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When I asked Beth for some information related to this book, she very kindly held her hand out, digital palm up. A member of the board of the Sharing Foundation, she was passionately committed to ensuring that its Cambodian cause made the top four finishers in the Case Foundation contest - and an inquiring journalist who is an only an online acquaintance simply didn’t qualify for a free pass. Every time I asked a question, Beth would shoot back some version of: “the deadline’s coming, did you make your gift yet?”

Beth bugged a lot of people, posted to her blog, and urged others to post the widget - a small graphic showing Cambodian children with the current giving levels of the campaign. I finally made a small gift, and posted the widget to my own blog. Other people asked me about and I told them what I knew. And some them went on to make donations. Now we’re all savvy about the small foundation changing the lives of poor Cambodian children. Beth’s leadership brought in needed funds, but it also created real awareness and a network of potential supporters for the future.

And there was a small reward, in addition to Beth’s hearty thanks. In March, two months after the Case challenges ended, Dr. Nancy Hendrie, the president of the Sharing Foundation, sent Beth a video that she posted to her blog and sent around the donors. Only ten seconds long, it nonetheless connected a frenzied online giving contest with real-world recipients. It shows dozens of small children sitting on the porch of the Roteang Orphanage. Prompted by an adult voice off camera, the smiling children shout a few words as loud as their voices would allow them - Thankyou! American! Challenge! Yaaaay!

Continue reading "A Giving Challenge Story: Leadership Matters" >>

Has “small-dollar” philanthropy reached its tipping point as an effective way to raise funds and bring new people to the table? That’s what the Case Foundation, along with partners Parade Magazine, Causes on Facebook, Network for Good, and Global Giving, wanted to answer when it launched the America’s Giving Challenge and the Causes Giving Challenge.

Both were designed to introduce millions of people to newer, more convenient, and more efficient forms of civic engagement. Specifically, the Challenges focused on how people could use simple Web 2.0 tools and social networking strategies to put their own passions to work on behalf of their favorite charities and causes.

In the end, these citizen philanthropists encouraged more than 80,000 people to make donations to nearly 700 nonprofits, and raised more than $2.5 million for the nonprofits represented.

Continue reading this message from The Case Foundation >>

Number of "Charity Badges" Created
Network for Good: 1,810
GlobalGiving: 672
Facebook Causes:3,936

Average Donation Amount
Network for Good: $24.50
GlobalGiving: $25.07
Facebook Causes:$17.38

Highest Number of Donations (in one day)
Network for Good: 5,408
GlobalGiving: 2,837
Facebook Causes:7,820

Highest Number of Donations (in one week)
Network for Good: 19,545
GlobalGiving: 8,891
Facebook Causes:16,252

Largest Single Donation
Network for Good: $9,700
GlobalGiving: $5,000
Facebook Causes:$2,000

Total Amount Raised:
Network for Good: $866,026
Global Giving: $335,186
Facebook Causes:$571,686

Number of Unique Donors
Network for Good: 33,208
GlobalGiving: 12,836
Facebook Causes:27,094

Total Number of Donations
Network for Good: 35,348
GlobalGiving: 13,370
Facebook Causes:32,886

Number of Nonprofits Who Received Support
Network for Good: 481
GlobalGiving: 125
Facebook Causes:747

View more official statistics from the Giving Challenges >>

Two emails arrived the other day from friends who had taken up the Case Foundation’s Giving Challenge to raise donations for the nonprofit organizations they worked with (Seva Mandir, active in India, and Mountain Fund, active worldwide). The Giving Challenge is a contest that encourages nonprofit organizations and their supporters to launch an online donation campaign. The incentive is a $50,000 prize to the campaign that attracts the largest number of donors.

I’d known about the contest for a while, but I’m a huge fan of both Seva Mandir and the Mountain Fund, and the emails got me thinking about whether the Challenge might be used to help a nonprofit reach goals that extend beyond simply winning the contest. The chance of any particular nonprofit winning the contest is statistically small, but the contest could still be a great opportunity to draw attention and donations to the organization and its work. Here’s an edited version of some suggestions I shared with both organizations, posted here in hopes that they help others create the largest impact possible from this and similar competitions.

Continue reading Christine Egger's post on Good All Around

We're about half way through the six-week long America's Giving Challenge sponsored by the Case Foundation, Parade Magazine, GlobalGiving, and Network for Good. At this half way point, I am excited to share with you that Atlas Corps is in the second spot of the Global Causes category. I want to share with you what has worked for us in this contest, as we have motivated over 275 people and $8,000 to put us in the second spot (as of January 14th) of this contest.

• First Key: Start Early
• Second Key: Communicate Effectively
• Third Key: Recruit Help
• Fourth Key: Bring it Home

Continue reading Scott Beale's post on NTEN