CharityFocus started off by building websites for nonprofits.  As the nature of the web evolved rapidly, though, the nature of services evolved too.  Over time, we created a tool called CFSites.org, to supplement our Service eXchange program, and soon that supplement became a stand-alone project.  In October of 2008, we shifted our focus from PledgePage and decided to put more muscle into CFSites -- and now, on some busy days, we are seeing more then 30 new websites per day! :)

So I found myself asking: who exactly is using the CFSites tool?  I looked up the ten most popular websites on CFSites, and it was a delight to see the *very* wide range of applications!

1)			Special Olympics Indiana- Pulaski County A site dedicated to the campaign for making Pulaski county of Indiana be officially recognized as a Special Olympics County.
2)			Vision IAS A learning platform, with documents and resources, for IAS candidates in India.
3)			Culture Connections A nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting diverse cultures and communities, particularly economically disadvantaged locales of SF bayarea.
4)			Search For Jef Jef went missing, the community and well-wishers panicked and started a huge search (with the website as their prime organizer), and finally he was found and the site was replaced with a one-pager.
5)			Chicago Community Chorus: Where Everybody Loves to Sing People in Chicago singing to make a difference!  The site has information on upcoming events, music samples, and ways to get tutored.
6)			Rescue ME A private effort/dream to provide an animal rescue and sanactuary for the homeless, abused and neglected pets.
7)			African Christian Youth Development Foundation A grassroot effor in Nigeria -- yes, not everything from Nigeria is spam -- to uplift the youth.  Sponsor a Child to past history and current programs are on their site.
8)			Strength Based Strategies A conference portal for an event sponsored by an NGO in Australia and India, it has all kind of information for conference participants to get involved.
9)			Dancing Little Feathers Site for children of Native American Indians to bridge the modern world with their indigenous values.
10)			Balbuzards du Parc National d'Al Hoceima Last but not least, a site in French!  Dedicating to a hawk found in the National Park of Al Hoceima. :)

To date, 3602 "CF sites" have attracted 3.5 million visitors from around the globe.  I think Matt will be smiling big that his little technology creation is helping so many. :)

Yesterday, PledgePage crossed the 5,000 mark for the first time. If you go to the home page, top left hand corner will read something like:

5014 PledgePage sites have generated 16,394,790 hits to raise well over $2,800,313 for good causes around the globe. Thank you.

The money is at least 4x the amount (because there's no incentive to report it on the site), but we generally count is as 2x -- which is over $5 million dollars. That's a pretty big number. :)

A big thank-you to it's five founders -- John, Chris, Neil, Peter, and Dennis -- for helping so many people.

Last year, we revamped the front-end of the site, every quarter, we anonymously inspiring PledgePages with ten-bucks and a greeting card, and in the coming quarter, we are hoping to revamp the back-end and bring PledgePage to newer heights! Major thanks to Pete and Brinda, for constantly keeping the flame burning.

Happy Spring everyone!

Here's a "quick pick" of some worthy PledgePages that received special messages/donations/smile cards enclosed in hand-made cards ... hese were sent out during the holiday season and we will send out another batch soon. Thanks to Hema and Nikhil for making beautiful cards, and thanks to those who signed them so thoughtfully. You should check out these pages and feel free to post a message in the guestbook -- and make someone's day!

• Scott & Weirdo's Double H PledgePage: raising funds for a special camp for sick children (like the "hole in the wall gang" camp, also started by Paul Newman).
• Agostino Lucia Undergraduate Endowment: started by Lucien in memory of his father--a scholarship fund for studies on the environment at NC State.
• Tyler Smith's PledgePage: a 10 year old riding for a cure for multiple sclerosis.
• Robert Sasse's PledgePage: supporting the work of doctors who work with hill tribes in Thailand.
• Jen Wright's PledgePage: running 2 marathons a month apart for the leukemia/lymphoma society.
• Anne Katrine: (this event already happened in 2006, but I was so inspired reading her pledgepage) -- climbing Mt Elbrus to raise funds for ovarian cancer research.
• The Great COFE for CF: (once again) ... a guy with cystic fibrosis cycling across Europe to raise awareness about the disease and funds for research...an amazing pledgepage by Walter.
• Grandma Wong: (most of you already know about her plight--since one of our volunteers posted an entry about her) ... an older woman about to get evicted in Oakland.

That's it for now, but stay tuned for news of more PledgePage highlights. There are an awful lot of amazing people out there hiking and biking and walking and running and swimming and climbing ... for great causes. There are also lots of people using PledgePages to bring attention to issues and causes we may not know about ... I will try to update this "summary" about once a month.

With gratitude,
Brinda

We gave you word of the our latest ten-bucks club and here are selections ... it's quite awesome to see the breadth and depth of the PledgePage use.

• The Great COFE for Cystic Fibrosis: Walter -- riding from Paris to Istanbul for cystic fibrosis (he himself has the disease, and is spreading awareness about it).
  
  
• Supporting Sandra Tellis: a fundraiser for a woman who was brutally attacked in Oakland.
  
  
• Mother-Daughter Canal Ride: Imagine Gosling, our thirty foot narrow boat, travelling from Huntingdon to Hebden Bridge. Imagine Mother and daughter co-owners raising money for forest restoration. Imagine a journey of 315 miles with 240 locks, 5 moveable bridges, 21 small aqueducts and 5 tunnels.
  
  
• Neals Run To Fight Thyroid Cancer: themselves are battling thyroid cancer and are running a total of 3000 miles to raise money for thyroid cancer research
  
  
• The Joseph Hanbury Children's Fund: to support the children of Joseph Hanbury, who passed away unexpectedly (" Joe's Kids").
  
  
• Michelle's Volunteering!: traveling to Africa (Tanzania) to do volunteer work as part of Cross Cultural Solutions.
  
  
• Summit Challenge 2006: Jordan Crouch is raising money for her alma mater, the Seattle Pacific University by climbing the 14,410 feet of Mt. Rainier.
  
  
• Walking to D'Feet ALS: fund set up for Rick to help him with his medical expenses (unlike any other PledgePage site -- with animated photos et al).
  
  
• Charlotte's Wellness Fund: to help someone who has faced tremendous physical and mental hardships and who has overwhelming hospital bills to pay.
  
  
• Mujeres por la justicia, educacion y el reconocimiento: helping poor women in Guatemala become self-sufficient (a PledgePage entirely in Spanish!).
  
  

Next month, the team is planning a children's gathering where they will share the story of the selected PledgePages and have them hand-make the cards. Inspiring stuff! Many many kudos to Brinda.

Couple months ago, Brinda started posting encouraging guestbook message for inspiring PledgePage she read.

Now, she's taking it to the next level: every quarter, we will select ten PledgePages, send them an anonymous card with an encouraging note, and toss in a ten-dollar bill in the envelope.

Last quarter, Brinda selected 10 PledgePages, Hemanta (from the ProPoor team) hand-made ten stunning cards, we were donated $100 anonymously from a car-washing crew, and we shipped out the cards with a silent wish for fulfillment of their all their missions.

We'll post up the list of ten PledgePage shortly. If you have any ideas to take this to the next level, do comment away!

Update: See Brinda's Top-Ten online.

Hi there,

As I was signing guestbooks on pledgepages today, I came across a VERY special one that you just HAVE to check out:

http:/cofe.pledgepage.org describes the journey that Walter will take on his bicycle following the route of "The Orient Express" from Paris to Istanbul, to raise awareness (and funds for) of cystic fibrosis. Walter has cystic fibrosis and will be joined by others who have had lung transplants on this tremendous bicycle ride.

If you have a moment, please check out his web page--it is truly amazing, and please drop him a few encouraging words as well by signing his guestbook.

Thanks!

Hello there,

As always, the PledgePages this month are inspiring and showcase the huge variety of ways in which people are making a difference in this world. A few highlights include:

• a simple page in which one person wishes to "To Help Those In Mexico That Hav NOthing , no food no electricty, No Nothing! (hope she keeps a diary in the future)
  
• a group of women trying to establish education and economic self-sufficiency for women in Guatemala
  
• a son who wishes to honor his father's memory with an "endowment to support an underprivileged, deserving undergraduate student for his or her work in the natural sciences and engineering."
  
  
• supporting students whose work will make the planet "greener" ... plus the "usual" mountain-climbers, bikers, runners and walkers sweating it out to raise valuable research funds for cancer, diabetes, and the list goes on ... of everyday heroes whose hearts and minds carry them to walk that extra mile for someone else.

Signing PledgePage guestbooks on a regular basis makes me feel connected with these folks whom I don't know, but who I want to cheer on and thank for their efforts. It's a little way of being able to "plug in" to all the positive energy that IS out there. I hope all of you can do find two minutes to encourage someone as well.

I have to end today with a personal note--- a very close friend of mine passed away yesterday (after being kept on life-support for 3 days after a drowning accident) in North Carolina. I had gotten an email from her just a few days before this happened, and in it she was soliciting help from friends to help out a family (whom she didn't know) who had been recently struck by tragedy. I couldn't help but think of how many "pass it on's" my friend has done in her all-too short life, and how I want to honor her memory by doing more.....
this got me thinking about how a lot of the pledgepages I have read are being carried out "in memory of"......a loved one. What better way to honor someone
whom you have cherished.....

With smiles,

Brinda

Hi there,

I've been signing guestbooks for PledgePages and am constantly inspired by how many people are out there running or walking or climbing or biking or swimming or you name it -- for great causes. From supporting cancer research to raising money for schools, these everyday heroes are putting their muscle to good use!

I am constantly amazed too by how loss leads to these tremendous gifts of service ... it brings tears to my eyes to read about the events that have brought people to contribute their skills towards these goals.

Reading the diary of a first-time marathoner or mountain climber is itself inspiring as well, as you see the the amazing transformations and personal journeys unfold... for example, check out Jen Wright's pledge page -- she is running TWO marathons, just one month apart, to raise money for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society!

Cheers for now,

Brinda

PledgePage is about everyday heroes. And today, our site got a major facelift to support those journeys in a deeper way. First thing I notice is this image on Jackie Smith's page:

Jackie writes: "I was first diagnosed with Multiple Schlerosis in 1992 . The hardest part was the unpredictable nature of the disease — not knowing if and when I will have a relapse. I realized that in order to fight this disease, I needed to stay as active as possible and make the most of each day. I started working out at the gym and slowly with the help of a trainer improve my stamina and endurance." On April 22, she will attempt to bicycle 150 kilometers to raise money for finding a cure for MS.

Thank you, Jackie. By running the PledgePage service, we get to serve and connect with people like you. It's an honor.

While we are working to launch the next rev of PledgePage, it's always nice to hear from our buddies like JC:

Thanks for your help with Pledgepage. Our group, Running for the Cure, raised $67,000 for the Jimmy Fund which helps fight cancer in children. It's a great site and we could not have done it without you. Thanks, JC

Thanks Ashish for forwarding the 'helpers' email.