Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes has launched a beta of a social network for charities called Jumo.
According to the LA Times blog, the site lets people discover charities that matter to them and lets them follow charities that their friends are watching.
Each cause has a news stream, letting users keep updated on what is happening in the hopes it will allow people to develop a stronger relationship with these organisations.
When a user first logs into Jumo with a Facebook account, they take a survey which points them in the direction of organisations they may be interested in or those of their friends.
The Jumo home page and weekly email gives users news on these causes, along with Twitter updates, YouTube videos and comments from friends.
Some 3,500 organisations are already on the site and anyone “with a mission” can create a page. Only tax-exempt organisations can solicit donations.
However, Hughes has said charities should only look for donations once someone has become more engaged with the cause.
Social media guru
Hughes helped Mark Zuckerberg create Facebook when still at Harvard University. He was nicknamed “The Empath” for developing popular new features for the social networking site.
Hughes is also known as the social media guru responsible for helping US President Barack Obama build his heavyweight online brand.
With such an impressive background, this could be the push needed to help charities make significant leaps into raising awareness of their causes online. Hughes has already raised $3.5m to fund the not-for-profit Jumo.
