Tuesday, December 11, 2007

FT.com / Partnership Publishing - Giving in the internet age

FT.com / Partnership Publishing - Giving in the internet age: "Giving in the internet age By Sarah Murray Published: December 10 2007 17:26 | Last updated: December 10 2007 17:26 This year, some people will be receiving rather unusual Christmas presents. Among the gifts will be goats, condoms, agricultural fertiliser and schoolbooks. The gifts – which can be purchased on Oxfam Unwrapped, part of the UK-based charity’s website – are not delivered to the friends and family of the giver, but to needy communities in the developing world.

Oxfam Unwrapped is just one example of how the internet is changing philanthropy. Not only is it giving individual donors an easy means of sending money or gifts to remote parts of the world. The web allows the rapid spread of information about pressing social and environmental problems. Moreover, it is providing a forum for the exchange of knowledge and ideas between charities and non-profit groups, facilitating a more “open source” approach to coming up with solutions to seemingly intractable problems."

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