Last Friday, I received a copy of CauseWired: Plugging In, Getting Involved, Changing the World by Tom Watson, (Wiley, Nov 10,2008). Given that we’ve been talking a lot on this blog lately about social networks, but not so much about nonprofits and cause marketing (at least I haven’t been), I was interested to pop open the covers and take a look inside.

The book contains 10 nicely segmented chapters, all dealing with different aspects of the impact of the wired / wireless world on philanthropy – touching on topics from Katrina response, to political movements, to micro-lending.

If you’re in the nonprofit world and haven’t yet taken advantage of the online space, then this book is full of great ammunition for you to take to your executives to persuade them that it’s the right thing to do. i.e…

Charities seeking to raise money through direct mail are known to pay a premium for each dollar raised from a brand new donor; the cost may be $1.30 or $1.50 to acquire each new dollar. While the money raised on Causes {a fundraising applicaion on Facebook – Simon} is small so far, the acquisition cost per public supporter is almost zero.

…and how about this quote discussing figures released by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement in 2006 talking about millenials (young Americans born after 1980)

30% told researchers they have boycotted a product in the last year “because of the conditions under which it was made or the values of the company that made it.”

When you consider other numbers and discussions in this book about the online connectivity of these millenials, it looks like a great opportunity for causes that can capture the imagination of these millenials.  On the other hand, it’s also an area of great concern for companies that have working practices that these millenials may deem questionable or worse.

One of the biggest changes that the online world has brought to philanthropy has been the increasing level of openness. In the past, you would send your money in to a charity, and that would be the last you’d hear of it (well, until the next request for cash came in).  These days, people can read about the actual people that benefit from their $25 micro-loan.  They can read about where their donations are actually being applied…following the story of the people or villages that benefit.

More than 58% of high net-worth individuals say they would give more to charity if they could determine their gift’s impact… But new markets are offering that opportunity to smaller donors as well… micro-philanthropists should be as respected as large-scale philanthropists.

Now, the book does make the point that $ ROI is relatively low for many of the causes discussed.  But, Watson does talk about the fact that engagement in this social media world is about much more than just dollars.  It’s also about getting people behind a cause in other ways, whether it’s to call their elected representatives or demonstrate in one way or another. I’ll leave the last word for the author, but please note that there’s a lot more in this book beyond what I’ve covered.

Will online social activism unleash a golden age for causes – for philanthropy, for activism, for citizen engagement? Perhaps… the CausedWired movement is also changing lives and inspiring new a new generation of wired social entrepreneurs to reach for something better.

Related posts:

1. Blog Potomac Kicks Off
2. Authentic Engagement in a Web 2.0 World
3. Nonprofit Blog Carnival: Social Media Roundup
4. A Little Early Summer Reading
5. Authentic Engagement with Word of Mouth Marketing

Tags: CauseWired, nonprofits, Social Media, tom watson
Posted in Non-Profits, Social Marketing | 3 Comments »