year," says Mordkovich. "I just figured that it’s a nice testament to how our community can come together and work to accomplish good, selfless goals. And I hope that if this is successful this year, we’ll be able to repeat it again next year with a different charity and more people onboard."

At the time of this writing, they are up to over $3,000. The hundred-day challenge lasts until the end of February 2009.