There comes a time, usually if you’re working remotely or have no office, where you really need a way to share files, documents, messages and pictures online between a lot of people for free.

Easy, I said at my last Amnesty International meeting, we’ll just set up a Google non-profits account - all their project management tools are free. No thanks, they said, we refuse to use Google because of their human rights record.

I will give you some actual nuts and bolts, but let me first say this: all good online fundraisers have two basic directions they work in - in and out. ‘In’ is a webpage, where people visit you. ‘Out’ is as in reaching out, through emails, smsing, MySpace, Twitter, Facebook etc etc etc. You are aiming for flow between the two directions. Because - just like all really successful fundraising - this is not so much about asking a bunch of people for money. Actually, it’s about a personal exchange - exactly what the internet was made for. Hold that thought, here come the nuts and bolts…

(to read the rest of this post, click here!)

A remote funding developer. They work from home, they take up less support costs and they don’t involve supervisory time - what’s not to love? I worked as a remote funding researcher recently, and while I’m not willing to flat out say it doesn’t work (comments welcome from people doing just fine at this job) I am willing to tell you what to watch out for.

The future of the media today truly is online. The amount of people switching to the internet for their daily habits such as reading the news, watching the news, shopping, research... everything can be found online, and can be used to our advantage. It shouldn't be any different for humanitarian-based initiatives. Non-profit organizations can use the internet and the power of voice and visual aid to their advantage online. That's where a website like www.goodtube.org can come in handy. It is completely non-profit, completely free to use, and is a channel for non-profits to use and share their videos with others.

There are already numerous nonprofits that are using YouTube to raise money -- yours could be next. One way is through membership in the YouTube Nonprofit Program. Nonprofits who apply and are accepted have the opportunity to embed a Google Checkout button on their YouTube channel and viewing pages to drive fundraising.

Inspired by Allison Fine's report for the Case Foundation, "Social Citizens," this month's Net2ThinkTank question was, "Is Online Activism Good for Social Change?"

Ivan Boothe of thequixoticlife says that online activism is good for social change, but the bigger question is:

Net Tuesday SF Vlogger, Ross Chapman, posted videos of the presentations from our February and May Net Tuesdays on NetSquared's Blip.tv Channel:

Building Nonprofit Online Community with MyBlogLog, Yahoo! Groups and Upcoming
How Nonprofits & Educators Can Use Wikis

Check 'em out and help us thank Ross for volunteering his time by giving his web site a click.

Last night at the Online Community Roundtable, hosted by Webex in Santa Clara, a fascinating discussion emerged: “What does it take to activate participants in an online community?”.

It was agreed that community managers need to tune in to the most important motivators of their individual members/participants/prospectives. To paraphrase the consensus “Every community participant asks themselves 'What's in it for me?' before they contribute to content or help to solve a problem”. Various sorts of psychic rewards systems using ratings, reviews, privileges, prizes, recognition, and other kinds of incentives were reviewed in-brief.

“What community do you serve?” This is one of the first questions I’m asked by foundations when I make a call and ask for a meeting. I stifle a sigh and say, “Washingtonians--anyone who wants to be involved in the legislative process. In particular, though, we’re building services for citizens who are currently disengaged from the legislative process.” I know this isn’t the answer people entrusted with millions of dollars want to hear.

They want, “We serve a very specific community of ‘X-type’ people, and each year, ‘X-number’ of them walk through our doors, and with your contribution, we’ll serve ‘X-number’ of people.” They want me to say that Knowledge As Power will only help women, or young people, or Latinos, or the elderly, or Seattle residents. That just isn’t true, and it isn’t a mission worth pursuing. I wouldn’t waste foundation’s money repeating the same work of other worthy organizations.

But I understand where they’re coming from---it’s a place where finite resources meet infinite problems. Books, HIV medication, after school facilities, volunteer hours, bus passes, trees --- there is only so many that can be bought, built, or provided. And after entire careers engrossed in the cost-benefit ratio of real world non-profit services, I understand why dismayed foundation officers say, “Knowledge As Power sounds really unique, and interesting, but I just don’t think it fits what we look for.” Because, really, they look for project’s who’s capacity for change can be measured or appreciated easily; you can see where your money is going. Online, that’s not so easy.

Here's some info about the Global JAM on Online Communities for Social Innovation from Nancy's White Full Circle Interaction Blog:

If you are interested in social change and innovation, I encourage you to participate in this (FREE) event coming up next week. The "price of admission" is filling out a survey by the 15th, so jump on this now! Here are all the details...

July 18-19 Global JAM on Online Communities for Social Innovation

You are invited to the first Global JAM on Online Communities for Social Innovation, July 18-19 . A JAM is an online discussion that is time limited, asynchronous, moderated, and subsequently analyzed.

The goal of this event is to collectively identify technology requirements for effective online communities to better support those working in social change and innovation. The intention is to share what we learn quickly and broadly.

Read the rest of the post.

Map of Online Community by D'Arcy Norman