Saving the World, One Cute Puppy at a Time

From the Digital Divide Network:

Early in 2006, Texas-based animal-rescue organization Puppy Passions Rescue and Transport found itself caring for Lola, a dog who was nursing both her own puppies and a litter of orphaned pups. Tragically, Lola was also infected with heartworms, and the organization was having a tough time coming up with the money it needed to pay for her treatment.

To help raise funds to cover Lola's medical care, Puppy Passions requested donations at Care2, an online social network that allows individuals and philanthropic groups to connect with one another using tools such as blogs, messages, and petitions.

"We were extremely overwhelmed at the sudden response from people donating and wanting to help all they could," said Mike Sexton, Puppy Passions' Vice President.

Within just a few days of posting Lola's picture and story on a Care2 message board, Puppy Passions had received the $600 they needed to cover her veterinary bills from online community members touched by Lola's plight.

Care2 is just one of many social networking sites that help nonprofits network, get donations, and share information on the Web. Although popularly known as places where people make friends and find romance, social networking sites can also play a key role in helping your organization achieve its goals.

Some of us are trying to save puppies; others are trying to save democracy. The article that follows provides as solid an overview I've seen of the possibilities of social change through social networking sites:

While many people regard social networking tools as a fun diversion, some nonprofits are leveraging them to accomplish serious goals, such as increasing their visibility, helping constituents find jobs, and raising awareness about time-sensitive issues.

For instance, Interplast, a nonprofit that provides free reconstructive surgeries to persons in developing countries, uses Flickr to help publicize its work. Interplast Communications and Technology Coordinator Seth Mazow initially began using Flickr in March 2005 when he was looking for an easy way to add images to Interplast's blog. Through Flickr, he quickly realized the benefits of sharing photos online. "Flickr is a very powerful tool," said Mazow, "one that Interplast uses to spread the message about our life-changing surgeries."

Eventually, Mazow began to experiment with Flickr's tagging feature, which has increased the visibility of Interplast's photos in Google search results. He points out that one of the top results for the search term "cleft baby" is a photo from Interplast's Flickr page. Mazow also started a Flickr group called International NGOs so that persons or organizations interested in international aid could share pictures, stories, and ideas.

Professional-networking site LinkedIn proved beneficial to San Pablo, California-based Street Tech, an organization that trains people in computer repair and helps them find jobs. Paul Lamb, Street Tech's founder, cites the lack of a readily available professional network as one of the problems the organization's students face when looking for jobs. Because Street Tech lacks the resources it would need to develop its own online job-search network, students, staffers, supporters, and partner companies created LinkedIn accounts.

I also just read (slightly behind the curve, here) that Internet phone-calling service Skype has created a way for blogs to host audio conversations, known as Skypecasts, with up to 100 people at a time. Interesting.