Not-for-profit organizations have used social media to redefine how they can get funding for their missions. There are some not-for-profits that exist totally online. Check out www.donorschoose.org and www.kiva.org. Both of these depend on crowds (called crowdfunding) to either fund educational projects (Donors Choose) or lend money to support projects all over the world (Kiva) using the microfinancing model.

Assignment

1. Take a minute to explore both sites and view some of the projects up for funding. Do you think social media is an effective method of raising money for worthwhile projects? Why or why not?

2. Both Donors Choose and Kiva are not-for-profits; do you think crowdfunding could be useful for “for-profit.” businesses? Why or why not?

3. Write a report that describes what you have learned from this exercise.