Nonprofit organizations attempting to engage a new generation of philanthropists – youth who are plugged into a digital world and expect immediate results – are turning to social networking and digital technology to connect young philanthropists with those in need.
Two new websites allow online donors to track and even witness the impact of their donations, with the premise that more people would donate if they could see what a difference even a small donation makes.
Seeyourimpact.org, which plans to work with nongovernmental organizations around the world, will allow donors to find a cause, donate online, and witness the impact via photos and videos captured by mobile phones.
All of the causes listed on the website, from supporting rehabilitation efforts for disabled children to enabling a very low vision person to learn reading and writing, are under $100. The aforementioned causes are $11 and $17, respectively.
The Jolkona Foundation, founded by Microsoft executive Adnan Mahmud and his wife, Nadia Khawaja, recently launched a website that allows donors to choose from a variety of micro-donation initiatives across the world, all billed as low-overhead and high-impact.
Visitors to jolkona.org can choose from projects by country or continent, theme (cultural identity, education, empowerment, environment and public health), duration (from less than a month to six years) or donation amount (as small as $5).
The site then features extensive tracking of donations, with news alerts, charts and graphs.
Both websites’ micro-charity premise makes the service more appealing to younger generations, who most likely do not have the ability to write huge philanthropic checks.
This "democratizing" philanthropy may be the next big trend, Trevor Neilson, president of Seattle-based advisory firm Global Philanthropy Group, told the Seattle Times.
"Just a few years ago philanthropy was really seen as something that rich people do for poor people," he told the news provider. "The trend we’re seeing now is that everyone can be philanthropic, and can organize themselves around issues they care about."
The Peer Water Exchange has been doing this and a lot more since 2006. People and institutions can not see exactly where their donations are going on a map. The project applications in full detail (photos, spreadsheets, …) are enhanced by peer review.
Even better, is the ability for peers and visitors to monitor the projects. Any visitor can upload a report about the project, whether its working (years after completion), whether its adapted and modified, etc.
One can track a full history of previous applications and project results too. So its possible to see who has been promptly reporting and who has not, participation is rewarded.
Peer Water Exchange was developed by Blue Planet Run Foundation and now is being used by other organizations to manage their funding and their projects.
[...] 21, 2009 by EFoley The Daily Tell shares a report about two new sites for which financial giving is a P- (Participation-) level [...]