A couple of weeks ago, Network For Good hit the streets with The Wired Fundraiser (pdf), a report on the growing phenomenon of ordinary people raising money for causes and organizations they support ... without said organization's involvement, and sometimes without even its awareness. The key finding?

When Wired Fundraisers Talk, People Listen: Wired Fundraisers are regular people with a cause and a keyboard, and they are proving highly effective at fundraising for their favorite charity in an ever-widening personal sphere of influence online. That’s because today, the messenger matters even more than the message. People trust messengers they know, like friends and family. These messengers naturally communicate in the most effective ways – through personal means, in a conversational tone, and with great stories. A promotion from a charity can’t compete with that level of intimacy, authority or authenticity.

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Fundraising widgets are all the rage--I just created this one at Change.org for Friends of the National Zoo. Not only can you customize a widget, you can create actions and track your "change" impact. The best part is that the call to action comes from you, so the ask is genuine.

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I went to the Peer Learning at Oneworld last week and learned about how Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society are using Second Life to fundraise. What on earth is Second Life? Well, it's a little less "on earth" and a little more "in the tubes". Developed by Linden Lab, a downloadable client program enables its users, called "Residents", to interact with each other through motional avatars, providing an advanced level of a social network service combined with general aspects of a metaverse. Residents can explore, meet other Residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, create and trade items (virtual property) and services from one another. ( sez wikipedia)

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