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As early as five years ago, only organizations such as World Vision and the Red Cross or governments with armies could mobilize and respond quickly to massive humanitarian crises. Today, technology connects us in ways that enable, empower and compel us to do more than lament. We can act on our intentions by giving in extraordinary ways.
Case in point: There has been an overwhelming response to the recent Haitian crisis. Largely, it has been achieved by harnessing quick, real-time applications such as Twitter, texting and Facebook. Companies large and small are all thinking creatively and quickly to set up fundraising for these platforms. People have been able to immediately share the ways that they’ve given with their friends, which has inspired (and pressured) others to respond as well.
In the hours and days immediately following the disaster, you could text “HAITI” to 45678 on your Rogers, Bell, Virgin or Telus cell phone and $5 would automatically be directed towards The Salvation Army from your monthly bill. (More details here.) Rogers has promised to donate $250,000 to relief efforts, and customers can donate $5 by texting “HELP” to shortcode 1291. You can also text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross relief for Haiti.
How much money are we talking here? The Red Cross has reported that as a result of the mass social network campaign, it received $35 million in donations in the first 48 hours after the earthquake — more than half through online contributions and at least $8 million by text.
Great results, but a word of caution: beware of jumping on the fundraising bandwagon without proper research. Many companies and non-profits may not be organized to direct the funds to the right place. There have also been a number of false fundraisers setting up collection bins on Facebook and other websites. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has even released a Haitian Earthquake Relief Fraud Alert.
Personally, I like the transparency of the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund. Donors can give to the efforts, then connect with up-to-date information via email, Facebook or Twitter. Once you’ve donated, you can tell all your friends by posting links and buttons, tweeting and blogging.
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