I just want to bring to everyone's attention the article in today's Washington Post about Steve Cases' new online giving experiment, America's Giving Challenge. They're evidently launching a similar project on Facebook and getting big play in Parade Magazine this coming weekend.

Excerpts:

Facebook users, through the "causes" application, will be able to donate to any of 1 1/2 million charities, and the donations and causes will be displayed on their profiles. The goal is to get young people to identify with charitable efforts and inspire their friends to join them.

"There's a lot of evidence that this generation, my generation, is incredibly interested in changing the world around them and being civically engaged," Green said. "People have this latent power locked up in their social network, but they don't really know about it. People have the power to change the world just by influencing 10 friends."

The Parade issue and Facebook, which has more than 50 million users, will help introduce potential donors to charities, Whittle said.

"It's no longer reserved for the elite," Whittle said of charitable giving. These online tools enable it to go mainstream and enable it to become democratized."

In the efforts launching today, two nonprofits, Network for Good and GlobalGiving, have partnered with the Case Foundation. Both groups have secure online databases with lists of organizations, including financial information, to help potential donors pick a charity.

The Parade issue and Facebook, which has more than 50 million users, will help introduce potential donors to charities, Whittle said.

"It's no longer reserved for the elite," Whittle said of charitable giving. These online tools enable it to go mainstream and enable it to become democratized."