It’s a whuffie wrapped inside a game wrapped inside a startup.

In today’s battle for public attention and action, web-enabled technology is the great equalizer.  Savvy causes have embraced the social graph and are driving strong connectivity with their communities, and speaking to new donors in ways not understood by today’s largest and most respected charities.  This shift in attention has only begun and will accelerate into a full-blown cause revolution over the next decade.

I’m tracking three technology-powered trends that will cause major disruptions to the fundraising world in the next 5 years.

The Longtail of Causes

In 1937, economist Ronald Coase wrote his seminal article titled “The Nature of The Firm” in which he argued that the size of the corporation is correlated with the cost of information.  Large firms had evolved to dominate the 20^th century economy because the cost of getting the information necessary to conduct business successfully was so expensive.  Massively hierarchical organizations – the rise of middle management – were a direct result of this effect.

Ronald Coase won the Nobel Prize in 1991 for his work on The Nature of the Firm

The rise of the largest non-profits mirrors the growth of business – albeit several decades behind their for-profit brethren.  The cost of finding and reaching donors and beneficiaries across the country necessitated large organizations, and large organizations required massive projects to support the investments they were soliciting and receiving.

What few expected merely a decade ago was the emergence of forces that would throw Coase’s law into reverse, and change the game in the necessary complexity and size of the firm.  Moore’s Law, Metcalfe’s Law, and the power of the Internet are now driving down the cost of information to the

WeHearYourVoice.com – a Longtail cause started by 3 Millennials who wanted to make a difference

point where almost everything you need to effectively compete in the marketplace can be obtained from your browser and procured at almost no cost.  This rings especially true for causes.  Because a new cause can use technology to present a compelling argument to a target-rich online donor environment at very little cost, these new, small, nimble organizations are picking off some of the most lucrative and active donors from larger causes.

Couple that with the general desire to personally connect with the people your donation helps, and the Millennial Generation’s desire to deeply change the world for the better, and you have a massive disruptive force that will restructure the cause marketplace over the next decade.

The Game Layer

A fundraising event in 2012 features a scavenger hunt with teams competing in real-time, both online and in cities across the  globe to collect photos, videos, and donations, with their social networks cheering them on.

CauseWorld turns real-world check-ins into donations

Zynga’s Farmville is #1 on Facebook – but for how long?

Elsewhere, a wildlife charity has the number 1 game on Facebook – “Circle of Life” – where throngs of casual gamers nurture the ecosystem of an African water hole.  And yet elsewhere, a shopper at Target “checked-in” to get a share of Target’s charity budget to flow to their favorite cause.

All three scenarios are examples of the Game Layer: A set of technologies and social connectivity that will be pervasive in the next 5 years.  Today, startups like SCVNGR and CauseWorld are pioneering the mobile game layer.  It’s only a matter of time before game-play becomes a necessary element in online fundraising.

The Rise of Alternative Currencies

Thank you for your donation!  Would you like to pay by Credit Card, eCheck, Paypal, SocialGold, MoJo, Facebook Credit, LindenDollar, or Whuffie?  Or perhaps you would like to transfer unspent gift card value?

The world of alternative currencies is about to get very interesting.  As more dollars, euros and yen are converted to “In-world currencies”, causes will be there to solicit them.

SocialGold maker Jambool was recently acquired by Google

Yet for many non-profits today, accounting practices are static and manually intensive.  For some organizations, it takes 3-5 people to touch an online donation before a receipt can be issued.  Even basic compliance matters like the proper treatment of donor financial information can be a tremendous task for these causes.  These organizations are woefully unprepared for opportunities to tap into alternative currencies.  Comparatively, the more socially savvy “web-native” causes should have an easier time optimizing around these kinds of opportunities.

The decade ahead poses tremendous challenges for mainstream non-profits and opportunities for nimble, tech-savvy causes.  Large organizations need to embrace technology and re-engineer their online experience to make headway with the Millennial generation.  Smaller causes need to stay focused on connecting with and serving their constituency, and leverage their active online community to connect them with emerging concepts that will accelerate their efforts.

Question of The Day: What is the shortest path to get to energy independence for the USA?  Give us your answers below.

Question of the Day: What kinds of business development strategies and partnerships should Chris be focusing on?  Please enter your comment below.

Introducing Two by Two.  A Strategic Guide to life.

All the world can be described in the form of a 2×2.  Anything can be compared against anything else.  Height vs. Weight.   Age vs. Wisdom.   Size of the truck vs. the guy driving it.  In the business world, strategy consultants with newly minted MBAs are paid great sums of money to analyze things like cost vs. marketshare and features vs. usefulness.  Yes.  Some of these comparisons actually make sense!  And some not so much (Temperature vs. Pirates). Here at jonaslamis.com, we can and do frequently make wild comparisons between things that on the surface may seem ludicrous, but ultimately are shown to be deeply intertwined.  Which brings us to today’s topic….

Price vs. Value

Ah, twas the season. With Christmas past, and the orgy of food, drink and merriment behind me I thought I’d strategically review gifts given, received, or just wished for.  I hope you enjoy the  video!

Question of The Day

What was the best or worst gift that you received this past holiday season?  Please post your comments below.

Jonas talks with Jei Gaither, Founder and CEO of Austin Texas based App Ranch. App Ranch is focused on building mobile apps for long-tail business customers.

QOTD:  What App would you like to have available that doesn’t yet exist?

Jonas sits down with Andy Salo, founder and CEO of Yigdigs.  Yigdigs is a Real Estate For Sale by Owner webservice. Andy discusses his journey from executive to entrepreneur.  Also this episode introduces a new feature – Question of the Day!  Add your thoughts for the QOTD to the comment’s field below.

QOTD : What was your best or worst real estate buying or selling experience?

Jonas talks with Brian Massey – the Conversion Scientist. They discuss the art and science of turning browsers into buyers. Brian runs regular education sessions in Central Texas and speaks widely at web marketing events.  His next training session is December 10th.  You can fund out more about that event here: http://byocontent-tr.eventbrite.com/

Jonas talks with Hall Martin – founder of The Austin Entrepreneur Network. In part 2 of their discussion, they discuss the First Look Forum.  The First Look Forum is a regular event put on by AEN and hosted by Tech Ranch that matches Entrepreneurs with potential mentors and investors.  Think of it as Speed Dating for startups.