“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 ]

With 1.5 million registered users, VolunteerMatch strives to connect volunteers with non-profit organizations. Currently, the network boasts over 52,000 opportunities for prospective volunteers and has provided participating organizations with over 3 million referrals.

The linking process is reliant on a number of user generated data sets including location, skills, interests, availability, etc. Trust is the primary hurdle in selecting candidates virtually and VolunteerMatch does not appear to have a built in ranking system. However, users are reminded to adhere to the following principles: Be Professional, Honor your volunteer commitments, and Extend gratitude to any organization for training and professional development gained during volunteering.

Link to [VolunteerMatch]

Academics and Internet pioneers recognized the Web’s democratic prowess at an early stage.  From sharing of previously guarded information to remote discourse among thought leaders, the early Internet was positioned to radically transform government, business, and domestic life.  Unfortunately, the true political potential of the Internet failed to mature as quickly as the commercial and leisure Web.

Since 2008 is an election year and many pundits are analyzing the use of new tools in campaigns, it seems like an appropriate time for the repeated question “Can the Internet really improve the democratic process?”

Minneapolis based E-Democracy.org believes the answer to the above question is “Yes” and aims to improve citizen participation through a structured Wiki environment.   The platform helps strengthen, expand and diversify citizen engagement with a unique clause - participants can only post commentary to the group twice per day.  This unlikely restriction promotes thoughtful discussion and prevents dominance from special interest groups.  Check out the project blog for additional information.

Link to [e-democracy.org]

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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NetSquared - the annual conference dedicated to remixing the commercial web for social change - is approaching on May 27 and 28 in San Jose, CA.   In the third installment of NetSquared, a mixture of technologist, vendors, early adopters, and volunteers will gather to help amplify non-profit organizations (NPOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The conference will feature 21 community projects showcasing developments using the web for social change.  Some of the projects include:

• Anti-Genocide Action Tracker
• Ask Your Lawmaker: Connecting Local Communities to their Lawmakers
• My Green Map: Sharing your Sustainable Worldview
• OpenCongress.org: Track Congress with Social Data
• Rosetta Project: Minority Languages in Google Earth

The annual conference is coupled with an online community and monthly NetTuesday meetings in cities across the world.  Discover if your area already has a NetTuesday meetup group here.

Link to [NetSquared]

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]

SuggestionBox.com is the exciting new way to send suggestions and watch ideas turn into action. We’ve created one place where individuals can share ideas with every company, group, organization, and product on the planet. The best part of a free individual membership is that it’s interactive. People can stay in the loop by tracking their ideas, connecting with people, and improving the things around them.

• Is a concept that everyone already understands
• Fills a universal need
• Built using technology that users are comfortable with, similar to email
• Has tracking through dashboards and folders
• Standardizes feedback into one place for people to reach any company worldwide
• Allows a community to grow and interact around any brand

Link to [ SuggestionBox ]

Shared across more than 1,000 events and parties, Pangea Day was a remarkable event that taps into the power of film to strengthen tolerance and compassion while uniting millions of people to build a better future.

“Pangea Day taps the power of film to strengthen tolerance and compassion while uniting millions of people to build a better future.

In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it’s easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that — to help people see themselves in others — through the power of film.

On May 10, 2008 — Pangea Day — sites in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked live to produce a program of powerful films, visionary speakers, and uplifting music.

The program will be broadcast live to the world through the Internet, television, digital cinemas, and mobile phones.

Of course, movies alone can’t change the world. But the people who watch them can. So following May 10, 2008, Pangea Day organizers will facilitate community-building activities around the world by connecting inspired viewers with numerous organizations that are already doing groundbreaking work.”

Link to [ Pangea Day ]

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project in which people mail their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.

You are invited to anonymously contribute your secrets to PostSecret. Each secret can be a hope, regret, funny experience, unseen kindness, fantasy, belief, fear, betrayal, erotic desire, confession, or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything - as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before.

Create your 4-by-6-inch postcards out of any mailable material. If you want to share two or more secrets, use multiple postcards. Put your complete secret and image on one side of the postcard.

PostSecret has spun off into various projects for creator Frank Warren including lectures, national newscoverage, videos and books. Some of the best outcomes has been Frank’s contributions to national suicide hotlines and the PostSecret Community.

Link to [ PostSecret ]

EFF is the leading civil liberties group defending your rights in the digital world.

From the Internet to the iPod, technologies are transforming our society and empowering us as speakers, citizens, creators, and consumers. When our freedoms in the networked world come under attack, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is the first line of defense. EFF broke new ground when it was founded in 1990 — well before the Internet was on most people’s radar — and continues to confront cutting-edge issues defending free speech, privacy, innovation, and consumer rights today. From the beginning, EFF has championed the public interest in every critical battle affecting digital rights.

Link to [ Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) ]