nonprofits

Nonprofits next to test Facebook payment platform

NEW YORK--Four nonprofit organizations will be participating in a test of Facebook's "credits" platform, marketing and outreach director Randi Zuckerberg said on Friday morning at the Social Good Conference presented by social-media blog Mashable.

"I just received confirmation yesterday that...we're going to be reopening up charity gifts in the Gift Shop," said Zuckerberg (who is, yes, the sister of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg). "We are exploring ways for developers to use the Gift Shop to offer...virtual, real, and charity gifts."

This will be rolling out next week with four test … Read more

Crowded roads ahead for charity 2.0

Way back in February, the Web's elite were all abuzz over the "Twestivals," a series of events around the world that were organized online to benefit Charity Water, an otherwise small nonprofit organization that funds the construction of wells in developing countries. They ranged from small in-home gatherings to massive nightclub bashes, but there was one general, common hook: spread the word, donate, and tweet about it.

Months later, with Twitter practically bursting at the seams, is this strategy still sustainable?

One part fundraiser and one part publicity blitz, the big-picture hook of "Twestival" was … Read more

Mozilla's nonprofit status key to its growth

In May, every major browser--Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Opera--gained market share against Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which dropped nearly 1 percentage point, according to data from Net Applications. No other browser, however, has taken as big a share as Mozilla's Firefox browser, which now claims 22.51 percent of the global browser market, and tops 48 percent in Europe.

The secret to Mozilla Firefox's success? Money, according to Chairman Mitchell Baker at last week's D7: All Things Digital Conference. Or, rather, the way Mozilla makes it, as the conference report suggests:

Mozilla can't be successful with a … Read more

Facebook hits 200 million members, thinks charity

We knew Facebook was about to hit 200 million active users, but now it's official, per a post by founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the company's official blog.

"We will welcome our 200 millionth user to Facebook some time today," wrote Zuckerberg, who's just over a month away from his 25th birthday. "Growing rapidly to 200 million users is a really good start, but we've always known that in order for Facebook to help people represent everything that is happening in their world, everyone needs to have a voice."

To commemorate … Read more

Dr. Brilliant to leave Google.org's helm

Dr. Larry Brilliant, the executive director of Google.org, is stepping down to become Google's chief philanthropy evangelist.

Brilliant, who had managed Google's philanthropic unit for the past three years, will be replaced by Megan Smith, who will also continue to act as Google's vice president of new business development.

Brilliant announced the move Monday in a company blog:

I think this is the highest contribution that I can make both to Google.org and to fighting the urgent threats of our day: from climate change to emerging infectious diseases, to issues of poverty and health care. … Read more

Hundreds of 'Twestival' fundraisers springing up tonight

If you're looking for something "good" to do Thursday night, you're in luck. Volunteer-organized Twestivals are planned in more than 200 cities around the world.

The Twestivals are a loose coalition of fundraisers that aim to use the social-media tool du jour--Twitter--to raise money for Charity Water, a nonprofit devoted to bringing clean drinking water to developing countries.

It's not officially organized by Twitter, but enthusiasts are hoping that the series of Twestivals can be an example for future fundraisers and how the likes of Twitter can fuel volunteer and donor efforts. Word has spread … Read more

Gates Foundation donates to health, connectivity

Charitable causes are getting hit hard these days, but the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, formed by the eponymous Microsoft founder and his wife, announced Thursday the donation of nearly $14 million. About half, or $6.9 million, is going to two U.S. organizations promoting broadband connectivity, and another $7 million has been awarded to fight a parasitic illness that threatens millions of people in developing countries.

The $6.9 million for broadband has been donated to advocacy group Connected Nation and to the American Library Association's Office for Information Technology Policy -- the bulk of it to … Read more

Party season rolls on, but we pay for our drinks now

NEW YORK--I hereby insist that we all stop using the "Recession? What recession?" line, which seems to be used every time any company has thrown any moderately lavish party in the last two months. Not only is it overused, but I think folks have caught onto the fact that things have legitimately changed.

Here in New York, the last blowout launch party in the city was for T-Mobile's Android phone in October. Company holiday parties have been scaled back like mad, leaving fewer opportunities for that great New York sport known as party-crashing. But socialization hasn't … Read more

Wikipedia gets $890,000 for the Luddites

Anyone who's ever edited or created a Wikipedia entry can attest to the fact that it's not that self-explanatory. They're in luck--the nonprofit anyone-can-edit encyclopedia has received $890,000 from the Stanton Foundation in order to make it easier to use.

More specifically, the grant was given to the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization that encompasses Wikipedia. It'll fund the hire of three new software developers in the foundation's San Francisco office. Then, per a press release, the team will "commission research to identify the most common barriers to entry for first-time writers, and then … Read more