If you love the collaborative power of social media for social good, then you’ll love these awesome charitable social tools for non-profits and their supporters. 

Twitter

This great list of charitable “twools” is worth a peek if you like to tweet!

1. TwitCause:

TwitCause enables you to nominate and promote your organisation via @TwitCause. Get your followers and supporters to vote for you as the next TwitCause winner, and keep your fingers crossed – a new cause is promoted each week to more than 500,000 followers.

2. AdCause:

AdCause allows you to advertise on Twitter with all proceeds directed to your charity of choice (keep your eyes peeled for non-profit ads!).  

3. Act.ly:

Act.ly enables you to create and share petitions with the Twitter universe. Each person who signs your petition will be credited with a mention on their profile, giving props to your supporters and increasing the viral effect of your petition.  

4. Twitpay:

Twitpay is a simple way to receive donations on Twitter. All you need are Twitter and PayPal accounts and you’re good to go. 

5. Twestival:

A Twestival or (Twitter-Festival) is a global series of events aimed at bringing people offline for a great cause. It’s a good way to tweet, meet and give. 

Facebook

Facebook has just launched an amazing Resource Center for non-profits – essentially a how-to guide including educational materials, tutorials and a downloadable non-profit guide geared toward raising awareness and funds for causes specifically through the social network. From Pages to Events and Ads it’s all here!

Facebook Causes is another great way for organisations to raise funds and awareness online, and can be an easy way to support worthy causes. Check out their step-by-step tutorialif you’d like to add the tab to your page.  

Causes on PlanBig

Not sure which cause to get behind? Check out a few of these charities raising awareness for important causes on PlanBig:

 Oxfam Trailwalker Sydney

Chris is trying to raise funds for underprivileged people around the world through the 100km Oxfam Australia Trailwalker in Sydney. Donate or join the walk here.

Give Operation Angel Wings

Operation Angel was created as a result of the increasing frequency of natural disasters in recent years, with the aim of connecting disaster-struck communities with donated goods and services to try and help people get their lives back on track. Give Operation Angel Wings and volunteer or donate here. 

National Blood Drive

The National Blood Drive hopes to encourage 150 people to join the Red Cross Club online and give blood by the 30th of June. There are still a few days left to support this important cause – sign up here.

These are just a few of the many – check out our charities tab to view more. Good luck!

We’re nearing the silly season with the Christmas holidays fast approaching. In the spirit of giving, it’s been another busy month for the PlanBig community. 

Our PlanBiggers have been achieving great things this month, connecting and inspiring more and more people every day. We now have more than 2,370 likes on Facebook and more than 2,020 followers on Twitter.

We’ve put together some of the highlights from the month for your reading pleasure:

Bendigo Blues and Roots Music Festival

Colin began planning the first ever Bendigo Blues and Roots Music Festival nearly two years ago and this month all of his dreams and visions came true. The event was a huge success, with the three day festival featuring more than 55 acts as well as kids’ activities, face painting and craft workshops – there was something fun for everyone. You can see what Colin has been up to here.

Men’s Health Expo

This month John successfully hosted the Men’s Health Expo, an event committed to supporting and promoting men’s health. There were a number of community organisations present on the day including Movember, Vision 2020, Kidney Health Australia and the Red Cross Blood Bank – all lending a helping hand to this fantastic cause. You can check out John’s plan here.

Cruisin 4 a Cure

Vanessa has a plan to travel around Australia for 12 months in a motorhome with the goal of raising $1 million dollars for the Cancer Council. Vanessa successfully hosted a Bingo and Burlesque night to help contribute to the cancer research fund, raising a whopping $3,500 and has other activities lined up to help make her dream a reality. A fantastic effort Vanessa! Show your support here.

There are more inspiring plans to get behind next month – here are a few that would love your support:

The Fair@Square fair trade + ethical festival kicks off on December 2^nd

The Sheep Art Kaniva project will be launched on December 5^th

The COMPASS summer vacation program will be happening from December 12^th-22^nd

It’s been another busy month here on the PlanBig team, with lots of new plans (which I’ll mention at the end) and quite a few plans progressing along wonderfully. 

Some of the standouts this month are Rose Brown’s plan Websites for Charities, Vanessa Wyder’s Cruisin 4 a Cure and Jarrod Parker’s Bendigo Bank Blood Drive.

Websites for Charities is about providing a cheap and reliable way for not for profit (NFP’s) and charitable organisations to get into the online space. Rose and her husband have been working tirelessly on web.org.au and think they are almost at completion! If you think your NFP or Charity needs a quick and easy solution to getting online then take a sneak peak at the website design.

Cruisin 4 a Cure is the dream made reality by Vanessa to raise cancer awareness and funds. Vanessa is on a 12 month journey around Australia in her motor home in the hope of achieving her $1million target. You can have a look at Vanessa’s website here - http://www.cruisin4acure.org.au/. Also follow Vanessa on Twitter to keep up to date on where she is - @Cruisin4aCure. Below is a picture of Vanessa doing her thing!

Bendigo Bank Blood Drive is a group of staff members from Bendigo Bank branches across Melbourne who are rallying together to get more blood donations for the Red Cross. Jarrod is the driving force behind the plan and the group has organised various events to help get signed pledges for blood donations. Read more about the initiative on Jarrod’s Plan. Here is the team!

Last but not least, here’s a quick list of some of our new plans this month.

1. Anna Dang is trying to create an active clothes trading website through her plan My Secret Wardrobe.

2. Nicholas is raising awareness for scoliosis through his plan Support and Awareness for Scoliosis.

3. Jordan Gillman is trying to get a co-working space in Wollongong to give community driven people a communal place to work out of - Cowork The Gong.

Written by Heath Penbrook,

Community Manager at PlanBig.