Socially Responsible Networking
Online social networking is building momentum, as is the debate over its relative merits and shortcomings. However, a different type of networking is also thriving on the web, and its virtues are clear. I’m talking about the use of the web to connect philanthropic donors and their causes. This trend was brought to mind as I viewed a page from CNN.com http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/impact/ which matched “bad news” stories with links to charitable organizations that make a difference in the lives of those written about in each associated article
As the page states, “Bad things happen in the world every day, but good can result and one person can impact the world.” After reading this, I decided to take a look at a few more sites that make it easy to “do good”. The first was a UK site - http://www.justgiving.com/ which provides online tools to help raise funds for a host of causes. This site has an appealing design, is easily navigated and stands out for being impressively transparent in its operations.
Next, I checked out http://www.charityvillage.com/cv/charityvillage/ires.asp, a Canadian site that boasts, “If philanthropy and volunteerism are part of your world, this is your place” Having checked it out, I’d have to say that the claim rings true - the site has a plethora of resources for donors and volunteers as well as executives and staffers in the not-for-profit sector
Finally, I took a look at http://www.kiva.org/, a U.S. based site with an express mission “to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.” Kiva partners with existing expert microfinance institutions across the globe to match donor/lender dollars with entrepreneurs in developing countries.
What impressed me most about each of these sites was not only their laudable objectives, but their business intelligence. Because they are online, they tend to maximize the potential for raising funds by exploiting the efficiencies of eBusiness. Do good, feel good, it’s all good!