e-philanthropy - Internet volunteering for the WLT

The WLT’s Web Manager passed me a copy of an article published on the internet on “How your non-profit can use the internet strategically” (www.guidestar.org/news/features/using_the_net.jsp). This was a fascinating insight into the use of the internet, but particularly interesting, as once again, it showed that the World Land Trust was certainly performing well above average.



According to the article, developing an effective e-philanthropy site typically costs hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Yet when I evaluated the WLT’s site against the criteria listed for an effective e-philanthropy site, we rated very high indeed. There are a few functions that we are currently unable to fulfil, but these are either irrelevant to our activities, or ones we have under consideration. One particular function, which we only started last month, was the involvement of e-volunteers. I see this as a very important part of the WLT’s future. Because of our effective and efficient web site, we are attracting supporters who are both computer literate, and also confident about making on line donations. There are plenty of other websites which have fancier graphics, but most serious we users don’t want this, they want a fast, efficient site.



Our next target is to spread the word –- and this is where our e-volunteers come in. They can help us refine and improve our existing web site, and they can also help us spread the word by passing on our website to friends and colleagues. They can also help us answer questions about how supporters use our site. If you are reading this blog, the chances are you will be an ideal e-volunteer – so why not contact helena*at*worldlandtrust.org, and sign up? (replace *at* with the symbol @ in your email address field.)