Who Were the 59 Smartest Nonprofits Online for 2006?

Today Squidoo.com, NetSquared, and GetActive unveiled their list of the 59 smartest nonprofits online. Winners were chosen for their excellence in online storytelling and collaboration with their donors.

http://www.59smartestorgs.com/

The 59 Smartest Orgs Awards come along at a time when web 2.0 is going strong, where user-collaboration and firing the gatekeepers is accepted—and expected—behavior online. But nonprofit organizations are redefining this web 2.0 meme for their own purposes, and using free new marketing tools in a powerful way that is quickly becoming known as Org 2.0.

Even for-profit marketers could learn a thing or two from these nonprofits, who’ve demonstrated Org 2.0 smarts through the use of:

- Videos and podcasts
- RSS feeds
- Blogs (and empowering the blogging community)
- Online communities and forums
- Microdonations (Squidoo.com, search engines, etc.)
- Creative advocacy and viral campaigns
- Empowering younger donors

And here’s what they DON'T do anymore:

- Communicate with donors only by occasional email newsletters, or even worse, direct mail
- Cringe at the idea of giving power to their supporters
- View donor interaction as a nuisance rather than an opportunity

The list of 59 winners ranges from the smallest animal shelter to some of the country’s best-known nonprofit superstars. And as you would expect from a rundown of Internet-savvy organizations, the theme of Org 2.0 participation extends to the list itself. Squidoo, GetActive and NetSquared aren’t determining the rank of each organization among the 59—users are, by casting their votes.

"The 59 on this list are smart risk-takers," said Megan Casey, Squidoo.com Editor in Chief. "They’re prepared to give their supporters a voice and get out of the way."

Winners were nominated by Squidoo, GetActive, and NetSquared, who all share a similar mission: to make it free, fun, and easy for people to support and talk about good causes online.

Questions about the 59 Smartest Orgs or Squidoo nonprofit partnership opportunities? Email Jill Gordon, Director of Philanthropy, at jill [at] squidoo.com

About Squidoo:

Squidoo LLC was founded by bestselling author, noted blogger, speaker and Original Squid, Seth Godin. The stated function of the site is to enable extraordinary people to painlessly engage in philanthropy. Nearly 50% of all Squidoo users donate the royalties they earn from the site to charity. Nonprofit Squidoo partners include the American Heart Association, The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, roomtoread.org, and 60 other well-known organizations.

About NetSquared:

NetSquared, a project of TechSoup, is dedicated to helping non-profit organizations understand, use and expand the social web. There's a whole new generation of online tools available - tools that make it easier than ever before to collaborate, share information and mobilize support. These tools include blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, podcasting, and more. Some people describe them as "Web 2.0"; we call them the social web, because their power comes from the relationships they enable.

About GetActive

GetActive provides online relationship management solutions that help organizations easily recruit, engage, and retain constituents. Organizations of all sizes are growing their lists, raising funds, optimizing constituent relationships, and improving campaign results with GetActive.