Twitter Users Raise Money for Charity: Water

In these tough economic times, charities have been forced to be creative in their fundraising strategies. Social networking sites such as Facebook, You Tube, and Twitter are often mentioned as effective strategies for broadening donor base and reaching new audiences. Recently, Charity: Water, a non-profit working to provide safe, accessible drinking water to developing countries used Twitter to raise more than a quarter of a million dollars for their cause. (Founded in 2006, Charity: Water has not been operating long enough to meet Charity Navigator’s criteria, so we cannot evaluate them at this time.)

Twestival was organized entirely by volunteers via Twitter. It brought Twitter users together in 175 cities around the world, giving them a chance to socialize off-line and in-person while also raising money for charity. So far the event has raised over $250,000 – still short of the ambitious $1 million goal, but with only 60% of participating cities having tallied their contributions, that figure is expected to rise.