The Chronicle of Philanthropy had a unique article on how some of the not-for-profit organizations are beginning to use video games and virtual worlds for fund raising and education purposes. It was very neat to see how some of the other organizations are using the technology. I cut and clipped out a section from the article and pasted it below.
Game Plan
Video games and virtual communities offer new ways for nonprofit groups to educate people about social needs
Fund-Raising Potential
Because sites like Second Life have developed methods of buying and selling items — whereby people from any country can use a charge card to purchase a special currency used on the site — joining with a virtual community opens the possibility of raising money.
In July, the American Cancer Society held its second annual Relay for Life online, the virtual equivalent of the walking and running races the charity holds across the country.
Online more than 1,000 avatars, each part of a relay team, spent 24 hours traversing a 192-square-acre course designed by volunteers. After passing the start line, the avatars traveled through virtual landscapes representing Amsterdam and New York, as well as towns in Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and elsewhere.
As avatars, the participants raised more than $41,000 from friends and family members who pledged a certain amount of money for each acre of the course they completed online. That was up from just over $5,000 in the virtual event's first year.
The cost to the cancer society for the online race was $1,200 to rent the virtual space, says Randal Moss, who helps develop new fund-raising approaches and other innovative efforts for the charity.
The cancer society is now opening a virtual office in Second Life to provide residents with the organization's educational materials, and to give volunteers a space to collaborate on ideas like the relay, Mr. Moss says.
Comments