Why, you might ask,  is Yahoo! Exec Mitch Spolan made up like a zombie extra from Michael Jackson's Thriller?  Mitch's transformation from stellar sales VP to Thriller extra comes as the Yahoo! Employee Foundation (aka YEF) announces that they crushed fundraising goals for 2009.  Celebrating 10 years of Yahoos giving back to the community, today's news comes as a wonderful anniversary present.  Run and funded entirely by Yahoo! employee volunteers, YEF has raised millions over the years through grants to more than 275 nonprofit organizations.

Facing a down economy, YEF set an aggressive fundraising target to service the wide variety of charities supported by employees and the employees stepped up--almost doubling participation form last year with 57% of Yahoos contributing.  In addition to the money raised directly from Yahoo! employees, YEF will be receiving a $1 million bonus from Yahoo! founders Jerry Yang and David Filo that was pledged if 50% of employees participated in the program.  Congrats to YEF and to the employees for making 2009 a year to remember!

As an added bonus, we are including the amazing video that Yahoo! Exec Mitch Spolan created as a thank you to his team for their efforts.  See Mitch in his cinematic glory recreating Thriller below:

Mitch Spolan: Thrilled for YEF Success

Consider the video a preview of coming attractions, as Yahoo! execs step out of their comfort zones and make good on their promises to dye their hair purple, jump in a dunk tank, do the Thriller dance in full zombie make-up, sing, take a group to Vegas, run the Marketing Olympics, and host breakfast, lunches, and dinners – often in full costume.  And a special thanks to Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz for being the executive sponsor – and for hosting nine lucky Yahoos at her house for dinner.