Improving Your World links non-profit organizations with the individual people who care, and the corporate sponsors who have the funding to support them. Users log on to the site and vote for the charitable cause which they support. With each vote, the corporate sponsors take note, and donate funds to that corresponding organization. Voting takes place over one month of time. Once the monthly voting has come to a close, the organization with the most votes receives 100% of the advertising dollars from the Improving Your World post-vote page. Causes that can be supported are varied, ranging from the fight against breast cancer to providing clean drinking water.
“Essentially, here at IYW we are using the broad scope of internet technology and mass collaboration to improve the world. We have set up a simple interface that allows visitors to learn about different organizations, share these organizations with others and then vote on which organization they would like to get the donation. Our donations are coming from corporate sponsors who will be advertising on the post-vote page. We have chosen the non-profits that we are featuring based on a number of reasons. Your role in the process of selecting which company gets the money can be as simple as voting once. However, we encourage you to spread the word and vote as much as possible (you can vote once daily). More votes mean more money from the sponsors and more money from the sponsors equals more money for the non-profit that wins!”
Improve Your World is a great way to engage philanthropists, concerned individuals, and the organizations that thrive on their assistance and support. However, this site has the potential to be biased, as one user may continuously vote for the same cause.
How can the voting system be moderated to ensure it is fair? What means can be introduced to encourage the spread of the word about this site? What social networks can be associated with to increase awareness?
