Betterverse: Nonprofits in the Virtual World

Dramatic Machinima on Virtual Marathon for Medical Research

 

Hamlet at New World Notes pointed me to this remarkable machinima video that dramatizes a virtual marathon organized by the group IMRIC to raise funds for several worthwhile medical research projects.  I love the rich quality of the filmmaking, the use of voiceover, music, and atmospherics that draw the viewer in.  And the connection to Albert Einstein is very well done.

I hope they publish the figures about how much was raised afterwards.  I'm not a big fan of using virtual worlds for fundraising efforts like this, in comparison to other forms of fundraising.  But creative efforts like this can certainly raise the profile of important research and researchers working on finding cures for these terrible diseases and afflictions.

By the way, if you were inspired, it's not too late to donate.  Head to the IMRIC site for more info.

How Four Rutgers Students Organized a Charity Concert in Second Life (video)

 

Here's a very detailed and multi-faceted video documenting how a group of students at Rutgers University organized a benefit concert for the nonprofit Project Jason at the Nonprofit Commons space in Second Life. 

This is a great breakdown for folks who want a detailed understanding of what it would take to put on an event in Second Life.  The community would really benefit from seeing more post-event descriptions like this.

Congrats to Joe, Tom, Hayli and Olivia for doing such a great job on your first virtual event! Hopefully not the last!

Second Life Christmas Expo to Benefit American Cancer Society December 3-18

From now until December 18, avatars can enjoy the Christmas Expo, a festive benefit for the American Cancer Society taking place over four sims in Second Life.  The festival will feature a singing competition, a race, shopping, auctions and raffles, and several parties with live and DJed music.  It's a great way to celebrate the holidays while benefiting a great cause.

Start at the Snowflake sim to find all the action (teleport link.) See the full announcement after the jump, or head to the official blog for details.  

 

Help Wanted for Benefit Concert for Project Jason on December 10 in Second Life

We got the word that a group of students at Rutgers University are holding a virtual concert in Second Life this Saturday, December 10 as a benefit for the nonprofit Project Jason.  Project Jason, founded in 2003, is dedicated to creating public awareness of missing persons through outreach and educational activities.

The students are quite new to Second Life, so they are requesting help with setting up their equipment to stream in an acoustic music set into Second Life, as well as outreach and marketing help.  Any musicians or producers who would like to help should contact Joe Zorzi at joezorzi@ gmail.com or contact them through their Facebook page.

The concert will take place on December 10 from 7-8pm PT on the Aloft Nonprofit Commons at this teleport link.  

Einstein Says: Sponsor a Scientist Avatar to Fund Medical Research!

 

I love love this machinima starring Albert Einstein to advertise this  virtual marathon for science research on December 11. Sponsored by the Institute for Medical Research Israel Canada, this is essentially an innovative way to get people to pony up $25 or more to support different strains of medical research, from Alzheimers Disease to visual impairment. 

In a surprising bit of versimillitude, according to New World Notes, the sponsors got the permission from the estate of Albert Einstein to use his likeness for this appeal.

Each cause is personified by different avatars of specific researchers working on a cure of that particular disorder. This is a nice way of humanizing the search for cures and treatments, rather than faceless institutions.  You literally get to see the researcher's avatars racing around a track and root for your favorite cause to win. The winning avatar apparently gets a larger share of the research money, while the other groups get the remainder. 

While I am in general not bullish on the use of virtual platforms for fundraising, at least compared to other online and offline mechanisms, this sounds like a smart use of the technology.  I hope this is a big success!

(Hat tip to NWN)

BoobieThon : an Irreverent Fundraiser for Breast Cancer Research October 1-7

I unfortunately got the news a bit late that this week from October 1-7 is "BoobieThon" , a tongue-in-cheek series of events in Second Life to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research.  Sponsored by the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the festival features art, fashion, poetry and even a burleque show! Sounds like a lot of fun for a great cause.

Head here for the complete schedule and more information.  Or head there directly at this teleport link.

BTW, news and event notices can always be send to me at rik @betterverse.org, ideally at least two weeks ahead of time.

The Avatar Charitable Trust: Supporting the Arts, Education and General Welfare in Second Life and Real Life

Gentle Heron sent me this info about a new charity called the "Avatar Charitable Trust" starting out in Second Life. The Avatar Charitable Trust describes itself as "a foundation in Second Life" whose goals are to:

1. raise funds to be used to financially promote charitable endeavors for the arts, humanitarianism, education, and the general welfare of avatars in Second Life and people in real life, 
2. promote goodwill, personal fulfillment, and enjoyment among those in the Second Life community, 
3. promote non political, non sectarian, non discriminatory, and non violent causes for the good of us all, and 
4. improve the standard of our lives in the virtual world of Second Life.

According to an article in AVENUE Magazine, June 2011, the trust has so far given out a total of 13,000 Linden dollars in grants to various causes.  

If you have questions about the Trust, or would like to apply for a grant, contact Executive Director, Chuk Edman, or Operations Director, Lillie Radek.  You can also visit them inworld at their office at Breakers sim (teleport link).

2011 Second Life Relay for Life Wrap-up: $375K Raised, 3K Participants!

Poppy Zabelin, tireless marketing chair of the Second Life Relay for Life, shares this final press release from the 2011 Relay.  It was the biggest year ever for this ground-breaking virtual world fundraiser and awareness raiser focused on the fight against cancer. Among the highlights from this year:

• US$ 375,000 raised for cancer research
• Over one million US dollars raised over the entire SLRFL campaigns over the years
• Over 3,000 relayers participated in 140 teams

This is also Poppy's last message as SLRFL marketing chair, having led it for two years. Congrats for all the great work, Poppy!

The full press release follows after the jump...

Interview with Barbara Beam of Utherverse on Virtual Charitable Giving

A week or so ago, I had the pleasure of talking with Ms. Barbara Beam, director of events for the virtual world Utherverse.  Utherverse is a 3D, client-based virtual world with approximately 8 million registered users that runs on both the Mac and the PC.  Starting with a fundraiser for Haiti in 2010, Utherverse has supported an increasing number of charitable causes through their platform. 

Give a listen to the brief 10 minute interview with Barbara to get a picture of how this commercial virtual world integrated charitable giving into their entertainment-based space. I like their tiered approach to supporting different kinds of causes and needs, although I do wonder how transparent that decision-making process is. 

Utherverse interview final

If you are interested, head to Utherverse.com to visit the world yourself. You can read more about their charitable giving on their website.

 

Global Kids Launching Youth-produced Virtual Talk Show on the Environment

This Friday, June 10, I'm excited to announce that my old colleagues Barry Joseph and Daria Ng of Global Kids will be speaking about their latest virtual education project at the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life: Let's Talk Sustainability.

Let’s Talk Sustainability is "an intensive youth development program that will support high school youth to develop expertise regarding sustainability, online broadcasting, and virtual world construction." Global Kids youth in New York City will combine this expertise to produce a talk show, featuring live interviews with scientists and other STEM-related professionals, pre-produced videos, and game show like activities. This will be a virtual talk show, filmed before a live studio audience within Second Life that will be later archived with downloadable materials that will be made available for a broader audience and classrooms around the world. 

In short, Let’s Talk Sustainability is a science-themed online talk show, by youth, for youth, filmed before a live studio audience. Sounds very exciting!

Also at the same meeting, Trill Zapatero of the Four Bridges Project will talk about a series of fundraisers for RAWA, the Revolutionary Afghanistan Women's Association, the oldest political/social organization of Afghan women struggling for peace, freedom, democracy and women's rights in fundamentalism-blighted Afghanistan since 1977. For more info, see their official website.

That's on Friday, June 10 at the Plush Nonprofit Commons (teleport link) starting at 8:30am PST. See you all there!