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14 Dec 07
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Foundation Testing Potential of Philanthropy via Internet The Case Foundation is embarking on an effort to test the potential of citizen-led philanthropy via the Internet.
Starting at 3 p.m. on Thursday, readers of Parade magazine and members of the Causes section of the Facebook Web site can enter a contest to win a total of $500,000 and $250,000, for their favorite charities, provided by Case.
The prizes will go to the charities and causes that attract the greatest numbers of unique donors, rather than the one that raises the most money.
“Philanthropy shouldn’t be defined as a bunch of rich people writing big checks,” said Jean Case, who founded the Case Foundation with her husband, Steve, founder of America Online. “Small amounts of money given by large numbers of individuals can be combined to do great things.”
Randy Siegel, publisher of Parade, said he saw the program as “a wonderful way to give our 70 million readers a firsthand look at how the Internet and technology have revolutionized charitable giving.”
The contest is one of a string of efforts by Case to determine what role online technologies can have in the charity field.
Parade and Causes are eager to learn from the information gleaned from the contest.
“We’ll get some great data, some great feedback and have a very important learning experience,” Mr. Siegel said.
Last summer, Case asked individuals and small nonprofit groups for ideas to improve their communities, promising to award a total of $300,000 to the proposals chosen by a panel of judges.
The foundation has also put money into developing ThinkMTV.com, a networking site aimed at increasing youth activism. And on its own site, casefoundation.org, it offers holiday gift ideas with charitable components, as well as links to the Causes and Parade sites.
“We’ve always asked how we can leverage our resources to engage a larger population, how can we get the most Americans involved in charitable giving and action,” Ms. Case said.
The amounts raised through new technologies and online networks have been modest. The top “cause” listed on Causes, support for breast cancer research, has attracted 2.8 million members, raising an average of 2 cents a member, or a total of $52,240, for Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Proponents say the Internet has been useful in attracting people to sign petitions and attend rallies and demonstrations, if not in generating big donations.
“The tools and technologies are still evolving, and we’re still trying to figure out how it works,” said Beth Kanter, an expert on nonprofits and technology.
Sean Parker and Joe Green, founders of Project Agape, the start-up that created the Causes application, said their primary goal since Causes went live in May has simply been to prove it could attract millions of users.
“Now the question is how do we take this social platform we’ve built and encourage more kinds of action using it,” Mr. Green said.
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