When I first came on board at Artez, our primary software offering was a reliable, user-friendly, secure way to manage peer to peer donations for event-based fundraising. Over the years we've really expanded both our vision of what online fundraising can be, and also the functionality and services that we offer our clients. These days, what gets me most excited about my work is the diversity of clients that I get to work with (definitely not just event groups anymore), as well as the feeling that I actually get to witness, and be part of, the evolution of fundraising online. I find it inspiring, and so I wanted to share three of my observations about the evolving world of online fundraising. Read on...

If you haven't been hearing the word "Facebook" on a daily basis, then you likely haven't been paying attention! Over the space of six short months, this social networking site has rocketed its way to centre stage in the lives of millions of people – many of whom had never engaged in online communities before. With the launch of their developer platform in June 2007, they transformed themselves overnight from a website into a "platform", offering anyone the opportunity to create applications for Facebook users.

Some people developed silly things (like the Happy Hour app), some developed absurd things (like the Zombie app)... and some did their best to leverage this opportunity to use Facebook as a tool for social change. With the launch of the "Causes" application, we at Artez wondered whether we were watching the start of Facebook's foray into the world of online fundraising. A few months in, I have some thoughts about this.