Social Media Club Question of the Week #18 asks: Who do you think is best using their social media influence to affect change for the benefit of others? And while I think the question is worded in a way that implies a focus on people like Ashton Kutcher, who has blogged and Twittered to help support World Malaria Day and gave 10,000 mosquito nets to Malaria No More when he reached a million Twitter followers, I’d like to instead take a look at a few sites where YOU can make a difference right now — even if you’re not Oprah or Ashton. Here are five of my favorites.
Plastering everything in your path with shiny unicorn stickers is one way to make the world a better place, but there are a few other options too.
Mashable’s Summer of Social Good is “first large scale online charitable campaign to raise funds strictly online through the power of Social Media and the Internet.” Awesometown!
Who benefits? The Humane Society, LiveStrong, Oxfam America, and WWF.
How to help? Donate what you can then tell others about it. Tag your tweets, blog posts, and Facebook business with #socialgood
Twitter: @SocialGood
VolunteerMatch does an incredible job of matching people with organizations near them that need volunteers.
Who benefits? VolunteerMatch has 68,724 participating nonprofits.
How to help? Just put in your ZIP code and a keyword like “animals,” “children,” or “environment,” and VolunteerMatch will give you a list of options along with easy “I want to help!” buttons.
Twitter: @VMConnect
Care2 is like a ginormous shopping mall of do-gooding, the kind of shopping mall that has like a ferris wheel or carousel in it. The largest online community for healthy and green living, human rights, and animal welfare, Care2 has been around since 1998 and has more than 10 million members.
Who benefits? Care2 has partnered with more than 350 nonprofit groups.
How to help? Create or sign a petition, find a job with a socially responsible company, browse more than 75,000 volunteer opportunities, or donate to causes such as stopping global warming, saving our oceans, and helping homeless pets. The coolest thing about the donations is that they don’t cost you anything, just click to generate revenue from sponsors.
Twitter: @care2
Kiva is a ridiculously cool site that “connects peole through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.”
Who benefits? Entrepreneurs around the globe who need a bit of extra money to pull themselves through a tough time or to get their business off the ground. Lending also helps the entrepreneur’s family and community.
How to help? Browse through entrepreneurs’ profiles on the site until you find someone you want to lend to then choose the amount to provide (as little as $25 makes a big difference). Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. You can also join communities and talk to other lenders.
Twitter: @kiva
GlobalGiving is an online marketplace that helps you find projects you want to suport and then gives you regular updates on those projects.
Who benefits? It’d be easier to ask, “Who doesn’t?”
How to help? Select a region and a topic to get a list of possible projects you can support. Each donation level is marked with a helpful, real-life example of how your donation could be used (for example, giving $25 to the project “Restore Australia’s Forest After the Wildfires” will plant and maintain two trees, whereas $50 will buy 20 feet of wildlife fencing).
Twitter: @globalgiving
There are hundreds of fantastic sites devoted to connecting volunteers with projects, bringing awareness to issues, helping people find and donate to nonprofits, and making the world a better place. In addition to the five listed above, we also recommend checking out Change.org, CauseCast, DoGood (an iPhone app that asks, “What if 300,000 people did the same act of kindness in a day?”), DonorsChoose.org, and if you blog, don’t forget to take part in the next Blog Action Day on October 15. Do you know of other sites, individuals, bloggers, or Twitter folks who make a difference? Please share your favorites in the comments.
