Facebook-ing Philanthropy

More revolutionary still, social networks are creating a direct relationship between donor and cause through heightened transparency (on Facebook you can determine exactly where the money goes) and lower transaction costs (no mass-mailings for minor-league nonprofits, no prohibitively expensive fund-raising galas for small-fry donors). "I can see who made a donation and I can say 'thank you' on Facebook," says Lindsey O'Neill, a development officer at Brigham and Women's Hospital. "It really helps to foster that connected feeling." And it also gives donors something to gloat about in front of all their friends.

© 2007