London based MySociety.org is a charitable project dedicated to improving civic life through simple and efficient websites.  Guidelines for the organization are streamlined to the core triad of cheap scalability, tangible outputs, and high usability.  Three full-time staff members guide MySociety projects, but a volunteer community of marketing, design, programming and fund-raising professionals help make quick iteration a reality.  Below are some descriptions of current and past MySociety.org projects:

FixMyStreet is a portal allowing UK residents to report graffiti, potholes, litter, etc through a mapping/messaging platform.  After submitting, FixMyStreet redirects the report to the proper officials.

PledgeBank is a collective action platform similar to (but less Robust) than ThePoint.   The site allows users to promote altruistic campaigns reliant on group participation.

NotApathetic encourages citizens to voice reasons for not voting on a public forum.  The project launched for the 2005 UK General Elections but a reincarnation might be beneficial for the upcoming 2008 U.S. Presidential Election.

Anyone interested in championing either FixMyStreet or NotApathetic with me in the U.S.?  If so, please express your interest in the comment section.

Link to [MySociety.org]

An industry in decline is often well positioned for innovation. With the well-publicized crumbling of traditional media, journalists worldwide have an opportunity to use the web to redefine the practice of creating news. Here are a few recent examples of the bubbling entrepreneurial community in journalism.

Spot.us is a new project from journalist David Cohn - a veteran of numerous NewAssignment experiments. Aimed to fuel local investigative reporting, Spot.us is an example of crowdfunding. Similar to crowdsourcing, this methodology allows a large group of donors to collectively raise money through micro-payments. Independent journalists propose stories to Spot.us and rely upon a community to fund the investigation. The platform offers both an alternative revenue model for journalism and also pre-validation for topics.

Another new tool for the journalism industry is Help A Reporter from entrepreneur Peter Shankman. As a self-proclaimed connector, Shankman wanted to streamline the introduction process between journalists and reliable sources. Questions submitted from journalists are collected into several daily email blasts to a growing list of Shankman qualified experts. Good will can go a long way.

Link to [Spot.us]

Link to [Help A Reporter]

Chicago based company The Point is dedicated to organizing people to solve a problem. The Point is not unique in using the web to rally around activism or fundraising, but the company’s campaigns are differentiated by their reliance on the “tipping point” model. As popularized by author Malcolm Gladwell, the “tipping point” refers to the “levels at which momentum for change becomes unstoppable.” Apply this notion to The Point and members of campaigns are not required to take action until a critical mass of supporters is reached.

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“How would you mashup the Network for Good donation processing service with other services to make it easier for nonprofits to raise money online? We’re working with Network for Good, the Case Foundation, and the NetSquared community to enhance the online donation process.

There are two categories to enter:

1. Build a mashup using Network for Good’s donation API, with a particular focus on enhancing the donor experience.
2. Build a mashup using Network for Good’s donation API,with a particular focus on improving or revolutionizing a nonprofit organization’s ability to fundraise.

Winners in the each category will be awarded a $10,000 prize by a panel of judges present at the N2Y3 Conference.

In addition, each winner will be granted a one-year license for the Network for Good API to be donated to an organization of their choice (if the winner is an organization, it can choose to donate the API to itself).”

Link to [ NetSquared ]

Online fund-raising can become a complicated process, especially when large sums of money are involved. A number of startups have attempted to simplify the process and provide users with progress analytics. Below are descriptions of the more prominent solutions available for peer-2-peer online fund-raising and lending.

Kiva is focused on providing loans for low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world. The company collects small loans from a massive pool of lenders to provide larger sums. Payments are processed through PayPal after Kiva collects the entire owed amount. [Kiva.org]

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The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is preparing for the annual Great Strides walk on the weekend of May 17 -18. This year’s national goal is $40 million dollars, a substantial addition to the $180 million raised through the event since the inception in 1989. Here are some of the unfortunate statistics Great Strides is attempting to remedy:

• Nearly 1,000 cases of Cystic Fibrosis are diagnosed each year
• The mean survival age is 37 years old
• 30,000 U.S. children are suffering from Cystic Fibrosis

The foundation requires online registration, allowing teams and individuals to view fund-raising progress and interact with other participants. Walk locations and other event information is also included in the simple online portal. Hopefully, new initiatives in Data Portability such as Google’s “Friend Connect” platform will allow the foundation to easily enhance both awareness and the relationships formed during the annual Great Strides campaign. Feel free to comment on the benefits of portable social networks to fund-raising efforts below.

Link to [Great Strides]

Frozen Pea fund is a organization with Susan’s post and photo about a bag of frozen peas that started it all (explained here). Members of Susan’s Twitter community soon began adding peas to their avatar images; this supportive action quickly spread throughout a broader Twitter community and beyond.

It’s also the story of Connie Reece. A suggestion via Twitter for donating the equivalent of the cost of two bags of frozen peas to cancer research led to Connie Reece stepping into the peas picture with the formation of the Frozen Pea Fund, a fundraising effort for breast cancer research and programs through the American Cancer Society.

Link to [ Frozen Pea Fund ]

Philipp Lenssen posted on Google’s inclusion of a special homepage link to support victims of the cyclone in Myanmar. The link appears directly below the search box and directs users to a donation page, discussing efforts of both UNICEF and Direct Relief International.

According to Direct Relief, the Myanmar Government has yet to issue a formal request for international assistance. But UNICEF, Direct Relief, Google and others are waiting anxiously to provide support.

Now, if only Google could discover a method for generating traffic to their homepage.

Link to [Google Support Disaster Relief]