Social networking now trumps e-mail as the most popular Internet activity, according to a report recently released by Nielsen. What's more, social networks and blogging sites account for nearly 10 percent of all Internet time. Yet, these sites are a largely unmonetized form of media, in terms of advertising and fundraising.
May 10, 2009, The New York Times — The opportunities for nonprofit groups to win money through contests are proliferating, adding yet another weapon to charities’ fund-raising arsenal.
If fundraising were a person, and he or she was on Facebook, I’d tag her/him with the nasty “25 Random Things” meme. We’d learn some surprising things about fundraising. But since fundraising itself is a mute nonentity, I’ve taken the job upon myself …
A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail from Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. The ask was simple: Please click here or on the image above, watch the video and then click on “Share” to add the video to your Facebook, MySpace and other networking sites! Adding this video is quick and easy. Thank you for helping to spread the word!
San Francisco, CA, April 28, 2009 — Three developers, whose web applications and widgets will make it easier for web surfers to find and share ways to make a difference, were named the winners of the Change the Web Challenge today. Social Actions (www.socialactions.com), a web-based nonprofit initiative committed to making it easier for people to find and share opportunities to make a difference, produced the Challenge. The winning applications were announced at NTEN's Nonprofit Technology Conference in San Francisco, CA.
April 22, 2009, The Washington Post — It seems foolproof: nonprofits using the power of the Internet to raise money through a clever Facebook application. After all, the Web earned gobs of cash for Barack Obama's presidential campaign. And besides, going online means sending fewer fundraising letters, which makes it appealing to penny-pinchers and environmentalists alike.
April 8, 2009, Inside Facebook — In celebration of hitting the 200 million user mark today, Facebook announced that it has partnered with 16 global charities/advocacy groups to create virtual gifts promoting their causes in the Facebook Gift Shop. Facebook will donate all of the proceeds from the gifts to the groups involved.
In fall of 2008, the 25-year-old Food Bank For New York City was facing a crisis. A quickly souring economy was a double-edged sword — making for an increased need among people requiring food assistance, and decreased donations of both food and money from businesses and individuals feeling the pinch.
I have been tweeting on Twitter (my call sign is addedvalueth) for the last two weeks, wondering why a grown-up would share mundane parts of his personal life ("heading to sleep") with complete strangers on the other end of a computer or handheld. And why anyone would want to read aforementioned drivel.
Donations to The Salvation Army's iconic red kettles set a new national record of $130 million in 2008, surpassing the previous record of $118 million set in 2007. The $130 million raised represents a 10 percent growth in donations year-over-year — the largest one-year jump since 1997.
