Squidblog

Squidoo makes it easy for people to raise and donate money to important charities. It also gives you a headstart on spreading the word about issues that matter to you.

Okay, you knew that part.

The part that’s not so easy, of course, is organizing people. Sure, one lens that donates to JDRF is nice. Sure, one voice is important. But too many nonprofits stop there. They’re not sure how to involve their volunteers in making lenses, too. They frequently say: “Okay, I’m on Squidoo — now what?”

Christopher Scott from A Day of Hope knows the answer. Yesterday he posted this note to our Activists Group, a group of lensmasters especially interested in making lenses for and about charity. Without waiting on anyone (what for?) or asking permission (to do good?), Christopher is planning a community charity challenge for November, Day of Hope month! Here’s his idea:

“A Day of Hope is a program that I run which delivers baskets of food and turkeys to needy families for Thanksgiving. It is also listed as one of Squidoo’s partner charities.

I wanted to challenge everyone to build lenses on all the good stuff that comes along with Thanksgiving… food! Maybe we could have everyone build lenses on their favorite Thanksgiving meals like mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing, gravy…

Royalties from the lens could be donated to A Day of Hope, or (of course) any other Squidoo partner charity.”

If Christopher gets just 100 of his fellow volunteers and friends in on something like this, not only do they wind up sharing great content and recipes and a spirit of thanks on the web, but they also make an impact that grows, month by month, lens by lens.

Does it cost anything? Sure: a little bit of attention, a little bit of time.

Try it. Try making a lens for a Day of Hope. Or for another charity you like. Better yet, if you’re a nonprofit, come up with your own holiday program and tell your best supporters about it.