Global Giving: Donate or volunteer with your favorite charity

1The Global Giving app lets the user find different grassroots organizations that are looking for help. Inside the app users can find charities and projects using the global map, searching by theme, or looking at the featured projects. Once a charity or organization is found, the user can quickly and easily donate to the project. After organizations receive a donation or volunteer, they will receive updates on the progress the project has made. Charities from around the globe can join the GlobalGiving network through their website. The app is currently only available through iTunes.

Charity Miles: Walk, run or bike for your charity

2Charity Miles is an app for walkers, runners and bikers to give to their favorite charity by simply doing what they do best: walking, running and biking. For each mile the user runs or walks while using the app, they will earn 25 cents and bikers earn 10 cents a mile. The user can then apply their earning toward a charity. Organizations can sign up to be a part of the app by contacting Charity Miles. Currently this app is for iPhones on any service provider and on most Android devices, including the Android tablet from T-Mobile. The app is free and is constantly adding new charities and organizations to their list.

VolunteerMatch: Find a nearby volunteer opportunity

3Sometimes a nonprofit organization will have many tasks at hand and not enough paid manpower to accomplish everything, which is where volunteers become critically important. The VolunteerMatch app allows users to find volunteer opportunities near them. There are already more than 89,000 organizations that are participating with this app. Inside the app, it’s easy for users to save their favorite opportunities, share them with friends and family, and also read reviews from other volunteers. Groups and organizations can easily get involved and recruit volunteers. Nonprofits can sign up, get advice and find volunteers. This is a free app and is currently only available for iPhones and other Apple devices.

Givatron: Donate funds to any charity

4Givatron lets users make a donation to their charity of choice. Unlike some apps, Givatron does not have restrictions on the amount or the charity of choice. Donation of any amount can be made to any registered charity or organization within North America. The donor instantly receives an email with their official tax receipt. The app is currently in beta testing, and is only available on Google Play.

Instead: Swap your daily fix for a charitable donation

5Instead by Ovenbits is an app that helps people give micro-donations to charities of their choice by giving up different purchases throughout the day. The app lets users choose from things like coffee, food or any other items that they want to give up for a monetary value. So you can give up your $5 medium mocha, and instead give $5 to your favorite charity. The amount of money is up to the user. Once you’ve filled in the information and picked an organization to give to, you can fill out their credit card information to make donating a breeze. For those who think they may not have extra money to donate, you might just discover how easy it is to give instead of making small daily purchases. Nonprofits can contact the app developers to be included in the list of organizations. This is a free app and is available for iPhones and Android phones.

Vittana: Send someone to college for $25

1Vittana is an amazing online platform that connects people through lending and helps young people around the world to get access to higher education for the first time. Through Vittana, you can make a loan to a student to help him or her go to college. Vittana reports that their students have a 95% success and repayment rate on their loans. In essence, Vittana is like a “Kiva for worldwide education.” Through online loans from people like you and me, Vittana is building a world where anyone can go to college. Vittana has been recognized as a Pop!Tech Social Innovation Fellow and HuffingtonPost #1 Game Changer in Philanthropy. Follow Vittana on Twitter.

Citizen Effect: Empowering citizen philanthropy

2Citizen Effect empowers citizens to become citizen philanthropists by providing us with the tools and networks we need to work directly with communities in need around the world. Through CitizenEffect, you can create your own project, bring your friends, family and social network together, and raise funds to make a significant impact in the lives of a community in need. You can also find great projects to support that match your interests. Follow Citizen Effect on Twitter.

Blissmo: Making sustainability easier

3Blissmo (formerly Spheresavers) is a new platform that aims to make sustainable consumption mainstream by making it cheaper and easier for consumers to buy sustainable. Check out Blissmo (our writeup is here) for deals on products and services from sustainable businesses striving to balance people, planet and profit.

OpenIDEO: Design together for social good

4OpenIDEO is a place where people design together for social good. It’s an online platform for creative thinkers: the veteran designer, the critic, the MBA, the active participant and the creative enthusiast with an idea to share. IDEO, a well-known design firm, developed OpenIDEO as a way to include a broader range of people in the design process to tackle social issues. Follow OpenIDEO on Twitter.

FrontlineSMS: Text groups of people anywhere

5FrontlineSMS is an award-winning, free, open-source platform that turns a laptop or desktop computer and a mobile phone or modem into a two-way group messaging hub. Since it works anywhere there’s a mobile signal, it doesn’t need the Internet – a major advantage for many grassroots NGOs, especially in the developing world. Once you have the software running on your computer, you can send messages to wide groups of people and collect responses to any questions or surveys you might want to run, all via text message. Follow FrontlineSMS on Twitter.

Global Giving: Support community-based projects

6Global Giving is an online marketplace that helps nonprofits raise money for grassroots projects and connects individuals and companies to grassroots economic development projects around causes and countries they care about. Through Global Giving, supporters can make direct donations to projects; no social activity or event organization is required to support a cause. Follow Global Giving on Twitter.

SeeClickFix: Get a local problem fixed

7SeeClickFix is a platform that allows citizens to report non-emergency issues and receive neighborhood alerts, providing a great way to get a local problem fixed. If you have an iPhone, Android or Blackberry mobile phone, you can download SeeClickFix’s free mobile app to report issues taking place in your neighborhood when you are on the go, anytime, anyplace. Follow SeeClickFix on Twitter.

Idealist: Turn intentions into action

8Idealist — a project of Action Without Borders, a nonprofit with offices in the United States and Argentina — is an interactive site where people and organizations can exchange resources and ideas, locate opportunities and supporters, and take steps toward building a better world. Idealist is a great starting point online when you’re looking for opportunities and organizations that match your interests. Follow Idealist on Twitter.

IndieGoGo: A collaborative way to fund ideas

9IndieGoGo is a collaborative way to fund ideas. Launched in 2008, IndieGoGo is now in more than 130 countries with over 5,000 projects. If you’re looking to raise money for your project and convert fans into funders, be sure to check out IndieGoGo. Follow IndieGoGo on Twitter.

NeighborGoods: Trade stuff with your neighbors

10When it comes to sustainability, the best choice we can make is to find ways to use what we already have. But sometimes we need to buy things – even if we only buy those things once in awhile. What would happen, though, if people came together to share things instead of buying them? Say hello to NeighborGoods, a platform that provides a safe community where you can save money and resources by sharing stuff with your friends. Already members are sharing over $2 million worth of stuff from camping equipment to lawnmowers to vacuum cleaners and more. Follow NeighborGoods on Twitter.

InVentureFund: Invest in good

11Founded in 2009 with the belief that more could be done to lift communities out of poverty beyond traditional microfinance models, InVenture has created a market for “micro venture capital.” Through InVenture’s online platform, everyday investors can provide expansion capital to developing businesses. Free from debt and high interest payments, the business can operate independently and with an eye toward long-term growth. As soon as the business begins turning a profit, a portion of that profit is reinvested in the community, improving the livelihood of the community as a whole. Follow InVentureFund on Twitter.

Eventbrite For Causes: Events made easy

12 If you organize fundraising events for your nonprofit, Eventbrite For Causes is a great program to check out. Recently launched by Eventbrite, an online ticketing platform, Eventbrite For Causes provides nonprofits with discounted transaction fees and newsletters full of resources, tips and best practices related to the unique challenges and opportunities of hosting nonprofit events. Thanks to built-in sharing features within the Eventbrite platform, your supporters can also share your nonprofit event with their social networks when they register – a great way to help spread the word about your event. Follow Eventbrite on Twitter.