Think about your Facebook friends.  Whether your dad, that guy you met in a bar, your lifelong best friend, or a classmate from some point in your past, each of those friends has their own network of friends, who has their own network, and so on.  Now imagine the impact you could have on a cause if you invited all of your friends to support it, and each of your friends invited their friends.  As the process continues like a tree branching out from the trunk, real impact becomes possible from the passion of only one person and her network.

This is the goal of Causes on Facebook: “to build tools for people to mobilize their friends for collective action, spread the word to friends of friends and acquaintances, and eventually launch movements that span local communities or even the globe.”  One of Cause’s driving forces is equal opportunity activism, which means that nonprofits with huge followings and budgets are on an equal playing field with causes started by a single passionate supporter.  Therefore, the true guarantee of success for a cause is not their budget but how well they organize and keep their communities engaged and mobilized.

There is no better example of this model than the Race to End Cancer, the largest cause on Facebook.  Started by 19-year old Arkansas resident Michelle Miles, the organization benefits the Arkansas Children’s Hospital.  Since Michelle invited her network of friends, the cause has grown to over 5.9 million members who have donated more than $60,000 to the children’s hospital.

However, not everyone measures success by a pure number of supporters.  For some, it may mean dollars raised; for others, active participants in a conversation.  You may hope to spread awareness through posting videos about your cause or inspire people to volunteer offline.  Whatever your goal, Causes can help your charitable organization achieve success in a measurable way.

So where do you begin?  First, read the Causes Guide for Nonprofits, a simple overview of the project and how to get started.  For an even more detailed guide to getting started, check out Getting Started on Causes.  Once you get your cause up and running, you can branch out and discover how to build a community, how to advocate for campaigns, and how to fundraise using Causes.  And for added inspiration, browse success stories.  But be warned—as their website says, “Side effects may include inspiration and a desire to change the world.”

What Causes on Facebook do you support?

If you could create an online community for any cause, what would it be?