Listservs: Online Communities for Grownups

Today’s hottest buzzword is “Web 2.0.” And despite the youthful demographic that MySpace, Facebook and YouTube attract, nonprofit marketers are jumping on the bandwagon to run fundraising and friendraising campaigns there, often to be disappointed when the ROI falls short of the hype.

But while YouTube, MySpace and Facebook grab the headlines, fundraisers almost have completely overlooked another rapidly growing online community, where members skew older and more civic-minded: the humble, familiar, unglamorous, utilitarian listserv.