good2gether Debuts Philanthropic Social Networking Service at DEMO 08
Published January 28th, 2008
PALM DESERT, Calif., - The world of philanthropy gained a powerful ally today with the unveiling of good2gether at DEMO 08, the renowned showcase for innovative personal technology products. Part search engine, part social network, good2gether is a latest-generation Web 2.0 platform that solves the biggest problem nonprofits have had for years: connecting with sufficient numbers of donors, volunteers, and advocates. By giving nonprofits access to an online network of millions of unique visitors through its media partners — at no cost to the organization — good2gether is making it possible for nonprofits to reach the do-gooder in all of us.
Founded by entrepreneur Gregory McHale, good2gether came on the heels of his experience at cMarket, an online auction service designed to help nonprofits engage more constituents, and raise more money, which he founded in 2002.
“good2gether was born of my realization that nonprofit Web sites aren’t reaching enough people to meet their needs, and that young, tech-savvy Americans don’t respond to traditional outreach efforts-they expect to find and connect with causes online,” said McHale.
He continued, “Meanwhile, newspaper Web sites have millions of local visitors every month who are reading a lot of bad news, but finding nothing that answers the ‘What can I do about it?’ question. By aggregating hyper- local content from nonprofits-like details about their programs and events — and delivering it at partner Web sites-like local newspapers — good2gether answers that question. We’re literally transforming cause into effect.”
good2gether was handpicked for DEMO 08 by DEMO Executive Producer and emerging technology analyst Chris Shipley, who predicted the success of products including TiVo, Skype, VMware, and IronPort.
“DEMO is about identifying winning products and uncovering trends in the technology field,” said Shipley. “good2gether has the hallmarks of success — a great product from an innovative entrepreneur and the mass appeal to engage a broad range of consumers — and, above all, it taps into the larger trend toward grassroots involvement, particularly among GenY-ers, that is taking our nation by storm.”
How It Works
good2gether is part search engine, part social network. Though it launches with a focus on major media partners, good2gether can be made available anywhere on the Internet-at the Web sites of radio and television stations, colleges and universities, on corporate intranets (to drive employee cause engagement), at national or regional magazines, or at social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook. good2gether’s innovation encompasses an easy-to-use content management system built on a highly-scalable Web 2.0 platform; high- profile partnerships that enable vast distribution of content; a highly- leveraged economic model; and its connect2cause(TM) widget-a small bit of code that gets dropped into a media partner Web site, scanning and indexing articles and delivering deep links based on relevance. For example, a connect2cause(TM) widget next to an article on Katrina would display links to local events, volunteer opportunities, and organizations whose focus is Katrina, right alongside that article.
For Media Partners
good2gether begins by partnering with the Web sites of major newspapers. Eager to create new online content, reach local readers, encourage nonprofit involvement, and attract new advertisers, these media partners agree to host good2gether’s drop-in “Do Good(TM) Channel” at no cost. Once the Channel is in place, visitors can browse, search, share or connect with myriad local and national nonprofits in one or two clicks. Media partners are the first step in good2gether’s networking web, as they reach a diverse and engaged audience of millions of Americans.
For Nonprofits
Once it has established a media partner in a specific region, good2gether reaches out to area nonprofit organizations to connect them with their local audience. Nonprofits that join the good2gether network do so free of charge and use its online content management system to easily publish and distribute information about their events, programs, volunteer opportunities, in-kind donation needs, and more, to “Do Good(TM) Channels” across the network.
For Corporate Sponsors
good2gether closes the networking circle by bringing on corporate sponsors to host each media partner’s “Do Good(TM) Channel” and to sponsor linked pages within the Channel. The platform enables businesses to deliver their corporate social responsibility messaging in a targeted, scalable fashion otherwise unavailable.
good2gether at Launch
With the San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle and other major newspapers in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Atlanta already signed on to the good2gether network, partnerships are expected to extend to other top media markets by the end of 2008. Nonprofits like the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, Best Buddies, Earth Share, National Audubon Society, Multiple Sclerosis Association of America, Reading Is Fundamental, Points of Light & Hands On Network and over 100 others have already joined the network, in anticipation of good2gether’s first public launch in Boston this Spring. Through these launch partners, good2gether will reach more than 125,000 nonprofit organizations who in turn serve millions of like-minded people.
McHale will offer a full presentation of good2gether and its capabilities on January 30 at DEMO, and is on hand throughout the conference for individual presentations. To learn more, visit http://www.good2gether.com.
About good2gether:
good2gether is a new search and social media Web service that connects people to causes, through a broad network of websites, including major media outlets, corporate intranets, college/university websites, social networks, and more. Built on a scalable, Web 2.0 platform, good2gether enables nonprofits to enter volunteering opportunities, events, in-kind donation needs, etc., once — then distributes this info across the entire network, to everyone’s benefit: nonprofits leverage free traffic, media partners get local content and fresh ad revenue, sponsors deliver their social responsibility messaging in a targeted, scalable fashion — and people get an easy way to discover, share, and engage with causes. Learn more at http://www.good2gether.com.
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