Fighting these statistics is the nonprofit organization, Charity: Water.  With a singular mission to bring safe and clean drinking water to people in developing nations, the organization has and is working on a total of 2321 water projects around the globe.  While I like to focus on grassroots sustainability, the magnitude and breadth of Charity: Water’s work is inspiring.

Today is the launch of the organization’s Unshaken campaign, a $1.3 million effort to help Haitians get clean water.  It’s an ambitious project with an ambitious goal: 100 percent of all donations will fund 11 large-scale projects serving 40,000 people. 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Charity: Water is a fluid master at giving donors, supporters and interested parties narrative that pops.  Their website is an easy-to-navigate mix of simple messaging, multimedia content and a bit of pop marketing flair, possibly derived from Founder Scott Harrison’s background as an NYC nightclub promoter.

The Unshaken campaign is no exception.  A fantasticly edited and powerful video (below) shows the rationale behind the campaign.  The eleven projects are told and sold with arresting slide shows and succinct stories.  Want to help?  The donate and sponsor tabs are clear and separate from the general donation page .  If you support the cause, but lack the cash, you can help the organization by tweeting their message or adding a banner to your site.  Such endeavors are easy with a Spread the Word page, a fantastic way to consolidate supporter efforts.

When it comes down to it, a nonprofit is good ideas buoyed by great support.  The ability to navigate new media to  show, tell and SELL is crucial.  I think Charity: Water is one of the foremost international development nonprofits to excel at these qualities.  What do you think?

 A  nonprofit with a Washington State U.S. office, World Vision works in almost 100 countries in sustainable international development, disaster response and U.S. anti-poverty projects to create better lives for children worldwide.  Spending 86.7% of funding on program expenses, this Christian-based organization notes in its vision statement that it serves “all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.

Beyond the excellent work the organization does, I like that it reaches its audiences on multiple levels.  The handwritten card denotes time,an incentive for certain levels of donation  and customer consciousness.  Looking into World Vision’s web content, it is clear that the organization knows their audiences, where they click and   meets them there. 

A video and interactive map compose much of the landing page, but don’t overshadow nice orange tabs to programs, sponsorships, galleries and slide shows.  Without overwhelming an audience member of any generation or web 2.0-savvy, World Vision presents great content.  Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube channel links mark the top of the page, but don’t clutter any content.

Marketing Strategist David Meerman Scott   looks to reaching various audiences as crucial to any online marketing.  he notes that knowing what is important to your target demographic is key to success. 

Here is World Vision’s recent YouTube Video requesting donations for Haiti  featuring Hugh Jackman:

What are your thoughts?  Should large nonprofit organizations switch completely to online marketing methods?  If you are a donor, what correspondence and/or marketing reaches you best?  If you work for a nonprofit organization, what methods of outreach compel the greatest response?

When discussing Direct Relief International, I noted that purpose and audience should drive a video’s  format, production, etc.  Direct Relief’s videos target an audience with an interest in the organization or its approach.

Charity: Water’s video follows Gillin’s AEIOU (B) rule, but in contrast is high in production and entertainment value:

I love this video.  Short, empowering and vivid, it clearly targets a larger audience pool.  Scott Harrison, Charity: Water’s founder, once worked in promotions for the New York nightlife scene.  Perhaps his experiences inform the more flashy PSAs and videos on the nonprofit’s YouTube channel. 

Charity: Water is no stranger to new media promotion and marketing, and has used the YouTube medium to its fullest advantage.  In fact, YouTube introduced me to Charity: Water;  the nonprofit won a contest as one of the top four charities viewers wanted highlighted on the site.  My first thought: “Huh.  That’s a really good video.”

Such tactics bring us back to my first point: purpose. Charity: Water is a youthful nonprofit reaching out to a wide and youthful audience.  These videos troll for donors versus inform interested parties.  Either way, “That’s a really good video.”

Tod Defren, author of PR-Squared , recently mused over the differences between the PR and advertising guys when it comes to new media.  He lingered over the fact that PR practitioners may be better suited to the medium as our role is sustain relationships with our audiences…interesting.

The post got me thinking about new media, particularly blogs, and nonprofit institutions.  When it comes to securing a loyal donor base, a nonprofit organization must establish an ongoing relationship with their audiences.  A blog, while slightly labor intensive, is a tactic to reach out to donors and create an online identity.

Grassroots International, based in Boston, MA, is a perfect example of an organization on the cusp of creating an online identity.  The nonprofit spends 78% of their funds on program expenses and received a 4/4-star rating from charity navigator.  These  funds are mainly used for grants and partnerships with local organizations to sustainably (an issue close to my heart)  bring change, particularly in resource rights.

Grassroots International has some fantastic blog posts attached to the site.  Meaningful, poignant, though sometimes a bit long,  they speak to the nonprofit’s projects and issues of human rights.  Each post has a clear call to action at the end, whether it be “donate,” “voice your opinion,” or “spread the word .”

I see two ways that the blog medium could be more powerful for Grassroots International.  Primarily, the blog should have its own link, and not be buried in the news tab.  Written by many authors, blog readers could choose a post  by category.

If you allow readers a simple and fast way to access the conversation, they should be permitted to join.  Nowhere on the internal  blog posts is there a way to contribute to the postings.  With such progressive and sometimes controversial posts, this blog would be an excellent forum to foster dialogue.

What do you think?  How can blogs be best used in the nonprofit sector?