Helping you help Non-profits

President Obama a strong advocate for the importance of non-profits and volunteerism; exemplified by the nation-wide volunteer program called USAService.org, launched in mid-January 2009. At the site, Americans can help their communities by choosing among nearly 6,000 volunteer projects nationwide that are listed on the website. If you have other aspirations for helping your favorite non-profit, consider one of the two options below.

Replyforall: You know that thoughtful-in-theory-but-annoying-when-actually-utilized-en-masse "please don't print this" note that your eco-conscious friends, family and colleagues have added to their email signatures? Well, this new initiative has created a brilliant twist on the signature-for-a-cause trend that actually translates into monetary donations towards non-profit organizations based on email penetration. Replyforall offers an application (currently only for Gmail and Yahoo! mail) that allows users to raise money for their causes of choice by embedding a brand-sponsored message into their e-signature. Users are not required to increase the number of emails they send, but corporate brand sponsors such as The Body Shop and Virgin Mobile have pledged to donate a specified monetary value to their non-profit partner based on their exposure through Replyforall.

Plus 3 Network: Plus 3 makes the world a healthier and better place by turning “sweat equity into social capital.” Essentially – this new fitness-based social network allows exercise buffs to do good while getting in shape. After signing up, site members get to choose the cause they would like to support, upon which Plus 3 then pairs them with a corporate sponsor who makes donations according to the amount of activity miles completed.