Project: Raise Your Voice is an Orange County based charity spreading the word about the worldwide dangers of HIV/AIDS. The charity itself, publicized by The Project Media Group, consists of a magazine, benefit events, annual mission trips to the war-torn countries of Africa and South America, and several other awareness spreading divisions dedicated to improving living conditions worldwide. But not to negate the relevance of the charity’s name, broad informational outreach must be attained if the cause of these individuals is ever to reach their ultimate aspirations.
Enter the world of technology we inhabit today. Personal contact communication is becoming obsolete and replaced by the immediacy of the digital data stream…and for good reason. The sheer amount of information at our fingertips is awe-inspiring whenever we grab a mouse and access the Internet. Though some corporations pay their outside sources thousands to ensure their visibility online, Internet searches are becoming more and more relevant to each personal inquiry made. As Yellow Pages and community bulletin boards enter antique shops, online publication is becoming an issue of growing importance. It is through this channel that charities such as Project: Raise Your Voice will make their name heard.
There are several avenues of exposure that come with little or no price tag on the Internet today. One such avenue is the social network known worldwide as Myspace. Myspace.com offers its members a place to create a free “website” of sorts that can be used to keep in touch with friends, and more recently, to act as free advertising in a corporate world in constant search of the “hip” marketing angle. For the young coordinators of Project: Raise Your Voice, this website has become one of its greatest public relations assets. Acting as the charity’s sole online presence at this time, Myspace has allowed thousands of users worldwide to gain knowledge about the actions and missions of this group.
Those enthroned in the world of non-profit business know, however, that public exposure is merely one ingredient needed for success. The reality of the situation is that non-profits and charities like the one mentioned above require substantial financial backing in order to perform at their peak potential. Yet again, the web has provided these groups with another set of solutions. Global payment service PayPal and non-profit powerhouse Benevolink.com are two perfect examples: showing how the newly aware public can make their donations without hardship.
Taking only a small percentage for the use of their financial services, PayPal is becoming more and more popular among those looking for avenues for charitable donation. By embedding a small piece of code into a homepage, web surfers can make one simple click and immediately be choosing their donation amount: instantaneously arriving in the bank account of the chosen organization. Similarly, Benevolink.com provides a way for patrons to donate a percentage of online purchase payments to the non-profit of their choice. Partnered with nearly every major e-commerce outlet on the web today, this service has provided a way for people to give charitably without hassle or additional cost.
These simple examples illustrate just how important the Internet is becoming to non-profits in the 21st century. Providing ways to reach out to their communities and ways for their communities to give back, the Internet has become an invaluable tool in bringing mission statements to reality. Joining forces on several levels, charities and the World Wide Web are quickly becoming a prevailing pair. It can be said with some certainty that non-profits and charities such as Project: Raise Your Voice will be putting the Internet to good use now and in the near future in order to ensure their success on the global playing field.
