Twitter really is a great place to do good! Epic Change have used it to great effect with their Tweetsgiving campaign, then there was Twestival successfully raising $250,000 for Charity:Water and TwittaCause working to raise $1 million for charity. Now there are Twollars!
Twollars are Twitter's currency of appreciation. They are designed to do good by rewarding positive actions on Twitter - posting a great link, sharing a useful tip or inspiring tweet.
How do you get them?
Every Twitterer starts off with 5o Twollars to pass on to other Twitterers as a Thank You or donate to Charity. When you run out you can buy more from a Charity registered on Twollar (so far there are 27 to choose from) at an exchange rate of $1 for every 10 Twollars.
Passing them on is easy - all you do is tweet something along the lines of @acfusa 5 Twollars for doing great work.
Twollars is a great way to help out some great charities even if you have no funds to donate. It offers charities an opportunity to raise awareness for their cause by having supporters tweeting Twollars to them. Its also a great way to launch a campaign via Twitter - supporters can help by tweeting Twollars or by purchasing them for cold, hard cash.
YourCause.com is a social networking site where people who are passionate about a cause can harness the power of the internet to spread the word and raise money for the non-profit organisations that are making the world a better place.
So far, it's only available to non-profits registered in the USA . . . oh to have a truly global site. There are so many non-profits outside the USA that could benefit from this kind of worldwide exposure!!
YourCause.com provides all the tools you need to create a webpage to champion your favourite cause - and its free. Every cause has a chance to win with their Daily Donation programme - some of the revenue from the site is donated back to the community . . . it could be your cause that benefits!!
YourCause.com is also free for non-profits to use. As long as you are registered in the USA of course!
1 in 6 children in America wonder where there next meal will come from. That's more than 12 million children in America going hungry! Hard to believe that there is that kind of poverty in the midst of such plenty.
All you need to do it is visit PledgeToEndHunger.com and pledge to spread the word, volunteer or donate - and you will help Share Our Strength reach their goal of 1000 pledges. Your pledge will provide 140 meals - when the 1000th pledge is made Tyson Foods will donate enough food to feed 140,000 children in Austin, Texas.
Imagine a world where no one compares love to a red, red rose; a world where no one joins hands on December 31 and toasts Auld Lang Syne; a world where no one gathers on January 25 to celebrate a haggis: imagine a world without Robert Burns. Born in Scotland, the work of Burns has touched nearly everyone in the world in the 250 years since his birth.
Burns was one of the world’s best communicators back in his day – indeed it was Burns who prompted Abraham Lincoln (who is such an inspiration to Barack Obama) to say “I cannot frame a toast to Burns. I can say nothing worthy of his generous heart and transcendent genius. Thinking of what he has said, I cannot say anything worth saying.”
Burns was also greatly loved by the founders of Texas, inspired John Steinbeck to title a book “of mice and men”?, and to this day inspires Russian children in many classrooms?
And now the National Trust for Scotland is trying to preserve and promote not just his works, but the legacy of the man with a new musueum in Alloway, Scotland – where he was born.
Burns has been on Twitter since last year with daily tweets from his work at www.twitter.com/ayrshirebard and now we’re using that twitter address – with some help from tipjoy – to see if it can also be used as a three-day fundraiser for the museum.
Via Tipjoy and the Ayrshirebard link, people are being asked for donations as little as $2 – though some people have joked they may donate $250 as it is Burns’ 250th – to help preserve the legacy of one of the world’s most iconic writers.
This January YOU can help save the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. All it takes is $2 - and a few minutes of your time to spread the word.
Please Digg, Stumble and Twitter this post to help us get the word out for the Atlantic Forest. Your efforts will make a difference!
Why Save the Atlantic Forest?Image via Wikipedia In 1500, when the Portuguese arrived in Brazil, the Atlantic Forest stretched the entire 2,000 mile length of Brazil's eastern seaboard,covering an area twice the size of Texas. It was once the world's richest biological reserve; it has more plant and tree diversity in 2.5acres than the entire eastern seaboard of the United States.
Today, a huge 93% of the Atlantic Forest has been destroyed, largely in the last 50 years.
The Atlantic Forest and Amazon Rainforest really are the 'Lungs of the World'. Even with 93% of the Atlantic Forest destroyed the Atlantic and Amazon Rainforests produce 20% of the world's oxygen!
Scientists estimate 50-60 percent of plant and animal species found in the Atlantic Forest are only found in that region alone. Its an amazing treasure trove of biological diversity.
Who are SALVEASERRA?
SALVEASERRA are an NGO in Brazil working to restore degraded areas of the Atlantic Forest by promoting sustainable land use and agro-reforestation techniques through their 'Trees & Education Project' with GlobalGiving.
Since 1995 they have planted over 80,000 trees in the Atlantic Forest. They maintain a seed bank of local forest species to ensure that reforestation respects the original genetic profile of the forest.
SALVEASERRA also take groups of school children through the forest to help build awareness of its importance.
In addition to this they offer training courses tailored to the needs of local rural communities, farmers and others interested inorganic,ecologically sound farming and agro-forestry practices. In 2007250 students took part in these courses.
They also work directly to alleviate poverty in the area by training local communities on how to use forest resources to make handicrafts to help provide employment and increase local incomes.And they run a course teaching eco-friendly ways to produce organic food at home to supplement family diets and increase income from surplus production.They also prepare and donate vegetable gardens to local communities.
Donate $2 and WIN Everyone who donates $2 or more to SALVEASERRA before the 31st of January 2009 goes into the draw to win a fantastic We Add Up Organic Cotton 'Plant Trees' Tee.
WE ADD UP is an organic t-shirt campaign that counts you in the fight to stop climate change. Each tee is custom hand-printed with a unique number. YOUR number represents your position in the worldwide count of people doing something to do their part. No two shirts are alike. When you purchase a WE ADD UP tee and join the count, you help our number grow. Our goal is to show that small changes do make a big difference and WE ADD UP.
Melissa at Operation NICE raised a fantastic $115 for Children for Children with her Comments for Charity! She had 115 people leave comments - and a wonderful anonymous donor who matched the $115 that Melissa raised - so in total she was able to give a fantastic $230. WOW!
Check out the NICE Assignment this week over at Operation NICE. All you need to do is leave a comment for Melissa at the bottom of her post and she will donate $1 to charity! How NICE is that?
PostReach ClickComments is a great way to get your blog more comments. Your readers can express their opinion with just one click! On top of that it also keeps readers on your blog longer by suggesting other posts that may interest them.
Even better than all that PostReach has also teamed up with mokugift to plant trees. For only $1 your readers can plant trees to save the planet.
Mokugift plants trees in Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mali, Senegal, Zambia, India, Philippines, and Haiti. It has partnered with Sustainable Harvest International and Trees for the Future to plant trees and build communities in tropical regions.
Each month, six different children’s charities are shortlisted by Sovereign staff – and New Zealanders everywhere have the opportunity to vote for which of these charities will receive a donation of up to $15,000 from Sovereign.
Once you’ve registered, each month you vote you will go into the draw to win a cool monthly prize from a range featuring iPods, digital cameras and mobile phones.
ammado is an online community set up to connect non-profits, individuals and companies that want to effect change at a global and local level.
Unlike similar communities such as Razoo, ammado is truly global in that non-profits do not have to be US based and registered. This means if you live outside the USA you can support your local sports club, favourite local charity organisation or local school. Of course, this also means there is a much wider range of non-profit organisations for Digital Philanthropists to choose from.
A recent press release sums up how it works:
Now fully live the ammado giving circle enables people from around the globe to conduct all their giving and cause-related activities from one central space. ammado members start their ammado giving circle by donating to one of the many participating nonprofits on ammado. The minimum contribution is €4, or its equivalent in 32 other currencies. Whatever the donor’s giving budget is, he can “slice and dice” or divide it between his favourite ammado nonprofits (charities, sports clubs, schools, universities), thus benefiting multiple organisations simultaneously. ammado members can also set up recurring donations from their profiles with the flexibility to change the recipients and the giving amount every month. Donating on ammado is not exclusive to ammado members, as non members can also make once-off donations through the platform.
All nonprofits, big or small, regional, national or international can join ammado for free. Amnesty International was one of the first to join. Colm Ó Cuanacháin former Chairperson of Amnesty International’s International Executive Committee, explains why: “ammado will change how people think about the web. It will be the fulcrum that all organisations, groups and individuals use for leverage to achieve their vision for the world. ammado will be a space where communities can organise, will provide the tools and techniques needed to campaign and the audiences and activists that can make change happen."
The community management team at ammado verifies that all nonprofits are who they say they are and that they adhere to the ammado Nonprofit Policy, so you can be sure that your donations go to the people you intended them for.
Tripadvisor are giving away $1 million dollars - to be divided amongst 5 charity organisations: Conservation International, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), National Geographic Society, The Nature Conservancy and Save the Children
YOU get to help decide how the money gets divided by voting for your favourite charity. So, Vote Today
Image by thinkjose via FlickrI started out raising money for SALVEASERRA in July. I had no experience, but lots of good intentions and plenty of passion for the cause.
So far, I have to admit, I haven't raised vast wads of money for them. I have sold a few t-shirts at We Add Up - but still not quite enough for them to pay out. The How to Make a Difference Toolbar has earned just over $100 - but once again, not quite enough for Conduit to actually pay.
There is so much to learn - and so little information out there for people like me. Individuals who are starting from scratch trying to build up a fundraising 'brand', get the word out there for a worthy cause and build a network of donors and supporters. Given that, I thought I would share three important things I have learned about online fundraising in the last month:
It takes time to build credibility and create momentum If you are just starting out in the world of Online Fundraising, then immediate results are unlikely unless you already have a sizeable network of potential donors.
So don't give up if nothing seems to be happening straight away. Keep your name and your cause out there and remember . . .
Social Networking is the Key I used to think Twitter was kind of weird and stalker-esquebut in the last month I have become a convert. Not only has it been the path to some really useful sites and information (and some not so useful but equally appreciated), but it has been a steady driver of traffic to my blog. And everytime I get a new follower I feel so special!!
There are some great tools out there if you want to make the most of Twittering for your cause - check out my list of favourites on Delicious. If you have any more that really work for you please let me know!
Facebook has also been sending a fair percentage of my daily traffic. I don't actually do a great deal with Facebook - other than have my blog feed and Twitter feed display on my profile. Perhaps my next focus should be to look into how I can make Facebook really work for me!!
Visiting other blogs has also been of real value. Not just for the great information and inspirational writing. I have found that taking the time to comment on other people's blogs has helped me to become involved, in a small way so far, in the greater community of bloggers. And, it does have the added benefit of getting my blogging efforts noticed as well!
You have to ask If you want people to help you, you have to ask. If you want people to read your blog, you have to ask. Do you want comments and discussions for your blog posts? You guessed it, you have to ask. And if you want people to buy a t-shirt or download a toolbar to help raise money for charity - well of course, once again, you have to ask! (Please buy an awesome t-shirt from We Add Up - and download our fantastic How to Make a Difference toolbar!!)
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