Michael Stein on Fundraising Widgets

I tracked down Web/Internet Strategy expert, Michael Stein, to get his take on widgets for fundraising.

Here's the transcript:

"When I think about web widgets, I think about the potential they have for online fundraising campaigns.  I think they are excellent tools for organizations that want to reach beyond their existing stakeholders via email, blogs, web sites, etc because of  potential of viral marketing.  What I think is exciting about widgets is that they allow an individual, an organization's supporter or volunteer to do the fundraising on their own by using the widget on a blog or email and pushing the campaign message out to wider audience.   I'm thinking about services like the ChipIn widget and other examples where you have a tool that potentially empowers an organization's supporters or anyone else for that matter to do the fundraising.  Widgets carry with them information about the campaign that is much more rich than text or even a graphic email.  This can be video, graphics that show contantly updated information about the fundraising goal.  It is a creative way to empower an organization's supporters or individuals to spread the campaign message and help raise funds."