Mobile Giving: The Haiti Cataclysm

Mobile Giving: The Haiti Cataclysm: "Telethons were struck up. Traditional commercial messaging campaigns on TV, radio, and telephone were launched, but in 2010, a new medium was quickly alighted upon by those innovators in the sector: the mobile giving phenomenon. And as the following stats show, when a crisis occurs, it now pays to have access to a world of people with cell phones, iPhones, Blackberries, and various PDAs.
What’s your 'Shortcode?'

Three short months ago, the Canadian arm of the Mobile Giving Foundation (MGF-C) launched in partnership with the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association to allow Canadian wireless service providers to “enable the 100% pass-through of funds raised by all the mobile campaigns that it manages.'"

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Wired Campus - The Chronicle of Higher Education

Wired Campus - The Chronicle of Higher Education: "Shortly after last's week's earthquake in Haiti, a group of students working in a laboratory in Colorado unveiled a project that makes it easier for victims and volunteers to tweet for help.

The lab, at the University of Colorado at Boulder's Atlas Institute, produced a guideline for a 'help specific' Twitter syntax that allows tweets requesting help to be easily processed by a computer program. The program organizes the messages by 'hashtags,' as code words used in Twitter are often called, that express need and location. Then the software can send the information to an organization providing relief."

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New technology tools help Haiti earthquake relief - NashuaTelegraph.com

New technology tools help Haiti earthquake relief - NashuaTelegraph.com: "Volunteers have built and refined software for tracking missing people, mapping the disaster area and enabling urgent cell-phone text messaging. Organizations including the International Red Cross, the United Nations, the World Bank and the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency have put the systems to use."

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Haiti mobile giving may spark surge in overall SMS contributions

Haiti mobile giving may spark surge in overall SMS contributions: "Manis, a former senior vice president at premium SMS aggregator m-Qube who left after it was acquired by VeriSign, said the huge spike in mobile giving after the Haiti earthquake represents a confluence of multiple factors. First off, a mature mobile giving infrastructure is finally in place. Organizations such as the Mobile Giving Foundation and mGive have integrated directly with all of the US mobile operators and signed up charities across the board, allowing them to not only receive contributions by text, but to set up immediate short code accounts to channel money to specific efforts. Within hours of the earthquake disaster, multiple charities were able to accept mobile donations directly for Haiti relief efforts."

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City Brights: Zennie Abraham : Haiti Earthquake update: Red Cross family finder website up

City Brights: Zennie Abraham : Haiti Earthquake update: Red Cross family finder website up: "A Haiti Earthquake update. The American and Haitian Red Cross, and the International Committee of the Red Cross has announced a new website to allow loved ones to work to find their lost family members in Haiti, in the wake of the 7.0 Earthquake.

The site is called FamilyLinks and is intended to 'accelerate the process of restoring contact between separated family members', according to its front page."

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onPhilanthropy: Articles: Online Community Responds Swiftly to Haiti Suffering

onPhilanthropy: Articles: Online Community Responds Swiftly to Haiti Suffering: "Online Community Responds Swiftly to Haiti Suffering
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
By: Susan Carey Dempsey

There is little good news out of Haiti today, as it continues to assess the damage and begin to help the survivors of the 7.0 earthquake that struck the impoverished nation yesterday. In an effort to learn how donors can quickly respond to the vast and growing need, onPhilanthropy reached out to a number of organizations who have been working on the ground in Haiti for years."

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Social Media Aids Efforts to Help Victims of Earthquake in Haiti - Philanthropy.com

Social Media Aids Efforts to Help Victims of Earthquake in Haiti - Philanthropy.com: "Social Media Aids Efforts to Help Victims of Earthquake in Haiti

By Caroline Preston

People interested in helping victims of the earthquake that wracked Haiti yesterday are being encouraged to text and tweet their donations and publicize their support using the new technologies. At the same time, that instant communication has provided a platform for donors to ask charities tough questions about where to give and how their money will be used."

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