Good Points, Jen ...

Howdy,
First, thanks for reading and commenting.
I was talking with Dr. Geertz yesterday. His experiences fundraising followed patterns I shared in this piece and he admitted (perhaps he'll post a comment here to back me up) that he'd read my work and others on the topic of social networks and fundraising, all of which are proving useful to him.
What you write above also follows these rules (my opinion, this. Willing to be proven incorrect). You donated with little deliberation because you know Scott, hence are very much within the first two rings or so of his social network (ie, you're psychographically "close" to Scott. See "NSE Consumer Research Paper - Optimal Blog Post Frequency - NSE Social Media Research Paper #1" (http://tinyurl.com/nsesmrp1) or "NSE Consumer Research Paper - Social Network Mechanics: A Preliminary ToolKit for Creating and Co-Opting Social Networks for Marketing Purposes" (http://tinyurl.com/nsesmrp2) for more information on this). Your social connectivity to Scott superseded your need to know more about what Scott was requesting involvement in. Stephanie's lack of social connectivity (and yes, her background, no doubt) required other determining factors come into play before she would accept involvement.
Your comment is completely on topic, me thinks. It's another demonstration of how social networks benefit social causes. Haiti is getting huge amounts of relief from your example above due to the "casting bread" method.

Again, thanks for posting and commenting. - Joseph ...

Other potential factors in this case ...

I wanted to share with you one reaction I got when I reposted Scott's link on Facebook. Now, it should be noted that my sister is a geologist focused on water, so she may be a unique case, so my main point is that there were some very significant non-Scott factors that came into play in the low response rates I think. I donated because I know Scott, and I had confidence that my money was going to a good cause (UNICEF). But when I reposted with his statement about what 20K could do, I had a hard time answering some pretty simple and potentially important questions:

Stephanie: "he doesn't tell you what type of purification unit it is?
or even where it is going to be used. Was there a more information section that I didn't see?"

So I did some digging around, trying hard to justify.

My response: "It's a standard UNICEF project called the Tap Project. $20K is the set price for a unit, but I can't seem to see what type of purification it is. http://www.tapproject.org/ FAQ puts it more generically: "UNICEF works in more than 100 countries around the world to improve access to safe water and sanitation facilities in schools and communities, ... See Moreand to promote safe hygiene practices." So I guess specifics are actually pretty unclear to nonexistent .... you'd have to trust that UNICEF is going to use it appropriately."

I didn't ask, but I doubt that she donated, because she wanted more reassurance. (And even if she did, it was because of her confidence in me, not the charity or Scott.) I was surprised at how difficult it was to find even what little information I found about how money would be used.

Anyway, I know it is a bit off-topic from your point. I agree with what you said - consider the effect of the texting HAITI to 90999. That is a great example of asking lots of people through social networks to do a small thing that by all reports is having a huge impact.
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My pleasure, Roger ...

Glad you liked them. Let me know if there's something more or other you'd like me to write about. - Joseph ...

These rules are like a Business Workout Routine ...

The vii rules in this collection can obviously help a business be successful. They're major. This was a real informative piece. Thanks.
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roger
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Glad you liked it, Ms. Kloser ...

I've found these rules to be quite helpful. It's one of those hindsight things...if only I knew them when I started out. I've shared these rules over the past few years and (so far) everyone who's used them has benefitted, so maybe there's something there.
Thanks for reading and commenting. - Joseph ...