Change.org: Turning concern into action

Change.org: Helping you take action online from JD Lasica on Vimeo.

One of the most impressive and influential sites in the causes space, Change.org, has really come into its own in the past six to eight months. The social enterprise is helping raise awareness about important social causes and empowering people to take action, chiefly through the efforts of leading nonprofits.

Here’s an interview I conduced with Ben Rattray, founder and CEO of Change.org, after a meetup at TechSoup’s offices in San Francisco. Ben describes the organization this way: “We’re an online community and media network for social issues, focused on engaging and informing people about the most important issues of our time — global warming, homelessness, fair trade — and compelling them to take action.”

Actions might range from joining an organization and making a personal pledge to signing an online petition or calling a congressperson’s office about an issue. “This is one of the things we’re most interested in innovating on and partnering with other organizations on — finding the most powerful actions possible for people to advance issues they care about.”

Thousands of nonprofit organizations have signed up and “claimed their profiles” on Change.org, allowing them to add additional information and interact directly with supporters and donors.

The video is a little dark because we were placed in a room not set up for video interviews. But the organization’s story is compelling. The interview is 5 1/2 minutes long.

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Download video in high-quality H.264 from Archive.orgJD Lasica, founder and former editor of Socialbrite, is co-founder of Cruiseable. Contact JD or follow him on Twitter or Google Plus.