The Online Give Back no comments
Technology touches every aspect of our lives. Charity and other givebacks are slowly making the shift to an online venue. With most charities you can participate in online giving, track exposure and link to others making a difference. The shift is gradual, as many charities take a while to pick up on new technology. But some dove right in, using every available asset to reach a younger, more tech-savvy audience.
Social media is becoming an incredible trend in technology. Twitter in particular is a quick easy way to get immediate response from people in a charity situation. As American Thanksgiving approaches, one of my favorite social media charities begins to gear up. The goal of Tweetsgiving was to build a school in Africa for $10,000 in 2008. In two days they took $1 donations for a single brick (with your name on it). This charity became the number one trending topic on Twitter almost instantly.
Tweetsgiving was a huge success, making much more than the $10,000 they aimed for. This year, again, Tweetsgiving has ambitious goals. Partnering with Epic Change, Tweestsgiving plans to build a dormitory/orphanage, library, school cafeteria and additional classrooms for its building from last year. They also hope to earn enough to start funding other small charity outreaches, started by people they call “social entrepreneurs”.
Why has Tweetsgiving been so successful? For one, the easy ability to donate a small amount so quickly and the sense of gratitude. Tweetsgiving relies heavily on the “feel good about this” concept. Some charities resort to guilt to get people to give, Tweetsgiving on the other hand remain immensely cheerful even down to their logo which is a cartoon turkey.
Tweestgiving 2009 will last Novermber 24-26. You can go to their website to donate, and follow them on Twitter at #tweetsgiving.
Do you have any success stories you’d like to share about charities using technology? We plan to profile one a week between now and December.