The commercial is part of Toyota’s “Ideas for Good” initiative. The challenge is to use one of the five available innovative technologies and apply them to a creative idea that will benefit your community or environment. It is this type of sharing and collaboration that I hope more companies would make available to the public. It would seem to me that ideas could go so much further, provide for so many more, and accomplish greater goals if they were not cached only for the use of commercial gain. In the nonprofit world this mentality is even more counterproductive as we strive to find effective and efficient ways to help others, often with limited resources.

Emerging media has brought community building to a digital space for organizations hoping to reach further and wider. From recruiting volunteers to donating a portion of your shopping proceeds to charities, the same need for networks has only been updated to communal online spaces. New ways to get people involved include micro-donating, micro-volunteering, and the rise of crowd-sourcing. Crowd-sourcing is an open call that draws the most qualified talents to perform tasks, solve complex problems and contribute with the most relevant and fresh ideas. A great example is Social Entrepreneur, an open API search engine for finding social entrepreneurs, designed in order to provide an exchange and transfer of information.

Having shared data would help us move more in the desired direction of not duplicating the efforts of another organization with a similar mission.

Creating a data-feed for the community using technology, or community-based design, to harness smaller efforts by many people is how we move forward. Often efforts for the same causes are duplicated because models are not share and resources are not pooled. These projects exemplify a new wave in technology that is all about impactful cooperation and represent the growing trend of global sustainability and corporate citizenship.

With a goal to raise $1 million, the celebrities signed off of their social networks and vowed only to return after the donations were raised. Donations were a slow-go at first, taking a week to raise $500K from the public. Then, with a generous match from pharmaceutical mogul and philanthropist Stewart Rahr, Keys and her friends were b(r)ought ”back to life.” Over 3,000 fans have also joined in on the martyrdom, including Taylor Green who has been dead for 25 days and raised the most money by a fan ($2,253, almost half of his $5,000 goal).

I applaud the effort, especially the innovative use of a buzz marketing to bring awareness and promote online giving, however I wasn’t a total fan of the promotional photos (seen above) that were shot for the campaign. The campaigns slogan, “The more you buy the more you save” seems appropriate and applicable for the intended beneficiaries of KCA – mainly, India and Africa – where money provides “the essential nutrition, shelter, support and education to help ensure those [treatment] pills are taken properly and effectively.” However, the HIV/AIDS message in industrialized societies is one of prevention and education that encourages people to take advantage of resources that help them learn their status and live a healthy life in spite of a positive diagnosis. Superficial and glamorized images of death may send a mixed message of what death looks like for those in Africa and India, and what life should look like for anyone with the disease. Although, some may argue the idea of being able to digitally die and be resurrected by the actions of others is superficial (and possibly reckless) in itself, even if it is for a good cause.

“Apple doesn’t want to be held responsible for ensuring that the charitable funds make it to the final destination”

Apparently the leading technology company is not set up for charitable accounting and prohibits any language that suggests all or some of the proceeds will verifiably end up in a particular charity’s hands (especially when 30% automatically goes to Apple). However, developers can suggest that users donate to a charity or direct users to a charity’s website. Despite, a growing popularity for micro-donating (ex. SMS text-to-donate, which has a $10 limit) and Google Grants example of new media benevolence, non-profits have reached a roadblock when it comes to utilizing one of the most popular mobile platforms to promote direct giving through 1-click payments.

Shapiro argues that it not just a simple matter of accountability, and more of an issue concerning information policies and competitive edge. In order to have access to the tens of millions of users with stored credit cards already accustomed to instant purchases (over 100 million if you add in iTunes users worldwide) and pass donations directly to non-profits  greed because Apple would have to relinquish this information to developers and content providers. Currently app developers get zero data from Apple about who buys and uses their apps, just a flat report of total downloads and resulting revenue if it’s a paid app.

As non-profits begin to embrace emerging media, industry leaders hope to harness the “tremendous potential to connect people’s best charitable impulses to causes in the moment and on the go.” Let’s hope their attempts to do a lot with a little isn’t thwarted by corporate technology gatekeepers. If you feel the same, head over to Care2 and sign Kanter’s petition in support.

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It seems that as more people experience the pangs of financial uncertainty, there has been an increase in a sense of generosity and responsibility to each other and the environment. People have begun to realize many of the old ways aren’t working anymore and that we’re all in this together. Although non-profits have been hit harshly by the current economic state, charities are finding new ways to draw donors in for a simpler, yet more connected, way of giving. More and more, non-profits are turning to emerging media to raise awareness and funds and to communicate with their supporters.

Much of technology can still be expensive and scary for lean organizations, but many are also embracing the benefits of viral mass communication that emerging media has to offer. As these efforts become more measurable, organizations can begin to see the undeniable ROI of investing in the technological means to fundraising ends. According to Fahrenheit Technology, non-profits are incorporating mobile applications, utilizing geo-location check-ins, integrating Facebook platforms and pushing topics on Twitter. The information technology company reports that non-profits raised two billion dollars through social media alone last year. Now, who can deny that?!

Although the initiative is open to all ages, this advertising clip features Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas proves that the soda brand is hoping to capture a youthful audience. In an interview with YPulse.com, Director of Pepsi-Cola Marketing and leader of the Pepsi Refresh Project, Anamaria Irazabal, describes Millennials as the personification of the brand and understanding their desire to support “an idea that they believe in, that they can relate to on a personal level.” The Project has witnessed the youth’s interest in immediacy and power of improving their own community rather than supporting a distant cause or charity, especially in the areas of neighborhoods, education, and arts and culture.

The success of the Pepsi Refresh Project proves that the Internet is a vital source for sharing ideas, promoting philanthropy, and raising funds. Pepsi truly stepped out the corporate box of social responsibility and empowered the consumers to be heard and supported. And the entire process is a cooperative effort between Pepsi and the community, with feedback from participants on their Facebook page guiding the grant management process the Project in will continue o evolve in the U.S. in 2011. The program will also be going global in 2011 with customized versions of Pepsi Refresh rolling out across Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Source: USA Today