Facebook causes contest drawing to a close

Stephanie Strom proves once again she really does have her finger on the pulse of the fundraising world by putting out a story in the New York Times on America’s Giving Challenge and the contest being run on Facebook's Causes application.

Strom points out that smaller charities are kicking larger charities butts.

Love Without Boundaries, which raised just $1.2 million in 2006, has attracted the most donors in 10 different 24-hour periods, winning $1,000 each time.

Compare that to Amnesty International:

Amnesty established a presence on Facebook in May and has raised about $15,000 from 200,000 Facebook members. They were the first people Amnesty contacted when it decided to participate in America’s Giving Challenge, and they were asked to work to get five friends to donate at least $10. If they succeeded, they would get a copy of the CD “Instant Karma.” But no one has claimed the prize yet, and Amnesty had garnered just $540 by Wednesday afternoon.

It's an interesting article... but maybe an even more interesting question - are smaller organizations really better positioned to raise money in these forums or are the larger organizations simply making rational decisions to focus their efforts on bigger revenue goals than a $50,000 popularity contest?