SPENT – Take the ultimate challenge of making it through the month with the little that you have left. SPENT is a compelling game (so to speak) on what it means to be one of the people Urban Ministries of Durham helps out. I won’t spoil it for you, but I will say that the experience is as real as it gets. Check it out and share with friends. I couldn’t last more than 10 days. What about you?
Philanthroper – The concept of Philanthroper resembles the one of Groupon, only in the non-profit arena. In the FAQ section Philanthroper explains: “You know those daily deal sites? We’re another one of those. But instead of selling something, we’re sharing the story of a new 501(c)3 nonprofit every day. And if you’d like, you can give them $1. We’re trying to make doing good a habit.”
Philanthroper.com is beautifully designed and uses large high resolution photos to make an impact, and rightly so. Some of the ‘recent deals’ include Reef Check and The People’s Music School, although last Sunday’s deal for Canine Assistants touched me the most – see the image below. Users taking part in Philanthroper’s deals make only $1 donations so the commitment is minimal, but the help is immense. Great website.
Jumo – This website is simply amazing. It has cleverly combined the world of NGO/NPOs with the social network sphere, making it the best ‘follow your cause’ venue currently on the Web. In simpler terms, Jumo “makes it easy for you to find, follow, and support the issues and organizations that are important to you.”
Once you’ve signed up via Facebook, the Jumo platform asks you to select your areas of interest (such as human rights, environment and animals, poverty, art & culture, etc.). Next, based on your location, the Jumo system showcases nine different organizations and causes for you to follow in each of your chosen fields. See it here:
When you’re done, you’re taken to Jumo’s silverlining page: a Facbook profile-like page, customized according to your preferences, displaying important news and updates -feeds, really- relevant to your profile, plus suggested causes and organizations to follow. It looks amazing, includes content I’d actually like to read and it’s all for a good purpose. Hooray Jumo!
The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee – Working together with the Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County, WA. the IBKC has cleverly come up with a cool way to advertise the cats that are looking for good homes in the area. All photos on the blog are of the shelter’s cats that are currently staying with temporary foster homes until their adoption, or of adopted cats in their new home. If you are living in the area and willing to open your home to a loving furry friend, please contact the blog creators or make a donation.
OK. Without furthered ado, here are some cute pics of the lovely cats.
By the way, if you’re into cats, dogs and pets in general, why don’t you visit our Pets Mini Faves page? It’s cuteness all over!
Stanfield’s Presents “The Guy At Home In His Underwear” – How do you increase people’s awareness of testicular cancer? You let the good-spirited and easy going Mark, a testicular cancer survivor, spend 25 days straight wearing nothing but his undies, while the whole thing is documented live (camera, audio), 24/7, and everyone can watch.
The entire project is not only about increasing our awareness of testicular cancer; it’s about helping out: “If he [Mark} can get 25,000 followers, and last 25 days, Stanfield’s will donate $25,000 to the Canadian Cancer Society in support of testicular cancer awareness.” There are currently well over 35,000 followers and counting, which is great but not enough; Stanfield’s set a new goal – securing 50,000 followers will score even more $$ to the Society, $50,000 to be exact.
What are you waiting for? Hit the Like button and start watching Mark live. You should also check out the trailer video.
Crowdrise – The non-for-profit sector is a godsend, but in our overly capitalist society it often lacks the necessary publicity that yields large scale impact. Charities giving a large chunk of their donations to advertisement agencies is indeed a legitimate solution, but there is an even better and much cheaper one out there: Crowdrise offers elegant and super-powerful help to charities, fundraising projects and volunteering by offering users an array of exciting tools and options to choose from.
Create your own fundraising page, volunteer project and/or campaigns and share these around, or play your giving part by joining the active Crowdrise community; earn points for voting (these can be translated into $ donations!), win prizes and more. You can also do it the old fashion way and make a donation to a charity of your choice or to another cause and/or campaign you’ve seen on the site. In short, Crowdrise has turned the NPO sector on its head in terms of raising money, spreading the word of noble causes and inviting more people to help out, each in their own way. Crowdrise, you’re my good cause promotion hero!
