ngos - ReadWriteWeb http://www.readwriteweb.com/feeds/tag/ngos en Copyright 2009 Richard MacManus readwriteweb@gmail.com Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:52:27 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.23-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Facebook Fund REV Graduation Day: Backlight, Thread and More facebook_demo_aug09.jpgAfter a summer of hard work, Facebook's 24 fbFund REV incubator companies presented their products to a room full of investors, entrepreneurs and journalists. Created by Accel Partners and Founders Fund, the fbFund REV program is meant to foster innovation and test the boundaries of app development on the Facebook platform. The groups have certainly come a long way from concept to creation, below are just a few of our favorites:

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]]> backlight_facebook.jpgBacklight: Backlight is a community that allows members to share inspirational digital assets from across the web. The community puts art into context by illuminating upon it with a background narrative. Backlight offers a StumbleUpon-style bookmarklet, Facebook Connect integration through page updates and notes, and the group plans on developing a point-based credit system entitled "social currency."

Thread: Thread is a tool that allows Facebook friends to leverage their social graphs and make romantic connections. Formerly Frinto, the company recently raised $1.2 million dollars from Sequoia Capital. It is perhaps best described as Linkedin for dating as friends search each others contacts and request introductions.

GeckoGo: GeckoGo is a tool that leverages Facebook data and pushes it back to sites like Expedia and Voyij. Users add their travel information to maps and travel wish lists, receive a snapshot of their destinations as well as a quick look at their friends who've also traveled to these locations.

FriendRadio: FriendRadio is a Facebook application that allows users to rank and listen to their friends' music playlists. The tool lets you set favorites, vote on tracks and even assigns music matching scores - a music compatibility rank for your friends. The group is exploring revenue strategies including "song gifting" and the artist-to-fan appreciation model popularized by sites like Bandcamp and Topspin Media.

RentMineOnline: RentMineOnline is a resident referral program that offers property managers a chance to leverage social networks to secure better tenants. Managers create campaigns and pass the info on to their favorite residents. From here, residents distribute rental openings to their friends via Facebook Connect.

Given the nature of the Facebook platform, social startup presentations were no surprise; however, this year, the fund chose to work with 2 nonprofit organizations - Samasource and Vittana. Interestingly enough, both companies work to help individuals in developing countries.

Vittana: kittana_facebook_aug09.jpgVittana is best described as Kiva for student loans. While financial aid programs are well established in countries like Canada and the US, few programs exist for education in the developing world. Vittana offers 6-24 month student loans to students interested in pursuing advanced education. The project hopes to raise $650,000 in philanthropic venture donations. The majority of loans are awarded to vocational students and amounts range between $500 - $1500. Loan recipients are screened by on-the-ground microloan organizations and preference is given to students who are the children of microloan recipients. Visit Vittana for more information.

Samasource: In Sanskrit, Samasource means "equal". The company works with men and women in developing countries to provide work-related activities via the internet. Similar to Mechanical Turk, Samasource connects corporations, nonprofit organizations and small businesses to complete "microwork" tasks. The group launched App Test early this morning before the fbFundREV demo. Available at Apps.Facebook/Samasource, the product allows Facebook application developers to outsource their QA testing to those in need. The company has helped more than 500 individuals in Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, Ghana and Pakistan. To find out more about this program, visit Samasource.

]]>Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/facebook_funds_nonprofits_vittana_and_samasource.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/facebook_funds_nonprofits_vittana_and_samasource.php Facebook Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:00:00 -0800 Dana Oshiro Report: 'Mobile Activism' on the Rise Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in NGO Mobile Use, a report released today by the United Nations Foundation and the Vodafone Group Foundation, uses 11 case studies to detail how relief, advocacy, and development organizations are utilizing mobile technology to accomplish goals in areas where "wired" infrastructure is sparse. The case studies examine mobile technology use by organizations working toward UN Millennium Development Goals, and reveal that mobile tech is changing the way non-governmental organization (NGOs) approach their work.

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]]> The survey, which was conducted between December 10, 2007 and January 13, 2008 and included responses from 560 NGO workers, found that a whopping 86% of NGO employees use mobile technology in their work. 99% of those characterized the contribution made by the use of mobile tech as a positive one. A quarter of those surveyed said mobile technology was "revolutionizing" how they did their work and almost a third said that it would be difficult to accomplish their goals without it.

Mobile technology is most likely to be used in Asia or Africa, where wired infrastructure is less common. Indeed, seven of the eleven case studies included with the report detailed mobile use among organizations working in African nations.

"Well over 3.5 billion mobile phones are in use around the world and organizations are harnessing this technology to help overcome humanitarian challenges," said Timothy E. Wirth, President of the United Nations Foundation in a press release. "Modern telecommunications, and the creative use of it, has the power to change lives and help the UN solve some of the world’s biggest challenges. It can connect families separated by disaster, help emergency relief workers respond more quickly, empower health workers with data to help combat disease and epidemics, track the impacts of climate change, and even help in the resolution of civil conflicts."

By far the most common use of technology is voice, followed by text messages. But more sophisticated uses such as photo and video messaging, mapping, data collection and analysis, and inventory management are on the rise. NGOs said that the use of mobile devices has allowed them to save time, transmit data more quickly and accurately, more quickly mobilize individuals, gather data, and reach audiences that were previously unreachable.

The case studies cover the areas of public health (such as connecting health workers to one another in Uganda), humanitarian assistance (such as alerting Iraqi refugees to food aid drop offs in Syria), and environmental conservation (such as using text messages to raise awareness about deforestation in Argentina). The entire report is available for download in PDF format from the UN Foundation web site.

]]>Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/report_mobile_activism_on_the_rise.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/report_mobile_activism_on_the_rise.php Non-Profits Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:35:58 -0800 Josh Catone