My 10 favorite Crowdsourcing platforms for social good
I have written often in this blog about the power of collective action and how crowdsourcing and crowdfunding platforms are changing the economy (also see: The top 10 ways people are changing the economy for more examples of people action´s to improve the world).
Today I want to share with you my 10 favourite crowdsourcing platforms for social good (defined as online, distributed problem-solving and production model.)”[6]
We are also mapping them in this map: Planet for Change so if you want to complete the list or upload other examples… Just join the movement!
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•OpenIDEO:
The OpenIDEO platform is a way to include a broader range of people in the design process through brainstorms, conception and evaluation. OpenIDEO partners with a non-profit to present the community with a social issue “challenge.” Community members then contribute to the process by providing feedback each step of the way until a solution is created and supported by the community.
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•ioby:
This crowdsourced fundraising site encourages users to create, fund and engage in local environmental projects. What makes ioby stand out is the local part. After you fund a local community garden, you can walk down the street and enjoy your investment. While this is currently only in New York City, expect the site to grow.
StartSomeGood connects social entrepreneurs with financial and intellectual capital. All projects address a social issue and provide rewards based on donation amounts.
MicroPlace enables you to make investments in the fight against worldwide poverty. What makes it stand out from 33Needs and StartSomeGood is that you actually receive money back — you’ll receive quarterly interest payments, and when your investment matures, you can choose to get your money back or to roll it over into another investment.
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•Sparked:
Sparked is an entirely-online volunteer network with more than 1,000 affiliated non-profits. These organizations post their needs online for volunteers to complete. Whether you have 10 minutes or 10 days, this is a much more productive way to spend your times than looking at your ex’s Facebook pics.
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•Ushahidi:
Ushahidi is non-profit tech company that specializes in developing free and open-source software for information collection, data visualization and mapping. It was originally created to map instances of violence in Kenya in early 2008, but has since expanded to work on a range of projects, from human rights to software development. If you are crowdsourcing events or data, check out the CrowdMap.
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•Causes:
So far, over 170 million people have taken action for over 500,000 unique campaigns through causes. The platform offered free and easy tools for passionate people to spread the word, find supporters, raise money, and build momentum.
This crudely put together website has an interesting idea — crowdsourced funding for advertising and media campaigns for non-profits. Keep an eye out to see where this one goes.
an online activism platform for social change that raises awareness about important causes and connects people to opportunities for powerful action. Their mission is to build an international network of people empowered to fight for what’s right locally, nationally, and globally.
Where we want to give visibility to people and organizations that are Driving Change through innovative solutions from different sectors (Third Sector, Public Sector Companies, Funders, etc..). We have begun to include some organizations, but if you do not see yours, please add it here.
Do you have a favourite example of social good crowdsourcing in action? Have you been part of a crowdsourcing project? Please let us know in the comments below.
Do you know The Art Boulevard? It is a crowdsourcing platform for artists and creatives so they can find the resources they need for their artistic projects.
“When crowdfunding is not enough to get your project off the ground, The Art Boulevard helps you find the services, ideas, content, venues, and other resources you might need to make your arts project a reality.”
Thanks Elodie! great project. I will share it! best
There’s also Goteo.org and sponsume.com. I like them both, although they have different approaches.
Thanks! I have included Goteo in a previous post as Crowdfunding platform…
http://wp.me/p1Soxc-1AY
but will also include it here… thanks for the idea!
I have a few to add (although none of them have an economic or financial focus) but here are:
wikipedia.org and their sister sites – not surprising, but great
librivox.org – volunteers record audiobook versions of public-domain literature
pgdp.net – Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders check and edit e-book versions of public domain literature against the originals
The Internet Archive and in particular their Openlibrary.org – archvie anything from websites to catalogue entries for all books.
sourceforge.net – an open source development platform. Granted they are not completely not-for-profit, but the available software incl. the products of the Apache Foundation have all that I need as far as software goes.
Thanks a lot! I will include them aswell in a new version of this post… Thanks!!
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Just came across your crowdsourcing list article about doing good. I think the list did a great job highlighting a few creative ways people are turning to crowdsourcing to improve the world.
I’m a partner at OurCrowd, a crowdfunding platform that lets small startups raise investment money from investors. We also encourage all our startups to donate a share of their company to the charity of their choice.
Great!
Thanks a lot. I will include it in the list!
best
thanks!
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