HOW TO: Use Change.org as an Online Giving Portfolio

Published May 28, 2009 @ 09:40AM PT

Thanks to Change.org's partnership with GuideStar.org, individuals can donate to any nonprofit in the United States on Change.org and use their individual profile to create and manage an "Online Giving Portfolio." The benefits are:

1) Individuals can download annual reports that summarize all their donations made over a year for filing taxes. No more managing numerous receipts from numerous nonprofits to file your taxes! Click, print, and you are done.

2) You can opt-out of providing the organization your snail mail address. No more print materials cluttering your mail box! Most Web 2.0 donors happily opt-in to provide their e-mail address when donating on Change.org, but the vast majority do not want the nonprofit to waste valuable natural and financial resources sending print newsletters, funding appeals, calendars, etc.

3) Donors on Change.org do receive a "Thank You" email from Change.org with every donation made for tax reasons as well, but nonprofits on Change.org also post "Thank You" comments on your wall and "Thank You" compliments. It's fun. It's different. It's Web 2.0 at its best, and its a great way for donors and nonprofits to interact and build relationships online.

4) In addition to being able to manage all your donations in one place on the Web, donors can also use their Change.org profiles to participate in e-mail advocacy, gift giving, fundraising for their favorite nonprofits, participate in causes, find a job, and stay in contact with friends.

On Change.org, online philanthropy meets social networking meets online activism meets socially responsible gift giving. There is nothing else like it on the Web!

I started using Change.org as an online giving portfolio before I started working with them. I am the classic Web 2.0 donor. I don't want print materials from nonprofits - thus do not donate on nonprofit's Web sites and my check writing days are long gone - and I am a big fan of social networking. Change.org is my hub for all things nonprofit, especially online giving. See my profile as an example.

To sign up for your own profile and to begin your online giving portfolio, just sign up and make sure you send me a friend request!

Share this Post

Comments (2)

What a helpful post, Heather! Looking forward to drawing attention to it --

Christine Egger
Social Actions

Posted by Christine Egger on 05/29/2009 @ 07:13AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Christine
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
Heather, if you have a chance, please cross-post this on My Social Actions (http://my.socialactions.com). Would love to have the entirety shared w/ our 1,200+ members. Thanks!

Christine Egger
Social Actions

Posted by Christine Egger on 05/29/2009 @ 07:19AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Christine
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply

Add a Comment

For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

Comment

Check Spelling

Email me when there are new posts to this thread
Comment Policy

Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in the posts. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; that contain ad hominem attacks; or that are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion.

Author

Heather is the Nonprofit Community Manager for Change.org. She also created and maintains the Nonprofit Organizations MySpace, Nonprofit Organizations Facebook Page, Nonprofit Organizations YouTube Channel, and the Nonprofit Organizations Twitter profile. Fueled by a strong passion for the Internet, Heather spends her days helping nonprofit organizations utilize the Internet as a tool for social change.