The Wired Fundraiser -- White Paper on Widget Fundraising by NetworkforGood

Technology enables anyone to be a fundraiser, anywhere online, which means online fundraising is no longer the sole domain of professional fundraisers at charities. It is now open to anyone to do, wherever they want online. This creates great opportunities for charities to spread their message further, by new means, via new messengers.

It also places control over the message in the hands of the fundraiser rather than formal organizations. This can be terrifying to professional fundraisers or nonprofit brand managers, but supporters usually know best how to speak to their own circles of influence. And even if that’s cold comfort to marketers who want greater control, the era of the controlled message is over anyway. Charities can embrace or ignore the many conversations that take place online in words other than their own – but they can’t make them go away.

A number of charities that have well-connected staff with social networking experience are realizing these people can serve as Wired Fundraisers for very little investment. Widgets can make it economical for any size of nonprofit, even one with no fundraising budget, to engage in online fundraising and outreach. Widgets levelthe digital playing field, enabling even the smallest causes to spread the word and raise funds economically if they have connected supporters and staff.