Carol Kirshner is proving that you don't have to be wealthy to be a philanthropist. She's started Dollar Philanthropy to encourage ordinary people to give $52 a year--$1/week--to worthy causes and is using her blog to spread the word about worthy charities:
My plan is to research and highlight one nonprofit per week. I will give you all the contact information, important links and information about what they do. Admittedly, here at the beginning a number of the nonprofits will be based in Georgia (where I live) because I already know about them. I promise to expand to other states as I begin to get a feel for what this entails.
A featured blog on Typepad, Carol's site is focusing primarily on small and medium-sized non-profits because as she notes:
Well.... I suppose the choice is based on my belief that small & medium nonprofits are more nimble than larger ones. I think they are more able to mobilize to meet the immediate needs of the community around them. Also, it is my opinion that a greater percentage of the money goes directly to the cause versus overhead.
I know this is a broad, sweeping generalization and that all nonprofits are not the same. There indeed plenty of schisters out there. I also understand that big nonprofits do good work too. However, those folks have more resources at their command to be able to raise funds and make things happen. I've chosen small and medium organizations because they need the help.
It's an interesting concept that offers some interesting opportunities. Obviously as Carol builds her blog, she will be giving a sort of "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" that in the blogosphere may carry some weight. She is also providing a forum for smaller and medium-sized NPOs to be noticed. And clearly she is developing a simple, powerful marketing message--"Give a $1 a week and I'll help you decide where to do that by doing the research and making it easier for you to make up your mind."
I noticed that Carol is using Constant Contact (a post for another day) to send e-mail updates to her regular readers to let them know when she's updated her site. While hardcore bloggers will have a news aggregator, Carol has recognized that the vast majority of people don't have a clue what an aggregator is, so she sends e-mails to her list when she adds new content to her site. This is a great way to maintain relationships with her "customers."
The site is in its early stages, but I hope that as Carol builds her encyclopedia of charities, she'll begin to categorize them for easy viewing and selection. I think a lot of people start out wanting to help "children" or "animals" and that it would be helpful if they could see all the choices related to their interests in a single section.
If you want to list your NPO or see who else she's researching, check out Dollar Philanthropy. The site is worth the read.
Thank you for your kind words. My actions really come from some sincere convictions of both my heart and mind. Nevertheless, I can't tell you how nice it is to have someone openly support your efforts and thinking.
Posted by: Carol | October 08, 2006 at 03:04 PM