Bring Light: Social Networks for Online Philanthropy

Article PhotoLast week in our post about philanthropy as a key principle of worldchanging work, we discussed the importance of charitable giving as a catalyst for change, and focused in particular on the need for philanthropy to become a more transparent, open process — whether at the foundation level or among individuals — so that the distribution of funds can be tracked and donors can be confident about their chosen recipients. At the NetSquared Conference today, a new site has launched which aims to respond to this issue. Bring Light opens the sometimes opaque and confusing world of philanthropy through an online social network that provides donors with an interactive resource for learning where and how their money gets distributed, and lets charities share their progress as a result of philanthropic support. Bring Light was created for people who want to feel connected to the result of their donations. The site features specific projects posted by charities that are first screened by Bring Light for legitimacy. Donors can see evidence of their impact with real-time updates and by chatting with others in the community, including the charity itself who is encouraged to report back on how the money was spent. In… (more)

(Posted by Sarah Rich in Communications and Networking at 12:48 PM)