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Silas Notes

Charity gets a plugin

Posted by Rhea on June 7, 2007
2

Facebook released a new plugin that lets members associate themselves with social causes and donate to them. “Cool,” I mused. Within a few days, I found that on another social networking site, my template homepage background has been hijacked and replaced with multiple non-profit organization logos. This time, I thought, “whoa,” as I leaned back on my chair. With a smile I thought for a moment that social causes have finally walked inside the door of the online grassroots movement party. Think about it - not only has a webpage background been imposed on profile pages around the world (which of course you can change), charity finally gets a plugin.

Building online communities around non-profits are not new. Some have seen a lot of success, getting their members more engaged with their cause and mission. But what happens when it’s the community that starts coming to them? I’m excited to see how these major social networking sites benefit the non profits that try to leverage it. Will we find investment-oriented donors, or simply a duplication of the excitement that surrounded the proliferation of Livestrong yellow bands?

  1. Another way online users can connect with non-profit organizations that they care about is through Firstgiving.com. Firstgiving is a website that helps anyone create a free personalized fundraising page for practically any non-profit (provided that they are registered with GuideStar). After creating your page you can promote you campaign with a widget or a badge on any social networking networks (Facebook, MySpace, Blog, etc)that you are on. It’s a great way for individuals to rally their online community for a cause that they are passionate about and this way no matter what site they are on they can focus on one goal.

    Because isn’t better when everyone can participate?

    Posted by Brittany Jun 11

  2. Hi Brittany!

    Thank you for your comment. What you described sounds like an interesting and helpful tool. I’ve actually heard of your group before and we will be looking more into the service you provide.

    Posted by Rhea Jun 11

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