Causes was featured in the New York Times Giving Section today.   Read the full article or the excerpt below.

BRAD SUGARS says he believes that cancer can be defeated, one birthday at a time.

On his 38th birthday this year, Mr. Sugars, a skin cancer survivor and chief executive of the professional coaching firm ActionCoach, decided to raise money for the Cancer Schmancer Movement, a nonprofit organization devoted to the detection and early treatment of the disease.

With a few quick clicks on Facebook, Mr. Sugars installed a program called “Causes” on his profile page and asked each of his 3,000 friends on the social network to contribute at least $38. Within a few weeks, more than 50 had given — some generously. By matching each donation, Mr. Sugars raised nearly $8,000 for the charity.

“They make it so easy to do this,” he said. “This is a way to challenge people to go do something good.”

The age of social media has empowered amateur journalists, fledgling presidential candidates and creative corporate marketers. Now, some say, it is time for nonprofit groups to harness the power of 140-character Tweets and Facebook status updates to recruit volunteers, spread awareness and solicit donations.

“Big checks don’t scale,” said Scott Harrison, founder of Charity: Water, a nonprofit organization devoted to digging fresh water wells in developing countries. “The only way we can truly expand our efforts is through tapping individuals through social media.”

For the full article, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/giving/12FACE.html?_r=1