Online Solicitations: a Sampling of Next-Generation Approaches

Change.org

What it is: A Web site for people who are interested in charitable causes.

When it was created: February 2007

How it works: Like MySpace and other social-networking sites, Change.org allows people to exchange information and share ideas about charitable causes and organizations. They can also use the site to donate to specific charities, post online reviews of those charities, recruit other donors, and plan events.

Where to find it: http://change.org

DonorsChoose

What it is: A charity that publicizes schoolteachers’ needs for classroom materials and recruits donors to pay for them.

When it was created: 2000

How it works: Donors can use the charity’s site to make an online gift to support some or all of the teachers’ needs posted online. Beneficiaries mail a thank-you letter to the donor, as well as photos of their students and a report showing how the money was spent.

Results: DonorsChoose has raised $11.5-million to date.

Where to find it: http://www.donorschoose.org

Genocide Intervention Network

What it is: A charity devoted to ending genocide in Darfur and other parts of the world.

When it was created: 2004

How it works: The charity uses its Web site to solicit donations and encourage people to hold dinners, bake sales, and other events to raise money and participate in other efforts such as a Darfur Fast, in which young people give up buying coffee or another small item for one week and donate the money to Genocide Intervention.

Results: More than $2-million raised by the charity has been used for advocacy work and to pay for patrols to guard people in Darfur’s refugee camps who have been been the target of violence.

Where to find it: http://www.genocideintervention.net

GiveMeaning

What it is: A Web site that charities can use to request donations for specific projects and invite their constituents to use when they ask other people to support the project.

When it was created: 2005

How it works: Supported by individuals, corporations, and foundations, GiveMeaning guarantees that all money donated through its site goes directly to charities. It also provides receipts that donors can use to obtain tax deductions.

Results: More than $2-million was raised in 2006.

Where to find it: http://www.givemeaning.com

Invisible Children

What it is: A charity that raises money to assist children and their families in war-ravaged northern Uganda.

When it was created: 2004

How it works: The charity’s Web site encourages young people to watch videos online about children in Uganda; raise money by running bake sales, clothing sales, and other activities; and participate in other efforts such as a new School to School campaign, in which groups of high schools compete to see which group can raise the most money for a Ugandan school.

Results: Invisible Children has raised more than $6-million for efforts to improve secondary schools in northern Uganda and provide income for poor families in Ugandan displaced-persons camps.

Where to find it: http://www.invisiblechildren.com

Kiva

What it is: A Web site that allows donors to provide small loans to aspiring entrepreneurs in developing countries.

When it was created: 2005

How it works: Donors can support a particular business venture and invite others to do so with a gift of $25 or more. The businesses are then expected to repay the loan. Donors are also able to communicate electronically through the site with recipients of the loans, who provide updates on the progress of their businesses.

Results: At the end of October last year, the site had some 6,000 donors who had lent $500,000; by January, 33,000 donors had made loans totaling $2.7-million.

Where to find it: http://www.kiva.org

Nothing But Nets

What it is: A campaign by the United Nations Foundation to raise money for the purchase of mosquito nets that prevent the spread of malaria in Africa.

When it started: 2006

How it works: Visitors to the campaign’s Web site are encouraged to give $10, which covers the cost of buying and shipping a mosquito net. They can also form a “Netraiser” team and recruit others to make a collective gift, or join a team that has been created by someone they know. The front page of the site features an automatically updated count of the number of mosquito nets purchased with donations.

Results: The campaign has raised more than $4.2-million in the 10 months since it began.

Where to find it: http://www.nothingbutnets.net

Red Nose Day

What it is: A one-day event organized by Comic Relief, in London, and held every two years to engage the British public in making donations and raising money to assist needy people in Britain and Africa.

When it was created: 1988

How it works: Visitors use the event’s Web site to download fund-raising ideas, share new ideas on raising money, make online donations, buy products, and learn about individuals who have been helped with proceeds from the event.

Results: Red Nose Day raises more than $125-million per event.

Where to find it: http://rednoseday.com

Taking It Global

What it is: A Web site to encourge teenagers to learn more about other countries.

When it was created: 1999

How it works: Young people can use Taking It Global to communicate with their peers in other countries, learn about social issues around the world, talk about their favorite charities, find events, and rally behind specific causes.

Results: The site has about 130,000 members from more than 200 countries.

Where to find it: http://www.takingitglobal.org

–Compiled by Holly Hall and Peter Panepento