A New Generation Reinvents Philanthropy

An article about how young people are using blogs, MySpace, etc. to raise money for their favorite charities:

Bloggers  are also pounding the drums for their favorite causes. Sarah D. Bunting, 34, who writes Tomato Nation, a culture and humor blog, offered to shave her head  if her readers donated $30,000 to DonorsChoose.org <http://donorschoose.org/> , a charity that allows  contributors to directly purchase school supplies for needy classrooms. The  funds were raised within days. (For a video of Ms. Bunting's head being shorn last year, go to www.tinyurl.com/32svqs <http://www.tinyurl.com/32svqs> .)  DonorsChoose.org now features a "Blogger Challenge" on its site where bloggers  compete to raise money among their readers.

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A New Generation Reinvents Philanthropy
Blogs, Social-Networking Sites Give 20-Somethings a Means
       To Push, Fund Favorite Causes
By RACHEL EMMA SILVERMAN
August 21, 2007
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118765256378003494.html

Joe Alamo didn't set out to become a do-gooder. But late last year, when the Geneva, N.Y., Web designer was surfing on MySpace, he chanced onto the profile of Kiva.org <http://kiva.org/> , a nonprofit that allows people to make zero-interest "microfinance" loans over the Internet to needy entrepreneurs in developing countries.