The problem with community level fundraising has always been the volume of support available. You will always be limited to the individuals that you can reach with your fundraising events in the local area. Now with the internet, your area of influence and potential participants has increased from hundreds, to millions. When the internet was in its infancy, it wasn't possible to incite such a level of participation that social networking and community websites have done. In this article I will explain the methods that you can use your online connectivity to expand your fundraising efforts.

The first, most obvious advantage is the fact that you have such a massive audience to hear all of your great ideas, and there is already a plethora of organisations and websites dedicated to helping the destitute and needy. Online fundraising is now so incredibly easy there are websites that provide you with a direct money transfer to your chosen charity once the act of arranged fundraising has been completed. These websites have proven incredibly effective in online fundraising efforts the site "JustGiving" was used in collaboration with the 2009 'Rage Against The Machine' UK number 1 chart attempt and raised over £40,000 in correlation with this event and considering this was a fan lead movement shows just how powerful an idea or event can become if people get involved.

The downside of having so many online charities to donate to is that they aren't subject to as much external auditing and accounting checks as well-known community based charities. There have been many reports of fraudulent online charities being set up not for maximising human well-being, but to purely pull a profit for the owners of the website. You would be highly advised to investigate a charity that you've heard about online thoroughly before running a fundraising a campaign for them. Do they have charity status and certification? The charities that have this status are regularly audited and could be considered trustworthy. If you are ever unsure of a charity's full credentials you should check with the authorities before giving them your account details or giving a donation.

With the sheer scope of the internet you're bound to find thousands or even millions of people with the same passion for cause related fundraising as you do. It's simply about getting your message out there on the new generation of charity social networks, videos on YouTube and articles online. Feedback to the people who are supporting you can be given through blog posts, images or even videos. Participating in the online community for raising money has never been easier, and is only a few clicks away!