‘zooGooders: The Wonders of Widgets

I was recently asked by Geoff Livingston, co-founder of Zoetica, to join a new council of do-gooders called ‘zooGooders: we are a group of bloggers and non-profit professionals who are testing a new widget from Razoo, an online fundraising site, that allows you to complete an entire transaction within the frame of the widget, on your website or blog. It can be customized with a logo or photos, cause background, and even the donation levels. Another plus: Razoo takes one of the lowest transaction fees (2.9%), lower than Global Giving, Causes, or Crowdrise.

I’m listed in the council membership on behalf of this blog, Lagniappe, but I’m also interested in new fundraising tactics and tools for my organziation, the UN Foundation, and its campaigns. So that’s why I created my version of the widget for Girl Up (check out the widget here), the campaign I work on. Sadly, WordPress doesn’t allow external javascript widgets to be embedded, so I (along with a couple of other ‘zooGooders) had to instead embed a button that links to our widget on Razoo. See it to the right? The good part is that this is one of the kinks that our council is set up for – to advise Razoo on how to improve the widget so it is as effective as possible for anyone who wants to use it to raise funds for a cause – whether you are a blogger, an organization, an individual, etc.

On our first ‘zooGooders call, it was clear that each person was selected for different reasons – and it’s a mighty fine council at that. The reach, skills, and expertise of the group, not to mention the causes we’re all supporting, makes it diverse and strong – and I’m excited to share experiences and suggestions, and brainstorm together about fundraising through new technology. Along with our weekly calls featuring experts in our field, we’ll also be hosting a weekly Twitterchat that anyone can join in. Check #zooGood to be a part of the conversation!

Excited to move forward with ‘zooGooders!

(Note: In light of the post above, this is to note that I am not endorsing any online fundraising platform above the other on behalf of my employer.)